Nuclear safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buden, D.

1991-01-01

Topics dealing with nuclear safety are addressed which include the following: general safety requirements; safety design requirements; terrestrial safety; SP-100 Flight System key safety requirements; potential mission accidents and hazards; key safety features; ground operations; launch operations; flight operations; disposal; safety concerns; licensing; the nuclear engine for rocket vehicle application (NERVA) design philosophy; the NERVA flight safety program; and the NERVA safety plan.

14 CFR 417.221 - Time delay analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.221 Time delay analysis. (a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a time delay analysis that establishes the mean elapsed time between the violation of a flight termination rule and the time when the flight safety system is...

14 CFR 417.221 - Time delay analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.221 Time delay analysis. (a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a time delay analysis that establishes the mean elapsed time between the violation of a flight termination rule and the time when the flight safety system is...

Autonomous system for launch vehicle range safety

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrell, Bob; Haley, Sam

2001-02-01

The Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) is a launch vehicle subsystem whose ultimate goal is an autonomous capability to assure range safety (people and valuable resources), flight personnel safety, flight assets safety (recovery of valuable vehicles and cargo), and global coverage with a dramatic simplification of range infrastructure. The AFSS is capable of determining current vehicle position and predicting the impact point with respect to flight restriction zones. Additionally, it is able to discern whether or not the launch vehicle is an immediate threat to public safety, and initiate the appropriate range safety response. These features provide for a dramatic cost reduction in range operations and improved reliability of mission success. .

Quantifying Pilot Contribution to Flight Safety During Dual Generator Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Etherington, Timothy J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Kennedy, Kellie D.; Bailey, Randall E.; Last, Mary Carolyn

2017-01-01

Accident statistics cite flight crew error in over 60% of accidents involving transport category aircraft. Yet, a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is acknowledged as the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system. No data currently exists that quantifies the contribution of the flight crew in this role. Neither does data exist for how often the flight crew handles non-normal procedures or system failures on a daily basis in the National Airspace System. A pilot-in-the-loop high fidelity motion simulation study was conducted by the NASA Langley Research Center in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to evaluate the pilot's contribution to flight safety during normal flight and in response to aircraft system failures. Eighteen crews flew various normal and non-normal procedures over a two-day period and their actions were recorded in response to failures. To quantify the human's contribution, crew complement was used as the experiment independent variable in a between-subjects design. Pilot actions and performance when one of the flight crew was unavailable were also recorded for comparison against the nominal two-crew operations. This paper details diversion decisions, perceived safety of flight, workload, time to complete pertinent checklists, and approach and landing results while dealing with a complete loss of electrical generators. Loss of electrical power requires pilots to complete the flight without automation support of autopilots, flight directors, or auto throttles. For reduced crew complements, the additional workload and perceived safety of flight was considered unacceptable.

Space flight hazards catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The most significant hazards identified on manned space flight programs are listed. This summary is of special value to system safety engineers in developing safety checklists and otherwise tailoring safety tasks to specific systems and subsystems.

The Federal Aviation Administration Plan for Research, Engineering and Development. Volume 1. Program Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-01

Mid * Advanced Propulsion System Far * Rotor Burst Protection Reports Mid 11.4 Flight Safety / * Aircraft Icing Handbook Near Atmospheric Hazards...with operating the national aviation system include air traffic controllers, flight service specialists, maintenance technicians, safety inspectors...address the design and certification of flight deck systems and revised crew training requirements. In FY 1988, studies of safety data were initiated to

Development of U.S. Government General Technical Requirements for UAS Flight Safety Systems Utilizing the Iridium Satellite Constellation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, Jennifer; Birr, Richard

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the development of technical requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) utilization of the Iridium Satellite Constellation to provide flight safety. The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) required an over-the-horizon communication standard to guarantee flight safety before permitting widespread UAS flights in the National Air Space (NAS). This is important to ensure reliable control of UASs during loss-link and over-the-horizon scenarios. The core requirement was to utilize a satellite system to send GPS tracking data and other telemetry from a flight vehicle down to the ground. Iridium was chosen as the system because it is one of the only true satellite systems that has world wide coverage, and the service has a highly reliable link margin. The Iridium system, the flight modems, and the test flight are described.

Safety policy and requirements for payloads using the space transportation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

The safety policy and requirements are established applicable to the Space Transportation System (STS) payloads and their ground support equipment (GSE). The requirements are intended to protect flight and ground personnel, the STS, other payloads, GSE, the general public, public-private property, and the environment from payload-related hazards. The technical and system safety requirements applicable to STS payloads (including payload-provided ground and flight supports systems) during ground and flight operations are contained.

An Autonomous Flight Safety System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bull, James B.; Lanzi, Raymond J.

2007-01-01

The Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) being developed by NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center s Wallops Flight Facility and Kennedy Space Center has completed two successful developmental flights and is preparing for a third. AFSS has been demonstrated to be a viable architecture for implementation of a completely vehicle based system capable of protecting life and property in event of an errant vehicle by terminating the flight or initiating other actions. It is capable of replacing current human-in-the-loop systems or acting in parallel with them. AFSS is configured prior to flight in accordance with a specific rule set agreed upon by the range safety authority and the user to protect the public and assure mission success. This paper discusses the motivation for the project, describes the method of development, and presents an overview of the evolving architecture and the current status.

Quantifying Pilot Contribution to Flight Safety During an In-Flight Airspeed Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Etherington, Timothy J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Kennedey, Kellie D.

2017-01-01

Accident statistics cite the flight crew as a causal factor in over 60% of large transport fatal accidents. Yet a well-trained and well-qualified crew is acknowledged as the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral component of the entire commercial aviation system. A human-in-the-loop test was conducted using a Level D certified Boeing 737-800 simulator to evaluate the pilot's contribution to safety-of-flight during routine air carrier flight operations and in response to system failures. To quantify the human's contribution, crew complement was used as an independent variable in a between-subjects design. This paper details the crew's actions and responses while dealing with an in-flight airspeed failure. Accident statistics often cite flight crew error (Baker, 2001) as the primary contributor in accidents and incidents in transport category aircraft. However, the Air Line Pilots Association (2011) suggests "a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is acknowledged as the critical center point of the aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system." This is generally acknowledged but cannot be verified because little or no quantitative data exists on how or how many accidents/incidents are averted by crew actions. Anecdotal evidence suggest crews handle failures on a daily basis and Aviation Safety Action Program data generally supports this assertion, even if the data is not released to the public. However without hard evidence, the contribution and means by which pilots achieve safety of flight is difficult to define. Thus, ways to improve the human ability to contribute or overcome deficiencies are ill-defined.

Review of Safety Reports Involving Electronic Flight Bags.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-04-01

Safety events in which Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) were a factor are reviewed. Relevant reports were obtained from the public Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident report datab...

Summary of NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, Michelle; Odonnell, Patricia

1994-01-01

A summary of NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program Activities is presented. The NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program represents a unified NASA wide effort with the overall objective of providing NASA with the policy and posture which will increase the safety, performance, and reliability of space power systems. The specific objectives of the program are to: enhance cell/battery safety and reliability; maintain current battery technology; increase fundamental understanding of primary and secondary cells; provide a means to bring forth advanced technology for flight use; assist flight programs in minimizing battery technology related flight risks; and ensure that safe, reliable batteries are available for NASA's future missions.

14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety crew roles and qualifications. 417.311 Section 417.311 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance...

14 CFR 417.311 - Flight safety crew roles and qualifications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight safety crew roles and qualifications. 417.311 Section 417.311 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION... the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to operate the flight safety system hardware in accordance...

Verification and Implementation of Operations Safety Controls for Flight Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smalls, James R.; Jones, Cheryl L.; Carrier, Alicia S.

2010-01-01

There are several engineering disciplines, such as reliability, supportability, quality assurance, human factors, risk management, safety, etc. Safety is an extremely important engineering specialty within NASA, and the consequence involving a loss of crew is considered a catastrophic event. Safety is not difficult to achieve when properly integrated at the beginning of each space systems project/start of mission planning. The key is to ensure proper handling of safety verification throughout each flight/mission phase. Today, Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) operations engineers continue to conduct these flight product reviews across all open flight products. As such, these reviews help ensure that each mission is accomplished with safety requirements along with controls heavily embedded in applicable flight products. Most importantly, the S&MA operations engineers are required to look for important design and operations controls so that safety is strictly adhered to as well as reflected in the final flight product.

14 CFR 417.113 - Launch safety rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... flight safety analysis of subpart C of this part. These must include criteria for: (i) Surveillance of... criteria for ensuring that: (i) The flight safety system is operating to ensure the launch vehicle will... source at all times from lift-off to orbit insertion for an orbital launch, to the end of powered flight...

14 CFR 417.113 - Launch safety rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... flight safety analysis of subpart C of this part. These must include criteria for: (i) Surveillance of... criteria for ensuring that: (i) The flight safety system is operating to ensure the launch vehicle will... source at all times from lift-off to orbit insertion for an orbital launch, to the end of powered flight...

14 CFR 417.113 - Launch safety rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... flight safety analysis of subpart C of this part. These must include criteria for: (i) Surveillance of... criteria for ensuring that: (i) The flight safety system is operating to ensure the launch vehicle will... source at all times from lift-off to orbit insertion for an orbital launch, to the end of powered flight...

14 CFR 417.113 - Launch safety rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... flight safety analysis of subpart C of this part. These must include criteria for: (i) Surveillance of... criteria for ensuring that: (i) The flight safety system is operating to ensure the launch vehicle will... source at all times from lift-off to orbit insertion for an orbital launch, to the end of powered flight...

14 CFR 417.113 - Launch safety rules.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... flight safety analysis of subpart C of this part. These must include criteria for: (i) Surveillance of... criteria for ensuring that: (i) The flight safety system is operating to ensure the launch vehicle will... source at all times from lift-off to orbit insertion for an orbital launch, to the end of powered flight...

14 CFR 417.117 - Reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... hours of flight. A person, identified as required by § 417.103(b)(1), must review all preflight testing... personnel and the results of flight safety system testing. (iii) Readiness of safety-related launch property... conduct a launch safety review no later than 15 days before the planned day of flight, or as agreed to by...

14 CFR 417.117 - Reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... hours of flight. A person, identified as required by § 417.103(b)(1), must review all preflight testing... personnel and the results of flight safety system testing. (iii) Readiness of safety-related launch property... conduct a launch safety review no later than 15 days before the planned day of flight, or as agreed to by...

14 CFR 417.117 - Reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... hours of flight. A person, identified as required by § 417.103(b)(1), must review all preflight testing... personnel and the results of flight safety system testing. (iii) Readiness of safety-related launch property... conduct a launch safety review no later than 15 days before the planned day of flight, or as agreed to by...

An examination of safety reports involving electronic flight bags and portable electronic devices

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of safety considerations with the use of Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) and Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) by examining safety reports from Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS),...

AGARD Flight Test Techniques Series. Volume 12. The Principles of Flight Test Assessment of Flight-Safety-Critical Systems in Helicopters (Les Principes de l’Evaluation, dans le Cadre des Essais en Vol, des Systemes Indispensables a la Securite de Vol des Helicopteres)

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-08-01

AGARD-AG-300 Vol. 12 04 ADVISORY GROUP FOR AEROSPACE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT 7 RUE ANCELLE, 92200 NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, FRANCE AUG 0195 AGARDograph 300...AGARD Flight Test Techniques Series Volume 12 on The Principles of Flight Test Assessment of Flight-Safety-Critical Systems in Helicopters (Les...and Availability on Back Cover AGARD-AG-300 Vol. 12 ADVISORY GROUP FOR AEROSPACE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT 7 RUE ANCELLE, 92200 NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, FRANCE

Visual Advantage of Enhanced Flight Vision System During NextGen Flight Test Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Harrison, Stephanie J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Ellis, Kyle K.

2014-01-01

Synthetic Vision Systems and Enhanced Flight Vision System (SVS/EFVS) technologies have the potential to provide additional margins of safety for aircrew performance and enable operational improvements for low visibility operations in the terminal area environment. Simulation and flight tests were jointly sponsored by NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Vehicle Systems Safety Technology project and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to evaluate potential safety and operational benefits of SVS/EFVS technologies in low visibility Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) operations. The flight tests were conducted by a team of Honeywell, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and NASA personnel with the goal of obtaining pilot-in-the-loop test data for flight validation, verification, and demonstration of selected SVS/EFVS operational and system-level performance capabilities. Nine test flights were flown in Gulfstream's G450 flight test aircraft outfitted with the SVS/EFVS technologies under low visibility instrument meteorological conditions. Evaluation pilots flew 108 approaches in low visibility weather conditions (600 feet to 3600 feet reported visibility) under different obscurants (mist, fog, drizzle fog, frozen fog) and sky cover (broken, overcast). Flight test videos were evaluated at three different altitudes (decision altitude, 100 feet radar altitude, and touchdown) to determine the visual advantage afforded to the pilot using the EFVS/Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) imagery compared to natural vision. Results indicate the EFVS provided a visual advantage of two to three times over that of the out-the-window (OTW) view. The EFVS allowed pilots to view the runway environment, specifically runway lights, before they would be able to OTW with natural vision.

14 CFR 417.307 - Support systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... subsystem, component, and part that can affect the reliability of the support system must have written...) Data processing, display, and recording. A flight safety system must include one or more subsystems... accordance with the flight safety analysis required by subpart C of this part; (5) Display and record raw...

14 CFR 417.307 - Support systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... subsystem, component, and part that can affect the reliability of the support system must have written...) Data processing, display, and recording. A flight safety system must include one or more subsystems... accordance with the flight safety analysis required by subpart C of this part; (5) Display and record raw...

14 CFR 417.307 - Support systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... subsystem, component, and part that can affect the reliability of the support system must have written...) Data processing, display, and recording. A flight safety system must include one or more subsystems... accordance with the flight safety analysis required by subpart C of this part; (5) Display and record raw...

14 CFR 417.307 - Support systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... subsystem, component, and part that can affect the reliability of the support system must have written...) Data processing, display, and recording. A flight safety system must include one or more subsystems... accordance with the flight safety analysis required by subpart C of this part; (5) Display and record raw...

A review and discussion of flight management system incidents reported to the Aviation Safety Reporting System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-02-01

This report covers the activities related to the description, classification and : analysis of the types and kinds of flight crew errors, incidents and actions, as : reported to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database, that can occur as ...

Quantifying Pilot Contribution to Flight Safety during Drive Shaft Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Etherington, Tim; Last, Mary Carolyn; Bailey, Randall E.; Kennedy, Kellie D.

2017-01-01

Accident statistics cite the flight crew as a causal factor in over 60% of large transport aircraft fatal accidents. Yet, a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is acknowledged as the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system. The latter statement, while generally accepted, cannot be verified because little or no quantitative data exists on how and how many accidents/incidents are averted by crew actions. A joint NASA/FAA high-fidelity motion-base simulation experiment specifically addressed this void by collecting data to quantify the human (pilot) contribution to safety-of-flight and the methods they use in today's National Airspace System. A human-in-the-loop test was conducted using the FAA's Oklahoma City Flight Simulation Branch Level D-certified B-737-800 simulator to evaluate the pilot's contribution to safety-of-flight during routine air carrier flight operations and in response to aircraft system failures. These data are fundamental to and critical for the design and development of future increasingly autonomous systems that can better support the human in the cockpit. Eighteen U.S. airline crews flew various normal and non-normal procedures over a two-day period and their actions were recorded in response to failures. To quantify the human's contribution to safety of flight, crew complement was used as the experiment independent variable in a between-subjects design. Pilot actions and performance during single pilot and reduced crew operations were measured for comparison against the normal two-crew complement during normal and non-normal situations. This paper details the crew's actions, including decision-making, and responses while dealing with a drive shaft failure - one of 6 non-normal events that were simulated in this experiment.

Determination of UAV pre-flight Checklist for flight test purpose using qualitative failure analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendarko; Indriyanto, T.; Syardianto; Maulana, F. A.

2018-05-01

Safety aspects are of paramount importance in flight, especially in flight test phase. Before performing any flight tests of either manned or unmanned aircraft, one should include pre-flight checklists as a required safety document in the flight test plan. This paper reports on the development of a new approach for determination of pre-flight checklists for UAV flight test based on aircraft’s failure analysis. The Lapan’s LSA (Light Surveillance Aircraft) is used as a study case, assuming this aircraft has been transformed into the unmanned version. Failure analysis is performed on LSA using fault tree analysis (FTA) method. Analysis is focused on propulsion system and flight control system, which fail of these systems will lead to catastrophic events. Pre-flight checklist of the UAV is then constructed based on the basic causes obtained from failure analysis.

Improving Performance of the System Safety Function at Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kiessling, Ed; Tippett, Donald D.; Shivers, Herb

2004-01-01

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) determined that organizational and management issues were significant contributors to the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia. In addition, the CAIB observed similarities between the organizational and management climate that preceded the Challenger accident and the climate that preceded the Columbia accident. To prevent recurrence of adverse organizational and management climates, effective implementation of the system safety function is suggested. Attributes of an effective system safety program are presented. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) system safety program is analyzed using the attributes. Conclusions and recommendations for improving the MSFC system safety program are offered in this case study.

Review of safety reports involving electronic flight bags

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-27

Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) are a relatively new device used by pilots. Even so, 37 safety-related events involving EFBs were identified from the public online Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database as of June 2008. In addition, two accid...

The occupational health and safety of flight attendants.

PubMed

Griffiths, Robin F; Powell, David M C

2012-05-01

In order to perform safety-critical roles in emergency situations, flight attendants should meet minimum health standards and not be impaired by factors such as fatigue. In addition, the unique occupational and environmental characteristics of flight attendant employment may have consequential occupational health and safety implications, including radiation exposure, cancer, mental ill-health, musculoskeletal injury, reproductive disorders, and symptoms from cabin air contamination. The respective roles of governments and employers in managing these are controversial. A structured literature review was undertaken to identify key themes for promoting a future agenda for flight attendant health and safety. Recommendations include breast cancer health promotion, implementation of Fatigue Risk Management Systems, standardization of data collection on radiation exposure and health outcomes, and more coordinated approaches to occupational health and safety risk management. Research is ongoing into cabin air contamination incidents, cancer, and fatigue as health and safety concerns. Concerns are raised that statutory medical certification for flight attendants will not benefit either flight safety or occupational health.

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.

Mission safety evaluation report for STS-35: Postflight edition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, William C.; Finkel, Seymour I.

1991-01-01

Space Transportation System 35 (STS-35) safety risk factors that represent a change from previous flights that had an impact on this flight, and factors that were unique to this flight are discussed. While some changes to the safety risk baseline since the previous flight are included to highlight their significance in risk level change, the primary purpose is to insure that changes which were too late too include in formal changes through the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis/Critical Items List (FMEA/CIL) and Hazard Analysis process are documented along with the safety position, which includes the acceptance rationale.

Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Systems for NextGen (SEVS) Simulation and Flight Test Performance Evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelton, Kevin J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Ellis,Kyle K.; Rehfeld, Sherri A.

2012-01-01

The Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Systems for NextGen (SEVS) simulation and flight tests are jointly sponsored by NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Vehicle Systems Safety Technology project and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight tests were conducted by a team of Honeywell, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and NASA personnel with the goal of obtaining pilot-in-the-loop test data for flight validation, verification, and demonstration of selected SEVS operational and system-level performance capabilities. Nine test flights (38 flight hours) were conducted over the summer and fall of 2011. The evaluations were flown in Gulfstream.s G450 flight test aircraft outfitted with the SEVS technology under very low visibility instrument meteorological conditions. Evaluation pilots flew 108 approaches in low visibility weather conditions (600 ft to 2400 ft visibility) into various airports from Louisiana to Maine. In-situ flight performance and subjective workload and acceptability data were collected in collaboration with ground simulation studies at LaRC.s Research Flight Deck simulator.

Quantifying Pilot Contribution to Flight Safety during Hydraulic Systems Failure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kramer, Lynda J.; Etherington, Timothy J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Kennedy, Kellie D.

2017-01-01

Accident statistics cite the flight crew as a causal factor in over 60% of large transport aircraft fatal accidents. Yet, a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is acknowledged as the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system. The latter statement, while generally accepted, cannot be verified because little or no quantitative data exists on how and how many accidents/incidents are averted by crew actions. A joint NASA/FAA high-fidelity motion-base human-in-the-loop test was conducted using a Level D certified Boeing 737-800 simulator to evaluate the pilot's contribution to safety-of-flight during routine air carrier flight operations and in response to aircraft system failures. To quantify the human's contribution, crew complement (two-crew, reduced crew, single pilot) was used as the independent variable in a between-subjects design. This paper details the crew's actions, including decision-making, and responses while dealing with a hydraulic systems leak - one of 6 total non-normal events that were simulated in this experiment.

14 CFR 91.107 - Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Flight Rules General § 91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child... board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder...

14 CFR 91.107 - Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Flight Rules General § 91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child... board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder...

14 CFR 91.107 - Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Flight Rules General § 91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child... fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder harness. (2) No pilot may cause...

14 CFR 91.107 - Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Flight Rules General § 91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child... board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder...

14 CFR 91.107 - Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses... OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES Flight Rules General § 91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child... board is briefed on how to fasten and unfasten that person's safety belt and, if installed, shoulder...

Advanced Range Safety System for High Energy Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Claxton, Jeffrey S.; Linton, Donald F.

2002-01-01

The advanced range safety system project is a collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Air Force to develop systems that would reduce costs and schedule for safety approval for new classes of unmanned high-energy vehicles. The mission-planning feature for this system would yield flight profiles that satisfy the mission requirements for the user while providing an increased quality of risk assessment, enhancing public safety. By improving the speed and accuracy of predicting risks to the public, mission planners would be able to expand flight envelopes significantly. Once in place, this system is expected to offer the flexibility of handling real-time risk management for the high-energy capabilities of hypersonic vehicles including autonomous return-from-orbit vehicles and extended flight profiles over land. Users of this system would include mission planners of Space Launch Initiative vehicles, space planes, and other high-energy vehicles. The real-time features of the system could make extended flight of a malfunctioning vehicle possible, in lieu of an immediate terminate decision. With this improved capability, the user would have more time for anomaly resolution and potential recovery of a malfunctioning vehicle.

EMS helicopter incidents reported to the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Connell, Linda J.; Reynard, William D.

1993-01-01

The objectives of this evaluation were to: Identify the types of safety-related incidents reported to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) in Emergency Medical Service (EMS) helicopter operations; Describe the operational conditions surrounding these incidents, such as weather, airspace, flight phase, time of day; and Assess the contribution to these incidents of selected human factors considerations, such as communication, distraction, time pressure, workload, and flight/duty impact.

Optical Air Flow Measurements for Flight Tests and Flight Testing Optical Air Flow Meters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jentink, Henk W.; Bogue, Rodney K.

2005-01-01

Optical air flow measurements can support the testing of aircraft and can be instrumental to in-flight investigations of the atmosphere or atmospheric phenomena. Furthermore, optical air flow meters potentially contribute as avionics systems to flight safety and as air data systems. The qualification of these instruments for the flight environment is where we encounter the systems in flight testing. An overview is presented of different optical air flow measurement techniques applied in flight and what can be achieved with the techniques for flight test purposes is reviewed. All in-flight optical airflow velocity measurements use light scattering. Light is scattered on both air molecules and aerosols entrained in the air. Basic principles of making optical measurements in flight, some basic optical concepts, electronic concepts, optoelectronic interfaces, and some atmospheric processes associated with natural aerosols are reviewed. Safety aspects in applying the technique are shortly addressed. The different applications of the technique are listed and some typical examples are presented. Recently NASA acquired new data on mountain rotors, mountain induced turbulence, with the ACLAIM system. Rotor position was identified using the lidar system and the potentially hazardous air flow profile was monitored by the ACLAIM system.

Range Safety for an Autonomous Flight Safety System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lanzi, Raymond J.; Simpson, James C.

2010-01-01

The Range Safety Algorithm software encapsulates the various constructs and algorithms required to accomplish Time Space Position Information (TSPI) data management from multiple tracking sources, autonomous mission mode detection and management, and flight-termination mission rule evaluation. The software evaluates various user-configurable rule sets that govern the qualification of TSPI data sources, provides a prelaunch autonomous hold-launch function, performs the flight-monitoring-and-termination functions, and performs end-of-mission safing

Flight telerobotic servicer legacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shattuck, Paul L.; Lowrie, James W.

1992-11-01

The Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) was developed to enhance and provide a safe alternative to human presence in space. The first step for this system was a precursor development test flight (DTF-1) on the Space Shuttle. DTF-1 was to be a pathfinder for manned flight safety of robotic systems. The broad objectives of this mission were three-fold: flight validation of telerobotic manipulator (design, control algorithms, man/machine interfaces, safety); demonstration of dexterous manipulator capabilities on specific building block tasks; and correlation of manipulator performance in space with ground predictions. The DTF-1 system is comprised of a payload bay element (7-DOF manipulator with controllers, end-of-arm gripper and camera, telerobot body with head cameras and electronics module, task panel, and MPESS truss) and an aft flight deck element (force-reflecting hand controller, crew restraint, command and display panel and monitors). The approach used to develop the DTF-1 hardware, software and operations involved flight qualification of components from commercial, military, space, and R controller, end-of-arm tooling, force/torque transducer) and the development of the telerobotic system for space applications. The system is capable of teleoperation and autonomous control (advances state of the art); reliable (two-fault tolerance); and safe (man-rated). Benefits from the development flight included space validation of critical telerobotic technologies and resolution of significant safety issues relating to telerobotic operations in the Shuttle bay or in the vicinity of other space assets. This paper discusses the lessons learned and technology evolution that stemmed from developing and integrating a dexterous robot into a manned system, the Space Shuttle. Particular emphasis is placed on the safety and reliability requirements for a man-rated system as these are the critical factors which drive the overall system architecture. Other topics focused on include: task requirements and operational concepts for servicing and maintenance of space platforms; origins of technology for dexterous robotic systems; issues associated with space qualification of components; and development of the industrial base to support space robotics.

An on-line monitoring system for navigation equipment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bo; Yang, Ping; Liu, Jing; Yang, Zhengbo; Liang, Fei

2017-10-01

Civil air navigation equipment is the most important infrastructure of Civil Aviation, which is closely related to flight safety. In addition to regular flight inspection, navigation equipment's patrol measuring, maintenance measuring, running measuring under special weather conditions are the important means of ensuring aviation flight safety. According to the safety maintenance requirements of Civil Aviation Air Traffic Control navigation equipment, this paper developed one on-line monitoring system with independent intellectual property rights for navigation equipment, the system breakthroughs the key technologies of measuring navigation equipment on-line including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and VHF Omni-directional Range (VOR), which also meets the requirements of navigation equipment ground measurement set by the ICAO DOC 8071, it provides technical means of the ground on-line measurement for navigation equipment, improves the safety of navigation equipment operation, and reduces the impact of measuring navigation equipment on airport operation.

14 CFR 415.129 - Flight safety system test data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

..., acceptance, age surveillance, and preflight testing of a flight safety system and its subsystems and..., subsystem, and component testing requirements of part 417 of this chapter and appendix E to part 417 of this... demonstrate similarity by performing the analysis required by appendix E of part 417 of this chapter. The...

14 CFR 415.129 - Flight safety system test data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., acceptance, age surveillance, and preflight testing of a flight safety system and its subsystems and..., subsystem, and component testing requirements of part 417 of this chapter and appendix E to part 417 of this... demonstrate similarity by performing the analysis required by appendix E of part 417 of this chapter. The...

14 CFR 415.129 - Flight safety system test data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., acceptance, age surveillance, and preflight testing of a flight safety system and its subsystems and..., subsystem, and component testing requirements of part 417 of this chapter and appendix E to part 417 of this... demonstrate similarity by performing the analysis required by appendix E of part 417 of this chapter. The...

14 CFR 415.129 - Flight safety system test data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., acceptance, age surveillance, and preflight testing of a flight safety system and its subsystems and..., subsystem, and component testing requirements of part 417 of this chapter and appendix E to part 417 of this... demonstrate similarity by performing the analysis required by appendix E of part 417 of this chapter. The...

14 CFR 415.129 - Flight safety system test data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., acceptance, age surveillance, and preflight testing of a flight safety system and its subsystems and..., subsystem, and component testing requirements of part 417 of this chapter and appendix E to part 417 of this... demonstrate similarity by performing the analysis required by appendix E of part 417 of this chapter. The...

DARPA/USAF/USN J-UCAS X-45A System Demonstration Program: A Review of Flight Test Site Processes and Personnel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cosentino, Gary B.

2008-01-01

The Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) program is a collaborative effort between the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), the US Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN). Together they have reviewed X-45A flight test site processes and personnel as part of a system demonstration program for the UCAV-ATD Flight Test Program. The goal was to provide a disciplined controlled process for system integration and testing and demonstration flight tests. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) acted as the project manager during this effort and was tasked with the responsibilities of range and ground safety, the provision of flight test support and infrastructure and the monitoring of technical and engineering tasks. DFRC also contributed their engineering knowledge through their contributions in the areas of autonomous ground taxi control development, structural dynamics testing and analysis and the provision of other flight test support including telemetry data, tracking radars, and communications and control support equipment. The Air Force Flight Test Center acted at the Deputy Project Manager in this effort and was responsible for the provision of system safety support and airfield management and air traffic control services, among other supporting roles. The T-33 served as a J-UCAS surrogate aircraft and demonstrated flight characteristics similar to that of the the X-45A. The surrogate served as a significant risk reduction resource providing mission planning verification, range safety mission assessment and team training, among other contributions.

Flight physiology training experiences and perspectives: survey of 117 pilots.

PubMed

Patrão, Luís; Zorro, Sara; Silva, Jorge; Castelo-Branco, Miguel; Ribeiro, João

2013-06-01

Human factors and awareness of flight physiology play a crucial role in flight safety. Even so, international legislation is vague relative to training requirements in hypoxia and altitude physiology. Based on a previously developed survey, an adapted questionnaire was formulated and released online for Portuguese pilots. Specific questions regarding the need for pilot attention monitoring systems were added to the original survey. There were 117 pilots, 2 of whom were women, who completed the survey. Most of the pilots had a light aviation license and flew in unpressurized cabins at a maximum ceiling of 10,000 ft (3048 m). The majority of the respondents never experienced hypoxic symptoms. In general, most of the individuals agreed with the importance of an introductory hypoxia course without altitude chamber training (ACT) for all pilot populations, and with a pilot monitoring system in order to increase flight safety. Generally, most of the pilots felt that hypoxia education and training for unpressurized aircraft is not extensive enough. However, almost all the respondents were willing to use a flight physiology monitoring system in order to improve flight safety.

The Range Safety Debris Catalog Analysis in Preparation for the Pad Abort One Flight Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kutty, Prasad M.; Pratt, William D.

2010-01-01

The Pad Abort One flight test of the Orion Abort Flight Test Program is currently under development with the goal of demonstrating the capability of the Launch Abort System. In the event of a launch failure, this system will propel the Crew Exploration Vehicle to safety. An essential component of this flight test is range safety, which ensures the security of range assets and personnel. A debris catalog analysis was done as part of a range safety data package delivered to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico where the test will be conducted. The analysis discusses the consequences of an overpressurization of the Abort Motor. The resulting structural failure was assumed to create a debris field of vehicle fragments that could potentially pose a hazard to the range. A statistical model was used to assemble the debris catalog of potential propellant fragments. Then, a thermodynamic, energy balance model was applied to the system in order to determine the imparted velocity to these propellant fragments. This analysis was conducted at four points along the flight trajectory to better understand the failure consequences over the entire flight. The methods used to perform this analysis are outlined in detail and the corresponding results are presented and discussed.

Autonomous Flight Safety System September 27, 2005, Aircraft Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, James C.

2005-01-01

This report describes the first aircraft test of the Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS). The test was conducted on September 27, 2005, near Kennedy Space Center (KSC) using a privately-owned single-engine plane and evaluated the performance of several basic flight safety rules using real-time data onboard a moving aerial vehicle. This test follows the first road test of AFSS conducted in February 2005 at KSC. AFSS is a joint KSC and Wallops Flight Facility (WEF) project that is in its third phase of development. AFSS is an independent subsystem intended for use with Expendable Launch Vehicles that uses tracking data from redundant onboard sensors to autonomously make flight termination decisions using software-based rules implemented on redundant flight processors. The goals of this project are to increase capabilities by allowing launches from locations that do not have or cannot afford extensive ground-based range safety assets, to decrease range costs, and to decrease reaction time for special situations. The mission rules are configured for each operation by the responsible Range Safety authorities and can be loosely categorized in four major categories: Parameter Threshold Violations, Physical Boundary Violations present position and instantaneous impact point (TIP), Gate Rules static and dynamic, and a Green-Time Rule. Examples of each of these rules were evaluated during this aircraft test.

Autonomous Flight Safety System Road Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, James C.; Zoemer, Roger D.; Forney, Chris S.

2005-01-01

On February 3, 2005, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) conducted the first Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) test on a moving vehicle -- a van driven around the KSC industrial area. A subset of the Phase III design was used consisting of a single computer, GPS receiver, and UPS antenna. The description and results of this road test are described in this report.AFSS is a joint KSC and Wallops Flight Facility project that is in its third phase of development. AFSS is an independent subsystem intended for use with Expendable Launch Vehicles that uses tracking data from redundant onboard sensors to autonomously make flight termination decisions using software-based rules implemented on redundant flight processors. The goals of this project are to increase capabilities by allowing launches from locations that do not have or cannot afford extensive ground-based range safety assets, to decrease range costs, and to decrease reaction time for special situations.

Full-scale Transport Controlled Impact Demonstration Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA conducted a full-scale air-to-surface impact-survivable impact demonstration with a remotely piloted transport aircraft on 1 December 1984, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The test article consisted of experiments, special equipment, and supporting systems, such as antimisting kerosene (AMK), crashworthiness structural/restraint, analytical modeling, cabin fire safety, flight data recorders, post-impact investigation, instrumentation/data acquisition systems, remotely piloted vehicle/flight control systems, range and flight safety provisions, etc. This report describes the aircraft, experiments, systems, activities, and events which lead up to the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID). An overview of the final unmanned remote control flight and sequence of impact events are delineated. Preliminary post CID observations are presented.

14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

14 CFR Appendix A to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for a Launch Vehicle Flown With a Flight Safety...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... approach provides an equivalent level of safety. If a Federal launch range performs the launch operator's... FAA will measure any proposed alternative analysis approach. This appendix also identifies the... control systems; (ix) Steering misalignment; and (x) Winds. (2) Each three-sigma trajectory must account...

Aviation Safety: FAA Has Begun Efforts to Make Data More Publicly Available

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-04-25

Public concern about the safety of the nation's aviation system escalated : following the crashes of ValuJet flight 592 and TWA flight 800. The Congress : and the public expressed interest in having the Federal Aviation Administration : (FAA) publish...

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Robert Rivera

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-14

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Robert Rivera during the preparation and execution of the Global Hawk airborne missions under NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 7: Literature review. Part 1: Literature search and evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A review of the literature used in conducting the manned space flight nuclear system safety study is presented. The objectives of the presentation are to identify and evaluate for potential application to study the existing related literature and to provide the information required to include the related literature in the NASA Aerospace Safety Research and Data Institute. More than 15,000 documents were evaluated and identification forms were prepared for 850 reports.

Annual Report to the NASA Administrator by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on the Space Shuttle Program. Part 2: Summary of Information Developed in the Panel's Fact-Finding Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The panel focused its attention on those areas that are considered most significant for flight success and safety. Elements required for the Approach and Landing Test Program, the Orbital Flight Test Program, and those management systems and their implementation which directly affect safety, reliability, and quality control, were investigated. Ground facilities and the training programs for the ground and flight crews were studied. Of special interest was the orbiter thermal protection subsystems.

14 CFR 401.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... Expendable launch vehicle means a launch vehicle whose propulsive stages are flown only once. Experimental... during a launch or reentry. Flight safety system means a system designed to limit or restrict the hazards... States. Launch includes the flight of a launch vehicle and includes pre- and post-flight ground...

14 CFR 401.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Expendable launch vehicle means a launch vehicle whose propulsive stages are flown only once. Experimental... during a launch or reentry. Flight safety system means a system designed to limit or restrict the hazards... States. Launch includes the flight of a launch vehicle and includes pre- and post-flight ground...

14 CFR 401.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... Expendable launch vehicle means a launch vehicle whose propulsive stages are flown only once. Experimental... during a launch or reentry. Flight safety system means a system designed to limit or restrict the hazards... States. Launch includes the flight of a launch vehicle and includes pre- and post-flight ground...

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Airborne Science) Matthew Berry

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-11-05

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Matthew Berry during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

Career Profile: Flight Operations Engineer (Aeronautics) Brian Griffin

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-10-17

Operations engineers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center help to advance science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration by managing operational aspects of a flight research project. They serve as the governing authority on airworthiness related to the modification, operation, or maintenance of specialized research or support aircraft so those aircraft can be flown safely without jeopardizing the pilots, persons on the ground or the flight test project. With extensive aircraft modifications often required to support new research and technology development efforts, operations engineers are key leaders from technical concept to flight to ensure flight safety and mission success. Other responsibilities of an operations engineer include configuration management, performing systems design and integration, system safety analysis, coordinating flight readiness activities, and providing real-time flight support. This video highlights the responsibilities and daily activities of NASA Armstrong operations engineer Brian Griffin during the preparation and execution of flight tests in support of aeronautics research. http://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/ http://www.nasa.gov/

Department of Defense Air Traffic Control and Airspace Systems Interface with the National Airspace System

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-03-30

systems on the DoD in terms of safety and operational- effectiveness and probable impacts on specific Air Force mission requirements. The report does... Systems ................................. 2-21 2.1.3 Flight Service and Weather Systems .......................... 2-22 2.1.3.1 Flight Service Automation...2-41 2.2.2 Terminal Control and Landing Systems .. ....................... 2-44 2.2.3 Flight Information and Weather Systems

Examining the Relationship between Safety Management System Implementation and Safety Culture in Collegiate Flight Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson, Mike Fuller

2017-01-01

Safety Management Systems (SMS) are becoming the industry standard for safety management throughout the aviation industry. As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to mandate SMS for different segments, the assessment of an organization's safety culture becomes more important. An SMS can facilitate the development of a strong…

Qualification of the flight-critical AFTI/F-16 digital flight control system. [Advanced Fighter Technology Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackall, D. A.; Ishmael, S. D.; Regenie, V. A.

1983-01-01

Qualification considerations for assuring the safety of a life-critical digital flight control system include four major areas: systems interactions, verification, validation, and configuration control. The AFTI/F-16 design, development, and qualification illustrate these considerations. In this paper, qualification concepts, procedures, and methodologies are discussed and illustrated through specific examples.

Identification of Crew-Systems Interactions and Decision Related Trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Sharon Monica; Evans, Joni K.; Reveley, Mary S.; Withrow, Colleen A.; Ancel, Ersin; Barr, Lawrence

2013-01-01

NASA Vehicle System Safety Technology (VSST) project management uses systems analysis to identify key issues and maintain a portfolio of research leading to potential solutions to its three identified technical challenges. Statistical data and published safety priority lists from academic, industry and other government agencies were reviewed and analyzed by NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) systems analysis personnel to identify issues and future research needs related to one of VSST's technical challenges, Crew Decision Making (CDM). The data examined in the study were obtained from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aviation Accident and Incident Data System, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Accident/Incident Data System and the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). In addition, this report contains the results of a review of safety priority lists, information databases and other documented references pertaining to aviation crew systems issues and future research needs. The specific sources examined were: Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) Safety Enhancements Reserved for Future Implementation (SERFIs), Flight Deck Automation Issues (FDAI) and NTSB Most Wanted List and Open Recommendations. Various automation issues taxonomies and priority lists pertaining to human factors, automation and flight design were combined to create a list of automation issues related to CDM.

2006 NASA Range Safety Annual Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

TenHaken, Ron; Daniels, B.; Becker, M.; Barnes, Zack; Donovan, Shawn; Manley, Brenda

2007-01-01

Throughout 2006, Range Safety was involved in a number of exciting and challenging activities and events, from developing, implementing, and supporting Range Safety policies and procedures-such as the Space Shuttle Launch and Landing Plans, the Range Safety Variance Process, and the Expendable Launch Vehicle Safety Program procedures-to evaluating new technologies. Range Safety training development is almost complete with the last course scheduled to go on line in mid-2007. Range Safety representatives took part in a number of panels and councils, including the newly formed Launch Constellation Range Safety Panel, the Range Commanders Council and its subgroups, the Space Shuttle Range Safety Panel, and the unmanned aircraft systems working group. Space based range safety demonstration and certification (formerly STARS) and the autonomous flight safety system were successfully tested. The enhanced flight termination system will be tested in early 2007 and the joint advanced range safety system mission analysis software tool is nearing operational status. New technologies being evaluated included a processor for real-time compensation in long range imaging, automated range surveillance using radio interferometry, and a space based range command and telemetry processor. Next year holds great promise as we continue ensuring safety while pursuing our quest beyond the Moon to Mars.

Implementation of the Enhanced Flight Termination System at National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tow, David

2010-01-01

This paper discusses the methodology, requirements, tests, and results of the implementation of the current operating capability for the Enhanced Flight Termination System (EFTS) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC). The implementation involves the development of the EFTS at NASA DFRC starting from the requirements to system safety review to full end to end system testing, and concluding with the acceptance of the system as an operational system. The paper discusses the first operational usage and subsequent flight utilizing EFTS successfully.

Study of flight data recorder, underwater locator beacon, data logger and flarm collision avoidance system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Timi, Purnota Hannan; Shermin, Saima; Rahman, Asifur

2017-06-01

Flight data recorder is one of the most important sources of flight data in event of aviation disaster which records a wide range of flight parameters including altitude, airspeed, heading etc. and also helps monitoring and analyzing aircraft performance. Cockpit voice recorder records radio microphone transmissions and sounds in the cockpit. These devices help to find out and understand the root causes of aircraft crashes and help building better aircraft systems and technical solutions to prevent similar type of crashes in future, which lead to improvement in safety of aircrafts and passengers. There are other devices also which enhance the aircraft safety and assists in emergency or catastrophic situations. This paper discusses the concept of Flight Data Recorder (FDR), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB), Data logger and flarm-collision avoidance system for aircraft and their applications in aviation.

A pilot rating scale for evaluating failure transients in electronic flight control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hindson, William S.; Schroeder, Jeffery A.; Eshow, Michelle M.

1990-01-01

A pilot rating scale was developed to describe the effects of transients in helicopter flight-control systems on safety-of-flight and on pilot recovery action. The scale was applied to the evaluation of hardovers that could potentially occur in the digital flight-control system being designed for a variable-stability UH-60A research helicopter. Tests were conducted in a large moving-base simulator and in flight. The results of the investigation were combined with existing airworthiness criteria to determine quantitative reliability design goals for the control system.

STS users study (study 2.2). Volume 2: STS users plan (user data requirements) study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pritchard, E. I.

1975-01-01

Pre-flight scheduling and pre-flight requirements of the space transportation system are discussed. Payload safety requirements, shuttle flight manifests, and interface specifications are studied in detail.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 1: base nuclear system safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The mission and terrestrial nuclear safety aspects of future long duration manned space missions in low earth orbit are discussed. Nuclear hazards of a typical low earth orbit Space Base mission (from natural sources and on-board nuclear hardware) have been identified and evaluated. Some of the principal nuclear safety design and procedural considerations involved in launch, orbital, and end of mission operations are presented. Areas of investigation include radiation interactions with the crew, subsystems, facilities, experiments, film, interfacing vehicles, nuclear hardware and the terrestrial populace. Results of the analysis indicate: (1) the natural space environment can be the dominant radiation source in a low earth orbit where reactors are effectively shielded, (2) with implementation of safety guidelines the reactor can present a low risk to the crew, support personnel, the terrestrial populace, flight hardware and the mission, (3) ten year missions are feasible without exceeding integrated radiation limits assigned to flight hardware, and (4) crew stay-times up to one year are feasible without storm shelter provisions.

Health management and controls for Earth-to-orbit propulsion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bickford, R. L.

1995-03-01

Avionics and health management technologies increase the safety and reliability while decreasing the overall cost for Earth-to-orbit (ETO) propulsion systems. New ETO propulsion systems will depend on highly reliable fault tolerant flight avionics, advanced sensing systems and artificial intelligence aided software to ensure critical control, safety and maintenance requirements are met in a cost effective manner. Propulsion avionics consist of the engine controller, actuators, sensors, software and ground support elements. In addition to control and safety functions, these elements perform system monitoring for health management. Health management is enhanced by advanced sensing systems and algorithms which provide automated fault detection and enable adaptive control and/or maintenance approaches. Aerojet is developing advanced fault tolerant rocket engine controllers which provide very high levels of reliability. Smart sensors and software systems which significantly enhance fault coverage and enable automated operations are also under development. Smart sensing systems, such as flight capable plume spectrometers, have reached maturity in ground-based applications and are suitable for bridging to flight. Software to detect failed sensors has reached similar maturity. This paper will discuss fault detection and isolation for advanced rocket engine controllers as well as examples of advanced sensing systems and software which significantly improve component failure detection for engine system safety and health management.

Safety Characteristics in System Application of Software for Human Rated Exploration Missions for the 8th IAASS Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mango, Edward J.

2016-01-01

NASA and its industry and international partners are embarking on a bold and inspiring development effort to design and build an exploration class space system. The space system is made up of the Orion system, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) system. All are highly coupled together and dependent on each other for the combined safety of the space system. A key area of system safety focus needs to be in the ground and flight application software system (GFAS). In the development, certification and operations of GFAS, there are a series of safety characteristics that define the approach to ensure mission success. This paper will explore and examine the safety characteristics of the GFAS development. The GFAS system integrates the flight software packages of the Orion and SLS with the ground systems and launch countdown sequencers through the 'agile' software development process. A unique approach is needed to develop the GFAS project capabilities within this agile process. NASA has defined the software development process through a set of standards. The standards were written during the infancy of the so-called industry 'agile development' movement and must be tailored to adapt to the highly integrated environment of human exploration systems. Safety of the space systems and the eventual crew on board is paramount during the preparation of the exploration flight systems. A series of software safety characteristics have been incorporated into the development and certification efforts to ensure readiness for use and compatibility with the space systems. Three underlining factors in the exploration architecture require the GFAS system to be unique in its approach to ensure safety for the space systems, both the flight as well as the ground systems. The first are the missions themselves, which are exploration in nature, and go far beyond the comfort of low Earth orbit operations. The second is the current exploration system will launch only one mission per year even less during its developmental phases. Finally, the third is the partnered approach through the use of many different prime contractors, including commercial and international partners, to design and build the exploration systems. These three factors make the challenges to meet the mission preparations and the safety expectations extremely difficult to implement. As NASA leads a team of partners in the exploration beyond earth's influence, it is a safety imperative that the application software used to test, checkout, prepare and launch the exploration systems put safety of the hardware and mission first. Software safety characteristics are built into the design and development process to enable the human rated systems to begin their missions safely and successfully. Exploration missions beyond Earth are inherently risky, however, with solid safety approaches in both hardware and software, the boldness of these missions can be realized for all on the home planet.

Binding Procurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rao, Gopalakrishna M.; Vaidyanathan, Hari

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the use of the binding procurement process in purchasing Aerospace Flight Battery Systems. NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) requested NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group to develop a set of guideline requirements document for Binding Procurement Contracts.

In-Flight Validation of a Pilot Rating Scale for Evaluating Failure Transients in Electronic Flight Control Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalinowski, Kevin F.; Tucker, George E.; Moralez, Ernesto, III

2006-01-01

Engineering development and qualification of a Research Flight Control System (RFCS) for the Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) JUH-60A has motivated the development of a pilot rating scale for evaluating failure transients in fly-by-wire flight control systems. The RASCAL RFCS includes a highly-reliable, dual-channel Servo Control Unit (SCU) to command and monitor the performance of the fly-by-wire actuators and protect against the effects of erroneous commands from the flexible, but single-thread Flight Control Computer. During the design phase of the RFCS, two piloted simulations were conducted on the Ames Research Center Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS) to help define the required performance characteristics of the safety monitoring algorithms in the SCU. Simulated failures, including hard-over and slow-over commands, were injected into the command path, and the aircraft response and safety monitor performance were evaluated. A subjective Failure/Recovery Rating (F/RR) scale was developed as a means of quantifying the effects of the injected failures on the aircraft state and the degree of pilot effort required to safely recover the aircraft. A brief evaluation of the rating scale was also conducted on the Army/NASA CH-47B variable stability helicopter to confirm that the rating scale was likely to be equally applicable to in-flight evaluations. Following the initial research flight qualification of the RFCS in 2002, a flight test effort was begun to validate the performance of the safety monitors and to validate their design for the safe conduct of research flight testing. Simulated failures were injected into the SCU, and the F/RR scale was applied to assess the results. The results validate the performance of the monitors, and indicate that the Failure/Recovery Rating scale is a very useful tool for evaluating failure transients in fly-by-wire flight control systems.

Advanced Video Data-Acquisition System For Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Geoffrey; Richwine, David M.; Hass, Neal E.

1996-01-01

Advanced video data-acquisition system (AVDAS) developed to satisfy variety of requirements for in-flight video documentation. Requirements range from providing images for visualization of airflows around fighter airplanes at high angles of attack to obtaining safety-of-flight documentation. F/A-18 AVDAS takes advantage of very capable systems like NITE Hawk forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pod and recent video developments like miniature charge-couple-device (CCD) color video cameras and other flight-qualified video hardware.

Real-time flight conflict detection and release based on Multi-Agent system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yifan; Zhang, Ming; Yu, Jue

2018-01-01

This paper defines two-aircrafts, multi-aircrafts and fleet conflict mode, sets up space-time conflict reservation on the basis of safety interval and conflict warning time in three-dimension. Detect real-time flight conflicts combined with predicted flight trajectory of other aircrafts in the same airspace, and put forward rescue resolutions for the three modes respectively. When accorded with the flight conflict conditions, determine the conflict situation, and enter the corresponding conflict resolution procedures, so as to avoid the conflict independently, as well as ensure the flight safety of aimed aircraft. Lastly, the correctness of model is verified with numerical simulation comparison.

Initial Demonstration of the Real-Time Safety Monitoring Framework for the National Airspace System Using Flight Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roychoudhury, Indranil; Daigle, Matthew; Goebel, Kai; Spirkovska, Lilly; Sankararaman, Shankar; Ossenfort, John; Kulkarni, Chetan; McDermott, William; Poll, Scott

2016-01-01

As new operational paradigms and additional aircraft are being introduced into the National Airspace System (NAS), maintaining safety in such a rapidly growing environment becomes more challenging. It is therefore desirable to have an automated framework to provide an overview of the current safety of the airspace at different levels of granularity, as well an understanding of how the state of the safety will evolve into the future given the anticipated flight plans, weather forecast, predicted health of assets in the airspace, and so on. Towards this end, as part of our earlier work, we formulated the Real-Time Safety Monitoring (RTSM) framework for monitoring and predicting the state of safety and to predict unsafe events. In our previous work, the RTSM framework was demonstrated in simulation on three different constructed scenarios. In this paper, we further develop the framework and demonstrate it on real flight data from multiple data sources. Specifically, the flight data is obtained through the Shadow Mode Assessment using Realistic Technologies for the National Airspace System (SMART-NAS) Testbed that serves as a central point of collection, integration, and access of information from these different data sources. By testing and evaluating using real-world scenarios, we may accelerate the acceptance of the RTSM framework towards deployment. In this paper we demonstrate the framework's capability to not only estimate the state of safety in the NAS, but predict the time and location of unsafe events such as a loss of separation between two aircraft, or an aircraft encountering convective weather. The experimental results highlight the capability of the approach, and the kind of information that can be provided to operators to improve their situational awareness in the context of safety.

Using wide area differential GPS to improve total system error for precision flight operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alter, Keith Warren

Total System Error (TSE) refers to an aircraft's total deviation from the desired flight path. TSE can be divided into Navigational System Error (NSE), the error attributable to the aircraft's navigation system, and Flight Technical Error (FTE), the error attributable to pilot or autopilot control. Improvement in either NSE or FTE reduces TSE and leads to the capability to fly more precise flight trajectories. The Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) became operational for non-safety critical applications in 2000 and will become operational for safety critical applications in 2002. This navigation service will provide precise 3-D positioning (demonstrated to better than 5 meters horizontal and vertical accuracy) for civil aircraft in the United States. Perhaps more importantly, this navigation system, which provides continuous operation across large regions, enables new flight instrumentation concepts which allow pilots to fly aircraft significantly more precisely, both for straight and curved flight paths. This research investigates the capabilities of some of these new concepts, including the Highway-In-The Sky (HITS) display, which not only improves FTE but also reduces pilot workload when compared to conventional flight instrumentation. Augmentation to the HITS display, including perspective terrain and terrain alerting, improves pilot situational awareness. Flight test results from demonstrations in Juneau, AK, and Lake Tahoe, CA, provide evidence of the overall feasibility of integrated, low-cost flight navigation systems based on these concepts. These systems, requiring no more computational power than current-generation low-end desktop computers, have immediate applicability to general aviation flight from Cessnas to business jets and can support safer and ultimately more economical flight operations. Commercial airlines may also, over time, benefit from these new technologies.

Aviation Data Integration System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, Deepak; Wang, Yao; Windrem, May; Patel, Hemil; Keller, Richard

2003-01-01

During the analysis of flight data and safety reports done in ASAP and FOQA programs, airline personnel are not able to access relevant aviation data for a variety of reasons. We have developed the Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS), a software system that provides integrated heterogeneous data to support safety analysis. Types of data available in ADIS include weather, D-ATIS, RVR, radar data, and Jeppesen charts, and flight data. We developed three versions of ADIS to support airlines. The first version has been developed to support ASAP teams. A second version supports FOQA teams, and it integrates aviation data with flight data while keeping identification information inaccessible. Finally, we developed a prototype that demonstrates the integration of aviation data into flight data analysis programs. The initial feedback from airlines is that ADIS is very useful in FOQA and ASAP analysis.

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

14 CFR 415.109 - Launch description.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...) Identification of any facilities at the launch site that will be used for launch processing and flight. (b... dimensions and weight; (iii) Location of all safety critical systems, including any flight termination hardware, tracking aids, or telemetry systems; (iv) Location of all major launch vehicle control systems...

Automation of On-Board Flightpath Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erzberger, H.

1981-01-01

The status of concepts and techniques for the design of onboard flight path management systems is reviewed. Such systems are designed to increase flight efficiency and safety by automating the optimization of flight procedures onboard aircraft. After a brief review of the origins and functions of such systems, two complementary methods are described for attacking the key design problem, namely, the synthesis of efficient trajectories. One method optimizes en route, the other optimizes terminal area flight; both methods are rooted in optimal control theory. Simulation and flight test results are reviewed to illustrate the potential of these systems for fuel and cost savings.

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and... Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety Plan 4.3.1Flight Safety Personnel 4... Safety (§ 415.117) 5.1Ground Safety Analysis Report 5.2Ground Safety Plan 6.0Launch Plans (§ 415.119 and...

14 CFR Appendix B to Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

....0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and... Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety Plan 4.3.1Flight Safety Personnel 4... Safety (§ 415.117) 5.1Ground Safety Analysis Report 5.2Ground Safety Plan 6.0Launch Plans (§ 415.119 and...

Enhancing Public Helicopter Safety as a Component of Homeland Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Risk Assessment Tool GPS Global Positioning System IFR instrument flight rules ILS instrument landing system IMC instrument meteorological...flight rules ( IFR ) flying and the lack of a pre-flight risk assessment. Pilot fatigue is a factor that appeared in two of the accident reports (New...three common factors that emerged from the qualitative analysis of coding: inadequate proficiency of IFR flying, lack of a pre- flight risk assessment

Software Safety Analysis of a Flight Guidance System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W. (Technical Monitor); Tribble, Alan C.; Miller, Steven P.; Lempia, David L.

2004-01-01

This document summarizes the safety analysis performed on a Flight Guidance System (FGS) requirements model. In particular, the safety properties desired of the FGS model are identified and the presence of the safety properties in the model is formally verified. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the entire project, while Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of the problem domain, the nature of accidents, model based development, and the four-variable model. Chapter 3 outlines the approach. Chapter 4 presents the results of the traditional safety analysis techniques and illustrates how the hazardous conditions associated with the system trace into specific safety properties. Chapter 5 presents the results of the formal methods analysis technique model checking that was used to verify the presence of the safety properties in the requirements model. Finally, Chapter 6 summarizes the main conclusions of the study, first and foremost that model checking is a very effective verification technique to use on discrete models with reasonable state spaces. Additional supporting details are provided in the appendices.

Verification and Implementation of Operations Safety Controls for Flight Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Cheryl L.; Smalls, James R.; Carrier, Alicia S.

2010-01-01

Approximately eleven years ago, the International Space Station launched the first module from Russia, the Functional Cargo Block (FGB). Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Operations (Ops) Engineers played an integral part in that endeavor by executing strict flight product verification as well as continued staffing of S&MA's console in the Mission Evaluation Room (MER) for that flight mission. How were these engineers able to conduct such a complicated task? They conducted it based on product verification that consisted of ensuring that safety requirements were adequately contained in all flight products that affected crew safety. S&MA Ops engineers apply both systems engineering and project management principles in order to gain a appropriate level of technical knowledge necessary to perform thorough reviews which cover the subsystem(s) affected. They also ensured that mission priorities were carried out with a great detail and success.

The Effects of Safety Information on Aeronautical Decision Making

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Jang R.; Fanjoy, Richard O.; Dillman, Brian G.

2005-01-01

The importance of aeronautical decision making (ADM) has been considered one of the most critical issues of flight education for future professional pilots. Researchers have suggested that a safety information system based on information from incidents and near misses is an important tool to improve the intelligence and readiness of pilots. This paper describes a study that examines the effect of safety information on aeronautical decision making for students in a collegiate flight program. Data was collected from study participants who were exposed to periodic information about local aircraft malfunctions. Participants were then evaluated using a flight simulator profile and a pen and pencil test of situational judgment. Findings suggest that regular access to the described safety information program significantly improves decision making of student pilots.

14 CFR 415.115 - Flight safety.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight safety. 415.115 Section 415.115... From a Non-Federal Launch Site § 415.115 Flight safety. (a) Flight safety analysis. An applicant's safety review document must describe each analysis method employed to meet the flight safety analysis...

14 CFR 415.115 - Flight safety.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety. 415.115 Section 415.115... From a Non-Federal Launch Site § 415.115 Flight safety. (a) Flight safety analysis. An applicant's safety review document must describe each analysis method employed to meet the flight safety analysis...

14 CFR 415.115 - Flight safety.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight safety. 415.115 Section 415.115... From a Non-Federal Launch Site § 415.115 Flight safety. (a) Flight safety analysis. An applicant's safety review document must describe each analysis method employed to meet the flight safety analysis...

14 CFR 415.115 - Flight safety.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight safety. 415.115 Section 415.115... From a Non-Federal Launch Site § 415.115 Flight safety. (a) Flight safety analysis. An applicant's safety review document must describe each analysis method employed to meet the flight safety analysis...

14 CFR 415.115 - Flight safety.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight safety. 415.115 Section 415.115... From a Non-Federal Launch Site § 415.115 Flight safety. (a) Flight safety analysis. An applicant's safety review document must describe each analysis method employed to meet the flight safety analysis...

Integrated Systems Health Management for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uckun, Serdar

2005-01-01

Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) is a system engineering discipline that addresses the design, development, operation, and lifecycle management of components, subsystems, vehicles, and other operational systems with the purpose of maintaining nominal system behavior and function and assuring mission safety and effectiveness under off-nominal conditions. NASA missions are often conducted in extreme, unfamiliar environments of space, using unique experimental spacecraft. In these environments, off-nominal conditions can develop with the potential to rapidly escalate into mission- or life-threatening situations. Further, the high visibility of NASA missions means they are always characterized by extraordinary attention to safety. ISHM is a critical element of risk mitigation, mission safety, and mission assurance for exploration. ISHM enables: In-space maintenance and repair; a) Autonomous (and automated) launch abort and crew escape capability; b) Efficient testing and checkout of ground and flight systems; c) Monitoring and trending of ground and flight system operations and performance; d) Enhanced situational awareness and control for ground personnel and crew; e) Vehicle autonomy (self-sufficiency) in responding to off-nominal conditions during long-duration and distant exploration missions; f) In-space maintenance and repair; and g) Efficient ground processing of reusable systems. ISHM concepts and technologies may be applied to any complex engineered system such as transportation systems, orbital or planetary habitats, observatories, command and control systems, life support systems, safety-critical software, and even the health of flight crews. As an overarching design and operational principle implemented at the system-of-systems level, ISHM holds substantial promise in terms of affordability, safety, reliability, and effectiveness of space exploration missions.

ASAP Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

This is the First Quarterly Report for the newly reconstituted Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP). The NASA Administrator rechartered the Panel on November 18,2003, to provide an independent, vigilant, and long-term oversight of NASA's safety policies and programs well beyond Return to Flight of the Space Shuttle. The charter was revised to be consistent with the original intent of Congress in enacting the statute establishing ASAP in 1967 to focus on NASA's safety and quality systems, including industrial and systems safety, risk-management and trend analysis, and the management of these activities.The charter also was revised to provide more timely feedback to NASA by requiring quarterly rather than annual reports, and by requiring ASAP to perform special assessments with immediate feedback to NASA. ASAP was positioned to help institutionalize the safety culture of NASA in the post- Stafford-Covey Return to Flight environment.

Speech Recognition Interfaces Improve Flight Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2013-01-01

"Alpha, Golf, November, Echo, Zulu." "Sierra, Alpha, Golf, Echo, Sierra." "Lima, Hotel, Yankee." It looks like some strange word game, but the combinations of words above actually communicate the first three points of a flight plan from Albany, New York to Florence, South Carolina. Spoken by air traffic controllers and pilots, the aviation industry s standard International Civil Aviation Organization phonetic alphabet uses words to represent letters. The first letter of each word in the series is combined to spell waypoints, or reference points, used in flight navigation. The first waypoint above is AGNEZ (alpha for A, golf for G, etc.). The second is SAGES, and the third is LHY. For pilots of general aviation aircraft, the traditional method of entering the letters of each waypoint into a GPS device is a time-consuming process. For each of the 16 waypoints required for the complete flight plan from Albany to Florence, the pilot uses a knob to scroll through each letter of the alphabet. It takes approximately 5 minutes of the pilot s focused attention to complete this particular plan. Entering such a long flight plan into a GPS can pose a safety hazard because it can take the pilot s attention from other critical tasks like scanning gauges or avoiding other aircraft. For more than five decades, NASA has supported research and development in aviation safety, including through its Vehicle Systems Safety Technology (VSST) program, which works to advance safer and more capable flight decks (cockpits) in aircraft. Randy Bailey, a lead aerospace engineer in the VSST program at Langley Research Center, says the technology in cockpits is directly related to flight safety. For example, "GPS navigation systems are wonderful as far as improving a pilot s ability to navigate, but if you can find ways to reduce the draw of the pilot s attention into the cockpit while using the GPS, it could potentially improve safety," he says.

Development and Flight Evaluation of an Emergency Digital Flight Control System Using Only Engine Thrust on an F-15 Airplane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.; Maine, Trindel A.; Fullerton, C. Gordon; Webb, Lannie Dean

1996-01-01

A propulsion-controlled aircraft (PCA) system for emergency flight control of aircraft with no flight controls was developed and flight tested on an F-15 aircraft at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. The airplane has been flown in a throttles-only manual mode and with an augmented system called PCA in which pilot thumbwheel commands and aircraft feedback parameters were used to drive the throttles. Results from a 36-flight evaluation showed that the PCA system can be used to safety land an airplane that has suffered a major flight control system failure. The PCA system was used to recover from a severe upset condition, descend, and land. Guest pilots have also evaluated the PCA system. This paper describes the principles of throttles-only flight control; a history of loss-of-control accidents; a description of the F-15 aircraft; the PCA system operation, simulation, and flight testing; and the pilot comments.

Aircraft Flight Envelope Determination using Upset Detection and Physical Modeling Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keller, Jeffrey D.; McKillip, Robert M. Jr.; Kim, Singwan

2009-01-01

The development of flight control systems to enhance aircraft safety during periods of vehicle impairment or degraded operations has been the focus of extensive work in recent years. Conditions adversely affecting aircraft flight operations and safety may result from a number of causes, including environmental disturbances, degraded flight operations, and aerodynamic upsets. To enhance the effectiveness of adaptive and envelope limiting controls systems, it is desirable to examine methods for identifying the occurrence of anomalous conditions and for assessing the impact of these conditions on the aircraft operational limits. This paper describes initial work performed toward this end, examining the use of fault detection methods applied to the aircraft for aerodynamic performance degradation identification and model-based methods for envelope prediction. Results are presented in which a model-based fault detection filter is applied to the identification of aircraft control surface and stall departure failures/upsets. This application is supported by a distributed loading aerodynamics formulation for the flight dynamics system reference model. Extensions for estimating the flight envelope due to generalized aerodynamic performance degradation are also described.

Runway Safety Monitor Algorithm for Single and Crossing Runway Incursion Detection and Alerting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, David F., Jr.

2006-01-01

The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) is an aircraft based algorithm for runway incursion detection and alerting that was developed in support of NASA's Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS) research conducted under the NASA Aviation Safety and Security Program's Synthetic Vision System project. The RSM algorithm provides warnings of runway incursions in sufficient time for pilots to take evasive action and avoid accidents during landings, takeoffs or when taxiing on the runway. The report documents the RSM software and describes in detail how RSM performs runway incursion detection and alerting functions for NASA RIPS. The report also describes the RIPS flight tests conducted at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and the Wallops Flight Facility (WAL) during July and August of 2004, and the RSM performance results and lessons learned from those flight tests.

Another Approach to Enhance Airline Safety: Using Management Safety Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lu, Chien-tsug; Wetmore, Michael; Przetak, Robert

2006-01-01

The ultimate goal of conducting an accident investigation is to prevent similar accidents from happening again and to make operations safer system-wide. Based on the findings extracted from the investigation, the "lesson learned" becomes a genuine part of the safety database making risk management available to safety analysts. The airline industry is no exception. In the US, the FAA has advocated the usage of the System Safety concept in enhancing safety since 2000. Yet, in today s usage of System Safety, the airline industry mainly focuses on risk management, which is a reactive process of the System Safety discipline. In order to extend the merit of System Safety and to prevent accidents beforehand, a specific System Safety tool needs to be applied; so a model of hazard prediction can be formed. To do so, the authors initiated this study by reviewing 189 final accident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) covering FAR Part 121 scheduled operations. The discovered accident causes (direct hazards) were categorized into 10 groups Flight Operations, Ground Crew, Turbulence, Maintenance, Foreign Object Damage (FOD), Flight Attendant, Air Traffic Control, Manufacturer, Passenger, and Federal Aviation Administration. These direct hazards were associated with 36 root factors prepared for an error-elimination model using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), a leading tool for System Safety experts. An FTA block-diagram model was created, followed by a probability simulation of accidents. Five case studies and reports were provided in order to fully demonstrate the usefulness of System Safety tools in promoting airline safety.

EC97-44354-1

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-12-16

The F-16XL #1 (NASA 849) takes off for the first flight of the Digital Flight Control System (DFCS) on December 16, 1997. Like most first flight, the DFCS required months of preparations. During July 1997, crews worked on the engine, cockpit, canopy, seat, and instrumentation. By late August, the aircraft began combined systems tests and a flight readiness review. Although the Air Force Safety Review Board (AFSRB)- a group that provided double checks on all flight operations - approved the program in late November 1997, a problem with the aircraft flight computer delayed the functional check flight until mid-December.

AH-1S communication switch integration program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haworth, Loran; Szoboszlay, Zoltan; Shively, Robert; Bick, Frank J.

1989-01-01

The C-6533/ARC communication system as installed on the test AH-1E Cobra helicopter was modified to allow discrete radio selection of all aircraft radios at the cyclic radio/intercommunication system switch. The current Cobra-fleet use of the C-6533 system is cumbersome, particularly during low-altitude operations. Operationally, the current system C-6533 configuration and design requires the pilot to estimate when he can safely remove his hand from an active flight control to select radios during low-altitude flight. The pilot must then physically remove his hand from the flight control, look inside the cockpit to select and verify the radio selection and then effect the selected radio transmission by activating the radio/ICS switch on the cyclic. This condition is potentially hazardous, especially during low-level flight at night in degraded weather. To improve pilot performance, communications effectiveness, and safety, manprint principles were utilized in the selection of a design modification. The modified C-6533 design was kept as basic as possible for potential Cobra-fleet modification. The communications system was modified and the design was subsequently flight-tested by the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate and NASA at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California. The design modification enables the Cobra pilot to maintain hands-on flight controls while selecting radios during nap-of-the-Earth (NOE) flight without looking inside the cockpit which resulted in reduced pilot workload ratings, better pilot handling quality ratings and increased flight safety for the NOE flight environment.

14 CFR 417.305 - Command control system testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Command control system testing. 417.305..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety System § 417.305 Command control system testing. (a) General. (1) A command control system, including its subsystems and components must undergo...

14 CFR 417.305 - Command control system testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Command control system testing. 417.305..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety System § 417.305 Command control system testing. (a) General. (1) A command control system, including its subsystems and components must undergo...

14 CFR 417.305 - Command control system testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Command control system testing. 417.305..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety System § 417.305 Command control system testing. (a) General. (1) A command control system, including its subsystems and components must undergo...

14 CFR 417.305 - Command control system testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Command control system testing. 417.305..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety System § 417.305 Command control system testing. (a) General. (1) A command control system, including its subsystems and components must undergo...

14 CFR 417.305 - Command control system testing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Command control system testing. 417.305..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety System § 417.305 Command control system testing. (a) General. (1) A command control system, including its subsystems and components must undergo...

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 5: Nuclear System safety guidelines. Part 1: Space base nuclear safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The design and operations guidelines and requirements developed in the study of space base nuclear system safety are presented. Guidelines and requirements are presented for the space base subsystems, nuclear hardware (reactor, isotope sources, dynamic generator equipment), experiments, interfacing vehicles, ground support systems, range safety and facilities. Cross indices and references are provided which relate guidelines to each other, and to substantiating data in other volumes. The guidelines are intended for the implementation of nuclear safety related design and operational considerations in future space programs.

Analysis of Aviation Safety Reporting System Incident Data Associated with the Technical Challenges of the Atmospheric Environment Safety Technology Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withrow, Colleen A.; Reveley, Mary S.

2014-01-01

This study analyzed aircraft incidents in the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) that apply to two of the three technical challenges (TCs) in NASA's Aviation Safety Program's Atmospheric Environment Safety Technology Project. The aircraft incidents are related to airframe icing and atmospheric hazards TCs. The study reviewed incidents that listed their primary problem as weather or environment-nonweather between 1994 and 2011 for aircraft defined by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Parts 121, 135, and 91. The study investigated the phases of flight, a variety of anomalies, flight conditions, and incidents by FAR part, along with other categories. The first part of the analysis focused on airframe-icing-related incidents and found 275 incidents out of 3526 weather-related incidents over the 18-yr period. The second portion of the study focused on atmospheric hazards and found 4647 incidents over the same time period. Atmospheric hazards-related incidents included a range of conditions from clear air turbulence and wake vortex, to controlled flight toward terrain, ground encounters, and incursions.

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

14 CFR Appendix B of Part 415 - Safety Review Document Outline

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Performed by Certified Personnel 4.0Flight Safety (§ 415.115) 4.1Initial Flight Safety Analysis 4.1.1Flight Safety Sub-Analyses, Methods, and Assumptions 4.1.2Sample Calculation and Products 4.1.3 Launch Specific Updates and Final Flight Safety Analysis Data 4.2Radionuclide Data (where applicable) 4.3Flight Safety...

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.

Air Data Report Improves Flight Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

NASA's Aviation Safety Program in the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, which seeks to make aviation safer by developing tools for flight data analysis and interpretation and then by transferring these tools to the aviation industry, sponsored the development of Morning Report software. The software, created at Ames Research Center with the assistance of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, seeks to detect atypicalities without any predefined parameters-it spots deviations and highlights them. In 2004, Sagem Avionics Inc. entered a licensing agreement with NASA for the commercialization of the Morning Report software, and also licensed the NASA Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS) tool, which allows for the integration of data from disparate sources into the flight data analysis process. Sagem Avionics incorporated the Morning Report tool into its AGS product, a comprehensive flight operations monitoring system that helps users detect irregular or divergent practices, technical flaws, and problems that might develop when aircraft operate outside of normal procedures. Sagem developed AGS in collaboration with airlines, so that the system takes into account their technical evolutions and needs, and each airline is able to easily perform specific treatments and to build its own flight data analysis system. Further, the AGS is designed to support any aircraft and flight data recorders.

14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

14 CFR Appendix C to Part 417 - Flight Safety Analysis Methodologies and Products for an Unguided Suborbital Launch Vehicle Flown...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... operator clearly and convincingly demonstrates that an alternative approach provides an equivalent level of... firing times of the stages, fuel flow rates, contributions from the wind weighting safety system employed... each stage of flight. (iv) Thrust as a function of time. (v) Propellant weight as a function of time...

Flight demonstration of flight termination system and solid rocket motor ignition using semiconductor laser initiated ordnance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulze, Norman R.; Maxfield, B.; Boucher, C.

1995-01-01

Solid State Laser Initiated Ordnance (LIO) offers new technology having potential for enhanced safety, reduced costs, and improved operational efficiency. Concerns over the absence of programmatic applications of the technology, which has prevented acceptance by flight programs, should be abated since LIO has now been operationally implemented by the Laser Initiated Ordnance Sounding Rocket Demonstration (LOSRD) Program. The first launch of solid state laser diode LIO at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) occurred on March 15, 1995 with all mission objectives accomplished. This project, Phase 3 of a series of three NASA Headquarters LIO demonstration initiatives, accomplished its objective by the flight of a dedicated, all-LIO sounding rocket mission using a two-stage Nike-Orion launch vehicle. LIO flight hardware, made by The Ensign-Bickford Company under NASA's first Cooperative Agreement with Profit Making Organizations, safely initiated three demanding pyrotechnic sequence events, namely, solid rocket motor ignition from the ground and in flight, and flight termination, i.e., as a Flight Termination System (FTS). A flight LIO system was designed, built, tested, and flown to support the objectives of quickly and inexpensively putting LIO through ground and flight operational paces. The hardware was fully qualified for this mission, including component testing as well as a full-scale system test. The launch accomplished all mission objectives in less than 11 months from proposal receipt. This paper concentrates on accomplishments of the ordnance aspects of the program and on the program's implementation and results. While this program does not generically qualify LIO for all applications, it demonstrated the safety, technical, and operational feasibility of those two most demanding applications, using an all solid state safe and arm system in critical flight applications.

AirSTAR Hardware and Software Design for Beyond Visual Range Flight Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laughter, Sean; Cox, David

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is a facility developed to study the flight dynamics of vehicles in emergency conditions, in support of aviation safety research. The system was upgraded to have its operational range significantly expanded, going beyond the line of sight of a ground-based pilot. A redesign of the airborne flight hardware was undertaken, as well as significant changes to the software base, in order to provide appropriate autonomous behavior in response to a number of potential failures and hazards. Ground hardware and system monitors were also upgraded to include redundant communication links, including ADS-B based position displays and an independent flight termination system. The design included both custom and commercially available avionics, combined to allow flexibility in flight experiment design while still benefiting from tested configurations in reversionary flight modes. A similar hierarchy was employed in the software architecture, to allow research codes to be tested, with a fallback to more thoroughly validated flight controls. As a remotely piloted facility, ground systems were also developed to ensure the flight modes and system state were communicated to ground operations personnel in real-time. Presented in this paper is a general overview of the concept of operations for beyond visual range flight, and a detailed review of the airborne hardware and software design. This discussion is held in the context of the safety and procedural requirements that drove many of the design decisions for the AirSTAR UAS Beyond Visual Range capability.

Vision based flight procedure stereo display system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xiaoyun; Wan, Di; Ma, Lan; He, Yuncheng

2008-03-01

A virtual reality flight procedure vision system is introduced in this paper. The digital flight map database is established based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) and high definitions satellite remote sensing photos. The flight approaching area database is established through computer 3D modeling system and GIS. The area texture is generated from the remote sensing photos and aerial photographs in various level of detail. According to the flight approaching procedure, the flight navigation information is linked to the database. The flight approaching area vision can be dynamic displayed according to the designed flight procedure. The flight approaching area images are rendered in 2 channels, one for left eye images and the others for right eye images. Through the polarized stereoscopic projection system, the pilots and aircrew can get the vivid 3D vision of the flight destination approaching area. Take the use of this system in pilots preflight preparation procedure, the aircrew can get more vivid information along the flight destination approaching area. This system can improve the aviator's self-confidence before he carries out the flight mission, accordingly, the flight safety is improved. This system is also useful in validate the visual flight procedure design, and it helps to the flight procedure design.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 6: Space base nuclear system safety plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

A qualitative identification of the steps required to assure the incorporation of radiological system safety principles and objectives into all phases of a manned space base program are presented. Specific areas of emphasis include: (1) radiological program management, (2) nuclear system safety plan implementation, (3) impact on program, and (4) summary of the key operation and design guidelines and requirements. The plan clearly indicates the necessity of considering and implementing radiological system safety recommendations as early as possible in the development cycle to assure maximum safety and minimize the impact on design and mission plans.

Flight deck party line issues : an Aviation Safety Reporting System analysis

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-06-01

This document describes an analysis of the Aviation Safety Reporting System : (ASRS) database with regards to human factors aspects concerning the : implementation of Data Link into the flightdeck. The ASRS database contains : thousands of reports co...

Vertical flight path steering system for aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambregts, Antonius A. (Inventor)

1983-01-01

Disclosed is a vertical flight path angle steering system for aircraft, utilizing a digital flight control computer which processes pilot control inputs and aircraft response parameters into suitable elevator commands and control information for display to the pilot on a cathode ray tube. The system yields desirable airplane control handling qualities and responses as well as improvements in pilot workload and safety during airplane operation in the terminal area and under windshear conditions.

In-flight simulation of high agility through active control: Taming complexity by design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Padfield, Gareth D.; Bradley, Roy

1993-01-01

The motivation for research into helicopter agility stems from the realization that marked improvements relative to current operational types are possible, yet there is a dearth of useful criteria for flying qualities at high performance levels. Several research laboratories are currently investing resources in developing second generation airborne rotorcraft simulators. The UK's focus has been the exploitation of agility through active control technology (ACT); this paper reviews the results of studies conducted to date. The conflict between safety and performance in flight research is highlighted and the various forms of safety net to protect against system failures are described. The role of the safety pilot, and the use of actuator and flight envelope limiting are discussed. It is argued that the deep complexity of a research ACT system can only be tamed through a requirement specification assembled using design principles and cast in an operational simulation form. Work along these lines conducted at DRA is described, including the use of the Jackson System Development method and associated Ada simulation.

Flight Demonstration of Integrated Airport Surface Technologies for Increased Capacity and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Denise R.; Young, Steven D.; Wills, Robert W.; Smith, Kathryn A.; Shipman, Floyd S.; Bryant, Wayne H.; Eckhardt, Dave E., Jr.

1998-01-01

A flight demonstration was conducted to address airport surface movement area capacity and safety issues by providing pilots with enhanced situational awareness information. The demonstration presented an integration of several technologies to government and industry representatives. These technologies consisted of an electronic moving map display in the cockpit, a Differential Global Positioning system (DGPS) receiver, a high speed very high frequency (VHF) data link, an Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) radar, and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS). Aircraft identification was presented to an air traffic controller on an AMASS display. The onboard electronic map included the display of taxi routes, hold instructions, and clearances, which were sent to the aircraft via data link by the controller. The map also displayed the positions of other traffic and warning information, which were sent to the aircraft automatically from the ASDE-3/AMASS system. This paper describes the flight demonstration in detail, along with test results.

Control Oriented Modeling and Validation of Aeroservoelastic Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crowder, Marianne; deCallafon, Raymond (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

Lightweight aircraft design emphasizes the reduction of structural weight to maximize aircraft efficiency and agility at the cost of increasing the likelihood of structural dynamic instabilities. To ensure flight safety, extensive flight testing and active structural servo control strategies are required to explore and expand the boundary of the flight envelope. Aeroservoelastic (ASE) models can provide online flight monitoring of dynamic instabilities to reduce flight time testing and increase flight safety. The success of ASE models is determined by the ability to take into account varying flight conditions and the possibility to perform flight monitoring under the presence of active structural servo control strategies. In this continued study, these aspects are addressed by developing specific methodologies and algorithms for control relevant robust identification and model validation of aeroservoelastic structures. The closed-loop model robust identification and model validation are based on a fractional model approach where the model uncertainties are characterized in a closed-loop relevant way.

HOME - An application of fault-tolerant techniques and system self-testing. [independent computer for helicopter flight control command monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holden, D. G.

1975-01-01

Hard Over Monitoring Equipment (HOME) has been designed to complement and enhance the flight safety of a flight research helicopter. HOME is an independent, highly reliable, and fail-safe special purpose computer that monitors the flight control commands issued by the flight control computer of the helicopter. In particular, HOME detects the issuance of a hazardous hard-over command for any of the four flight control axes and transfers the control of the helicopter to the flight safety pilot. The design of HOME incorporates certain reliability and fail-safe enhancement design features, such as triple modular redundancy, majority logic voting, fail-safe dual circuits, independent status monitors, in-flight self-test, and a built-in preflight exerciser. The HOME design and operation is described with special emphasis on the reliability and fail-safe aspects of the design.

Wind Shear/Turbulence Inputs to Flight Simulation and Systems Certification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowles, Roland L. (Editor); Frost, Walter (Editor)

1987-01-01

The purpose of the workshop was to provide a forum for industry, universities, and government to assess current status and likely future requirements for application of flight simulators to aviation safety concerns and system certification issues associated with wind shear and atmospheric turbulence. Research findings presented included characterization of wind shear and turbulence hazards based on modeling efforts and quantitative results obtained from field measurement programs. Future research thrusts needed to maximally exploit flight simulators for aviation safety application involving wind shear and turbulence were identified. The conference contained sessions on: Existing wind shear data and simulator implementation initiatives; Invited papers regarding wind shear and turbulence simulation requirements; and Committee working session reports.

STS safety approval process for small self-contained payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gum, Mary A.

1988-01-01

The safety approval process established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for Get Away Special (GAS) payloads is described. Although the designing organization is ultimately responsible for the safe operation of its payload, the Get Away Special team at the Goddard Space Flight Center will act as advisors while iterative safety analyses are performed and the Safety Data Package inputs are submitted. This four phase communications process will ultimately give NASA confidence that the GAS payload is safe, and successful completion of the Phase 3 package and review will clear the way for flight aboard the Space Transportation System orbiter.

The Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS): An Integrated Suite of Tools for Measuring Performance and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Irving C.; Connor, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data, The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS offers to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software; a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality and data interchangeability among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs-of aircrews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as aircrews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but also through statistical evaluation of the performance of large groups of flights. This paper describes the integrated suite of tools that will assist analysts in evaluating the operational performance and safety of the national air transport system, the air carrier, and the aircrew.

[Introduction of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles at the flight catering food production plant].

PubMed

Popova, A Yu; Trukhina, G M; Mikailova, O M

In the article there is considered the quality control and safety system implemented in the one of the largest flight catering food production plant for airline passengers and flying squad. The system for the control was based on the Hazard Analysis And Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles and developed hygienic and antiepidemic measures. There is considered the identification of hazard factors at stages of the technical process. There are presented results of the analysis data of monitoring for 6 critical control points over the five-year period. The quality control and safety system permit to decline food contamination risk during acceptance, preparation and supplying of in-flight meal. There was proved the efficiency of the implemented system. There are determined further ways of harmonization and implementation for HACCP principles in the plant.

Report by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The process of preparation for the first two shuttle flights was observed and information from both flights was gathered in order to confirm the concept and performance of the major elements of the space transportation system. To achieve truly operational operating safety, regularity, and minimum practical cost, the organization of efforts between the R&D community and any transportation service organization should be clearly separated with the latter organization assuming responsibilities for marketing its services; planning and acquiring prime hardware and spares; maintainance; certification of procedures; training; and creation of requirements for future development. A technical audit of the application of redundancy concepts to shuttle systems is suggested. The state of the art of space transportation hardware suggests that a number of concept changes may improve reliability, costs, and operational safety. For the remaining R&D flights, it is suggested that a redline audit be made of limits that should not be exceeded for ready to launch.

The Aircraft Simulation Role in Improving Flight Safety Through Control Room Training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shy, Karla S.; Hageman, Jacob J.; Le, Jeanette H.; Sitz, Joel (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center uses its six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DOF) fixed-base simulations for mission control room training to improve flight safety and operations. This concept is applied to numerous flight projects such as the F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV), the F-15 Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS), the X-38 Actuator Control Test (XACT), and X-43A (Hyper-X). The Dryden 6-DOF simulations are typically used through various stages of a project, from design to ground tests. The roles of these simulations have expanded to support control room training, reinforcing flight safety by building control room staff proficiency. Real-time telemetry, radar, and video data are generated from flight vehicle simulation models. These data are used to drive the control room displays. Nominal static values are used to complete information where appropriate. Audio communication is also an integral part of training sessions. This simulation capability is used to train control room personnel and flight crew for nominal missions and emergency situations. Such training sessions are also opportunities to refine flight cards and control room display pages, exercise emergency procedures, and practice control room setup for the day of flight. This paper describes this technology as it is used in the X-43A and F-15 IFCS and XACT projects.

A Flight Control System Architecture for the NASA AirSTAR Flight Test Infrastructure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murch, Austin M.

2008-01-01

A flight control system architecture for the NASA AirSTAR infrastructure has been designed to address the challenges associated with safe and efficient flight testing of research control laws in adverse flight conditions. The AirSTAR flight control system provides a flexible framework that enables NASA Aviation Safety Program research objectives, and includes the ability to rapidly integrate and test research control laws, emulate component or sensor failures, inject automated control surface perturbations, and provide a baseline control law for comparison to research control laws and to increase operational efficiency. The current baseline control law uses an angle of attack command augmentation system for the pitch axis and simple stability augmentation for the roll and yaw axes.

Los Alamos Novel Rocket Design Flight Tested

ScienceCinema

Tappan, Bryce

2018-04-16

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists recently flight tested a new rocket design that includes a high-energy fuel and a motor design that also delivers a high degree of safety. Researchers will now work to scale-up the design, as well as explore miniaturization of the system, in order to exploit all potential applications that would require high-energy, high-velocity, and correspondingly high safety margins.

Los Alamos Novel Rocket Design Flight Tested

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tappan, Bryce

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists recently flight tested a new rocket design that includes a high-energy fuel and a motor design that also delivers a high degree of safety. Researchers will now work to scale-up the design, as well as explore miniaturization of the system, in order to exploit all potential applications that would require high-energy, high-velocity, and correspondingly high safety margins.

Space Based Communications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simpson, James; Denson, Erik; Valencia, Lisa; Birr, Richard

2003-01-01

Current space lift launches on the Eastern and Western Range require extensive ground-based real-time tracking, communications and command/control systems. These are expensive to maintain and operate and cover only limited geographical areas. Future spaceports will require new technologies to provide greater launch and landing opportunities, support simultaneous missions, and offer enhanced decision support models and simulation capabilities. These ranges must also have lower costs and reduced complexity while continuing to provide unsurpassed safety to the public, flight crew, personnel, vehicles and facilities. Commercial and government space-based assets for tracking and communications offer many attractive possibilities to help achieve these goals. This paper describes two NASA proof-of-concept projects that seek-to exploit the advantages of a space-based range: Iridium Flight Modem and Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety (STARS). Iridium Flight Modem uses the commercial satellite system Iridium for extremely low cost, low rate two-way communications and has been successfully tested on four aircraft flights. A sister project at Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) using the Globalstar system has been tested on one rocket. The basic Iridium Flight Modem system consists of a L1 carrier Coarse/Acquisition (C/A)-Code Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, an on-board computer, and a standard commercial satellite modem and antennas. STARS uses the much higher data rate NASA owned Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS), a C/A-Code GPS receiver, an experimental low-power transceiver, custom built command and data handler processor, and digitized flight termination system (FTS) commands. STARS is scheduled to fly on an F-15 at Dryden Flight Research Center in the spring of 2003, with follow-on tests over the next several years.

Certification of COTS Software in NASA Human Rated Flight Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goforth, Andre

2012-01-01

Adoption of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products in safety critical systems has been seen as a promising acquisition strategy to improve mission affordability and, yet, has come with significant barriers and challenges. Attempts to integrate COTS software components into NASA human rated flight systems have been, for the most part, complicated by verification and validation (V&V) requirements necessary for flight certification per NASA s own standards. For software that is from COTS sources, and, in general from 3rd party sources, either commercial, government, modified or open source, the expectation is that it meets the same certification criteria as those used for in-house and that it does so as if it were built in-house. The latter is a critical and hidden issue. This paper examines the longstanding barriers and challenges in the use of 3rd party software in safety critical systems and cover recent efforts to use COTS software in NASA s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) project. It identifies some core artifacts that without them, the use of COTS and 3rd party software is, for all practical purposes, a nonstarter for affordable and timely insertion into flight critical systems. The paper covers the first use in a flight critical system by NASA of COTS software that has prior FAA certification heritage, which was shown to meet the RTCA-DO-178B standard, and how this certification may, in some cases, be leveraged to allow the use of analysis in lieu of testing. Finally, the paper proposes the establishment of an open source forum for development of safety critical 3rd party software.

14 CFR 417.1 - General information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored version of EWR 127-1, (5) Range...) Missile system pre-launch safety package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored...

14 CFR 417.1 - General information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored version of EWR 127-1, (5) Range...) Missile system pre-launch safety package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored...

14 CFR 417.1 - General information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored version of EWR 127-1, (5) Range...) Missile system pre-launch safety package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored...

14 CFR 417.1 - General information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored version of EWR 127-1, (5) Range...) Missile system pre-launch safety package, (3) Preliminary and final flight data packages, (4) A tailored...

Lessons learned from the Galileo and Ulysses flight safety review experience

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, Gary L.

In preparation for the launches of the Galileo and Ulysses spacecraft, a very comprehensive aerospace nuclear safety program and flight safety review were conducted. A review of this work has highlighted a number of important lessons which should be considered in the safety analysis and review of future space nuclear systems. These lessons have been grouped into six general categories: (1) establishment of the purpose, objectives and scope of the safety process; (2) establishment of charters defining the roles of the various participants; (3) provision of adequate resources; (4) provision of timely peer-reviewed information to support the safety program; (5)more » establishment of general ground rules for the safety review; and (6) agreement on the kinds of information to be provided from the safety review process.« less

Simulation and Flight Test Capability for Testing Prototype Sense and Avoid System Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, Charles T.; Stock, Todd M.; Verstynen, Harry A.; Wehner, Paul J.

2012-01-01

NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) have developed, and successfully demonstrated, an integrated simulation-to-flight capability for evaluating sense and avoid (SAA) system elements. This integrated capability consists of a MITRE developed fast-time computer simulation for evaluating SAA algorithms, and a NASA LaRC surrogate unmanned aircraft system (UAS) equipped to support hardware and software in-the-loop evaluation of SAA system elements (e.g., algorithms, sensors, architecture, communications, autonomous systems), concepts, and procedures. The fast-time computer simulation subjects algorithms to simulated flight encounters/ conditions and generates a fitness report that records strengths, weaknesses, and overall performance. Reviewed algorithms (and their fitness report) are then transferred to NASA LaRC where additional (joint) airworthiness evaluations are performed on the candidate SAA system-element configurations, concepts, and/or procedures of interest; software and hardware components are integrated into the Surrogate UAS research systems; and flight safety and mission planning activities are completed. Onboard the Surrogate UAS, candidate SAA system element configurations, concepts, and/or procedures are subjected to flight evaluations and in-flight performance is monitored. The Surrogate UAS, which can be controlled remotely via generic Ground Station uplink or automatically via onboard systems, operates with a NASA Safety Pilot/Pilot in Command onboard to permit safe operations in mixed airspace with manned aircraft. An end-to-end demonstration of a typical application of the capability was performed in non-exclusionary airspace in October 2011; additional research, development, flight testing, and evaluation efforts using this integrated capability are planned throughout fiscal year 2012 and 2013.

Verification and Validation for Flight-Critical Systems (VVFCS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graves, Sharon S.; Jacobsen, Robert A.

2010-01-01

On March 31, 2009 a Request for Information (RFI) was issued by NASA s Aviation Safety Program to gather input on the subject of Verification and Validation (V & V) of Flight-Critical Systems. The responses were provided to NASA on or before April 24, 2009. The RFI asked for comments in three topic areas: Modeling and Validation of New Concepts for Vehicles and Operations; Verification of Complex Integrated and Distributed Systems; and Software Safety Assurance. There were a total of 34 responses to the RFI, representing a cross-section of academic (26%), small & large industry (47%) and government agency (27%).

An American knowledge base in England - Alternate implementations of an expert system flight status monitor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, G. F.; Graves, A. T.; Disbrow, J. D.; Duke, E. L.

1989-01-01

A joint activity between the Dryden Flight Research Facility of the NASA Ames Research Center (Ames-Dryden) and the Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) on knowledge-based systems has been agreed. Under the agreement, a flight status monitor knowledge base developed at Ames-Dryden has been implemented using the real-time AI (artificial intelligence) toolkit MUSE, which was developed in the UK. Here, the background to the cooperation is described and the details of the flight status monitor and a prototype MUSE implementation are presented. It is noted that the capabilities of the expert-system flight status monitor to monitor data downlinked from the flight test aircraft and to generate information on the state and health of the system for the test engineers provides increased safety during flight testing of new systems. Furthermore, the expert-system flight status monitor provides the systems engineers with ready access to the large amount of information required to describe a complex aircraft system.

NASA African American History Month Profile - Kimberly Ennix-Sandhu (AFRC)

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-02-20

Kimberly Ennix-Sandhu is the SOFIA Operations Center System Safety Lead at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. SOFIA is the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. Kimberly has worked for NASA for 27 years. She started out in jet and rocket propulsion research engineering and moved to Safety and Mission Assurance as a system safety engineer.

An Autonomous Flight Safety System

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-01

are taken. AFSS can take vehicle navigation data from redundant onboard sensors and make flight termination decisions using software-based rules...implemented on redundant flight processors. By basing these decisions on actual Instantaneous Impact Predictions and by providing for an arbitrary...number of mission rules, it is the contention of the AFSS development team that the decision making process used by Missile Flight Control Officers

An Assessment of Reduced Crew and Single Pilot Operations in Commercial Transport Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Randall E.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Kennedy, Kellie D.; Stephens, Chad L.; Etherington, Timothy J.

2017-01-01

Future reduced crew operations or even single pilot operations for commercial airline and on-demand mobility applications are an active area of research. These changes would reduce the human element and thus, threaten the precept that "a well-trained and well-qualified pilot is the critical center point of aircraft systems safety and an integral safety component of the entire commercial aviation system." NASA recently completed a pilot-in-the-loop high fidelity motion simulation study in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) attempting to quantify the pilot's contribution to flight safety during normal flight and in response to aircraft system failures. Crew complement was used as the experiment independent variable in a between-subjects design. These data show significant increases in workload for single pilot operations, compared to two-crew, with subjective assessments of safety and performance being significantly degraded as well. Nonetheless, in all cases, the pilots were able to overcome the failure mode effects in all crew configurations. These data reflect current-day flight deck equipage and help identify the technologies that may improve two-crew operations and/or possibly enable future reduced crew and/or single pilot operations.

Orion Launch Abort System Jettison Motor Performance During Exploration Flight Test 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCauley, Rachel J.; Davidson, John B.; Winski, Richard G.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an overview of the flight test objectives and performance of the Orion Launch Abort System during Exploration Flight Test-1. Exploration Flight Test-1, the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft, was managed and led by the Orion prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, and launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. This flight test was a two-orbit, high-apogee, high-energy entry, low-inclination test mission used to validate and test systems critical to crew safety. This test included the first flight test of the Launch Abort System performing Orion nominal flight mission critical objectives. Although the Orion Program has tested a number of the critical systems of the Orion spacecraft on the ground, the launch environment cannot be replicated completely on Earth. Data from this flight will be used to verify the function of the jettison motor to separate the Launch Abort System from the crew module so it can continue on with the mission. Selected Launch Abort System flight test data is presented and discussed in the paper. Through flight test data, Launch Abort System performance trends have been derived that will prove valuable to future flights as well as the manned space program.

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

An assessment of NASA's safety performance for 1983 affirms that NASA Headquarters and Center management teams continue to hold the safety of manned flight to be their prime concern, and that essential effort and resources are allocated for maintaining safety in all of the development and operational programs. Those conclusions most worthy of NASA management concentration are given along with recommendations for action concerning; product quality and utility; space shuttle main engine; landing gear; logistics and management; orbiter structural loads, landing speed, and pitch control; the shuttle processing contractor; and the safety of flight operations. It appears that much needs to be done before the Space Transportation System can achieve the reliability necessary for safe, high rate, low cost operations.

X-33 Telemetry Best Source Selection, Processing, Display, and Simulation Model Comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burkes, Darryl A.

1998-01-01

The X-33 program requires the use of multiple telemetry ground stations to cover the launch, ascent, transition, descent, and approach phases for the flights from Edwards AFB to landings at Dugway Proving Grounds, UT and Malmstrom AFB, MT. This paper will discuss the X-33 telemetry requirements and design, including information on fixed and mobile telemetry systems, best source selection, and support for Range Safety Officers. A best source selection system will be utilized to automatically determine the best source based on the frame synchronization status of the incoming telemetry streams. These systems will be used to select the best source at the landing sites and at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center to determine the overall best source between the launch site, intermediate sites, and landing site sources. The best source at the landing sites will be decommutated to display critical flight safety parameters for the Range Safety Officers. The overall best source will be sent to the Lockheed Martin's Operational Control Center at Edwards AFB for performance monitoring by X-33 program personnel and for monitoring of critical flight safety parameters by the primary Range Safety Officer. The real-time telemetry data (received signal strength, etc.) from each of the primary ground stations will also be compared during each nu'ssion with simulation data generated using the Dynamic Ground Station Analysis software program. An overall assessment of the accuracy of the model will occur after each mission. Acknowledgment: The work described in this paper was NASA supported through cooperative agreement NCC8-115 with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works.

Safety management as a foundation for evidence-based aeromedical standards and reporting of medical events.

PubMed

Evans, Anthony D; Watson, Dougal B; Evans, Sally A; Hastings, John; Singh, Jarnail; Thibeault, Claude

2009-06-01

The different interpretations by States (countries) of the aeromedical standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization has resulted in a variety of approaches to the development of national aeromedical policy, and consequently a relative lack of harmonization. However, in many areas of aviation, safety management systems have been recently introduced and may represent a way forward. A safety management system can be defined as "A systematic approach to managing safety, including the necessary organizational structures, accountabilities, policies, and procedures" (1). There are four main areas where, by applying safety management principles, it may be possible to better use aeromedical data to enhance flight safety. These are: 1) adjustment of the periodicity and content of routine medical examinations to more accurately reflect aeromedical risk; 2) improvement in reporting and analysis of routine medical examination data; 3) improvement in reporting and analysis of in-flight medical events; and 4) support for improved reporting of relevant aeromedical events through the promotion of an appropriate culture by companies and regulatory authorities. This paper explores how the principles of safety management may be applied to aeromedical systems to improve their contribution to safety.

A Comprehensive Analysis of the X-15 Flight 3-65 Accident

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Orr, Jeb S.; Barshi, Immanuel; Statler, Irving C.

2014-01-01

The November 15, 1967, loss of X-15 Flight 3-65-97 (hereafter referred to as Flight 3-65) was a unique incident in that it was the first and only aerospace flight accident involving loss of crew on a vehicle with an adaptive flight control system (AFCS). In addition, Flight 3-65 remains the only incidence of a single-pilot departure from controlled flight of a manned entry vehicle in a hypersonic flight regime. To mitigate risk to emerging aerospace systems, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) proposed a comprehensive review of this accident. The goal of the assessment was to resolve lingering questions regarding the failure modes of the aircraft systems (including the AFCS) and thoroughly analyze the interactions among the human agents and autonomous systems that contributed to the loss of the pilot and aircraft. This document contains the outcome of the accident review.

APMS: An Integrated Suite of Tools for Measuring Performance and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Irving C.; Lynch, Robert E.; Connors, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data. The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data-analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS will offer to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software, a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality, and data interchangeability, among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs of air crews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as air crews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but through statistical evaluation of the performance of large groups of flights. This paper describes the integrated suite of tools that will assist analysts in evaluating the operational performance and safety of the national air transport system, the air carrier, and the air crew.

APMS: An Integrated Suite of Tools for Measuring Performance and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Irving C. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data. The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data-analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions . APMS will offer to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software, a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality, and data interchangeability, among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs of air crews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as air crews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but through statistical evaluation of the performance of large groups of flights. This paper describes the integrated suite of tools that will assist analysts in evaluating the operational performance and safety of the national air transport system, the air carrier, and the air crew.

APMS: An Integrated Set of Tools for Measuring Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Statler, Irving C.; Reynard, William D. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

This is a report of work in progress. In it, I summarize the status of the research and development of the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS) for managing, processing, and analyzing digital flight-recorded data. The objectives of the NASA-FAA APMS research project are to establish a sound scientific and technological basis for flight-data analysis, to define an open and flexible architecture for flight-data-analysis systems, and to articulate guidelines for a standardized database structure on which to continue to build future flight-data-analysis extensions. APMS will offer to the air transport community an open, voluntary standard for flight-data-analysis software, a standard that will help to ensure suitable functionality, and data interchangeability, among competing software programs. APMS will develop and document the methodologies, algorithms, and procedures for data management and analyses to enable users to easily interpret the implications regarding safety and efficiency of operations. APMS does not entail the implementation of a nationwide flight-data-collection system. It is intended to provide technical tools to ease the large-scale implementation of flight-data analyses at both the air-carrier and the national-airspace levels in support of their Flight Operations and Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs and Advanced Qualifications Programs (AQP). APMS cannot meet its objectives unless it develops tools that go substantially beyond the capabilities of the current commercially available software and supporting analytic methods that are mainly designed to count special events. These existing capabilities, while of proven value, were created primarily with the needs of air crews in mind. APMS tools must serve the needs of the government and air carriers, as well as air crews, to fully support the FOQA and AQP programs. They must be able to derive knowledge not only through the analysis of single flights (special-event detection), but through statistical evaluation of the performance of large groups of flights. This paper describes the integrated suite of tools that will assist analysts in evaluating the operational performance and safety of the national air transport system, the air carrier, and the air crew.

Space Shuttle redesign status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brand, Vance D.

1986-01-01

NASA has conducted an extensive redesign effort for the Space Shutle in the aftermath of the STS 51-L Challenger accident, encompassing not only Shuttle vehicle and booster design but also such system-wide factors as organizational structure, management procedures, flight safety, flight operations, sustainable flight rate, and maintenance safeguards. Attention is presently given to Solid Rocket Booster redesign features, the Shuttle Main Engine's redesigned high pressure fuel and oxidizer turbopumps, the Shuttle Orbiter's braking and rollout (landing gear) system, the entry control mode of the flight control system, a 'split-S' abort maneuver for the Orbiter, and crew escape capsule proposals.

Flight Deck Technologies to Enable NextGen Low Visibility Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinzel, Lawrence (Lance) J., III; Arthur, Jarvis (Trey) J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Norman, Robert M.; Bailey, Randall E.; Jones, Denise R.; Karwac, Jerry R., Jr.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Ellis, Kyle K. E.

2013-01-01

Many key capabilities are being identified to enable Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), including the concept of Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) . replicating the capacity and safety of today.s visual flight rules (VFR) in all-weather conditions. NASA is striving to develop the technologies and knowledge to enable EVO and to extend EVO towards a Better-Than-Visual operational concept. This operational concept envisions an .equivalent visual. paradigm where an electronic means provides sufficient visual references of the external world and other required flight references on flight deck displays that enable Visual Flight Rules (VFR)-like operational tempos while maintaining and improving safety of VFR while using VFR-like procedures in all-weather conditions. The Langley Research Center (LaRC) has recently completed preliminary research on flight deck technologies for low visibility surface operations. The work assessed the potential of enhanced vision and airport moving map displays to achieve equivalent levels of safety and performance to existing low visibility operational requirements. The work has the potential to better enable NextGen by perhaps providing an operational credit for conducting safe low visibility surface operations by use of the flight deck technologies.

A Concept of Operations for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, Gary W.; Ross, Richard W.; Berger, David E.; Lekki, John D.; Mah, Robert W.; Perey, Danie F.; Schuet, Stefan R.; Simon, Donald L.; Smith, Stephen W.

2013-01-01

This document describes a Concept of Operations (ConOps) for an Integrated Vehicle Health Assurance System (IVHAS). This ConOps is associated with the Maintain Vehicle Safety (MVS) between Major Inspections Technical Challenge in the Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies (VSST) Project within NASA s Aviation Safety Program. In particular, this document seeks to describe an integrated system concept for vehicle health assurance that integrates ground-based inspection and repair information with in-flight measurement data for airframe, propulsion, and avionics subsystems. The MVS Technical Challenge intends to maintain vehicle safety between major inspections by developing and demonstrating new integrated health management and failure prevention technologies to assure the integrity of vehicle systems between major inspection intervals and maintain vehicle state awareness during flight. The approach provided by this ConOps is intended to help optimize technology selection and development, as well as allow the initial integration and demonstration of these subsystem technologies over the 5 year span of the VSST program, and serve as a guideline for developing IVHAS technologies under the Aviation Safety Program within the next 5 to 15 years. A long-term vision of IVHAS is provided to describe a basic roadmap for more intelligent and autonomous vehicle systems.

Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This report provides findings, conclusions and recommendations regarding the National Space Transportation System (NSTS), the Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP), aeronautical projects and other areas of NASA activities. The main focus of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) during 1988 has been monitoring and advising NASA and its contractors on the Space Transportation System (STS) recovery program. NASA efforts have restored the flight program with a much better management organization, safety and quality assurance organizations, and management communication system. The NASA National Space Transportation System (NSTS) organization in conjunction with its prime contractors should be encouraged to continue development and incorporation of appropriate design and operational improvements which will further reduce risk. The data from each Shuttle flight should be used to determine if affordable design and/or operational improvements could further increase safety. The review of Critical Items (CILs), Failure Mode Effects and Analyses (FMEAs) and Hazard Analyses (HAs) after the Challenger accident has given the program a massive data base with which to establish a formal program with prioritized changes.

2005 40th Annual Armament Systems Guns - Ammunition - Rockets - Missiles Conference and Exhibition. Volume 1: Tuesday

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-04-28

PM] Abraham Overview, Mr. Robert Daunfeldt, Bofors Defence Summary Overview of an Advanced 2.75 Hypervelocity Weapon, Mr. Larry Bradford , CAT Flight...Substantially Improves 2.75 Rocket Lethality, Safety, Survivability Mr. Larry Bradford , CAT Flight Services, Inc. APKWS Flight Test Results Mr. Larry S

78 FR 31838 - Special Conditions: Embraer S.A., Model EMB-550 Airplanes; Flight Envelope Protection: General...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-28

... new control architecture and a full digital flight control system which provides flight envelope... Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing... metal with composite empennage and control surfaces. The Model EMB-550 airplane is designed for 8...

UAS flight test for safety and for efficiency

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-04-01

Manned aircraft that operate in the National Airspace System (NAS) typically undergo certification flight test to ensure they meet a prescribed level of safetydependent on their categorybefore they are able to enter service [for example, Federa...

Airflow Hazard Visualization for Helicopter Pilots: Flight Simulation Study Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aragon, Cecilia R.; Long, Kurtis R.

2005-01-01

Airflow hazards such as vortices or low level wind shear have been identified as a primary contributing factor in many helicopter accidents. US Navy ships generate airwakes over their decks, creating potentially hazardous conditions for shipboard rotorcraft launch and recovery. Recent sensor developments may enable the delivery of airwake data to the cockpit, where visualizing the hazard data may improve safety and possibly extend ship/helicopter operational envelopes. A prototype flight-deck airflow hazard visualization system was implemented on a high-fidelity rotorcraft flight dynamics simulator. Experienced helicopter pilots, including pilots from all five branches of the military, participated in a usability study of the system. Data was collected both objectively from the simulator and subjectively from post-test questionnaires. Results of the data analysis are presented, demonstrating a reduction in crash rate and other trends that illustrate the potential of airflow hazard visualization to improve flight safety.

Range Flight Safety Requirements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftin, Charles E.; Hudson, Sandra M.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this NASA Technical Standard is to provide the technical requirements for the NPR 8715.5, Range Flight Safety Program, in regards to protection of the public, the NASA workforce, and property as it pertains to risk analysis, Flight Safety Systems (FSS), and range flight operations. This standard is approved for use by NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers, and may be cited in contract, program, and other Agency documents as a technical requirement. This standard may also apply to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory or to other contractors, grant recipients, or parties to agreements to the extent specified or referenced in their contracts, grants, or agreements, when these organizations conduct or participate in missions that involve range flight operations as defined by NPR 8715.5.1.2.2 In this standard, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term “shall.”1.3 TailoringTailoring of this standard for application to a specific program or project shall be formally documented as part of program or project requirements and approved by the responsible Technical Authority in accordance with NPR 8715.3, NASA General Safety Program Requirements.

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.

2013 NASA Range Safety Annual Report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dumont, Alan G.

2013-01-01

Welcome to the 2013 edition of the NASA Range Safety Annual Report. Funded by NASA Headquarters, this report provides an Agency overview for current and potential range users. This report contains articles which cover a variety of subject areas, summaries of various activities performed during the past year, links to past reports, and information on several projects that may have a profound impact on the way business will be conducted in the future. Specific topics discussed in the 2013 NASA Range Safety Annual Report include a program overview and 2013 highlights, Range Safety Training, Independent Assessments, support to Program Operations at all ranges conducting NASA launch/flight operations, a continuing overview of emerging range safety-related technologies, and status reports from all of the NASA Centers that have Range Safety responsibilities. Every effort has been made to include the most current information available. We recommend this report be used only for guidance and that the validity and accuracy of all articles be verified for updates. As is the case each year, we had a wide variety of contributors to this report from across our NASA Centers and the national range safety community at large, and I wish to thank them all. On a sad note, we lost one of our close colleagues, Dr. Jim Simpson, due to his sudden passing in December. His work advancing the envelope of autonomous flight safety systems software/hardware development leaves a lasting impression on our community. Such systems are being flight tested today and may one day be considered routine in the range safety business. The NASA family has lost a pioneer in our field, and he will surely be missed. In conclusion, it has been a very busy and productive year, and I look forward to working with all of you in NASA Centers/Programs/Projects and with the national Range Safety community in making Flight/Space activities as safe as they can be in the upcoming year.

Model-Driven Development of Safety Architectures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh; Whiteside, Iain

2017-01-01

We describe the use of model-driven development for safety assurance of a pioneering NASA flight operation involving a fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) flying beyond visual line of sight. The central idea is to develop a safety architecture that provides the basis for risk assessment and visualization within a safety case, the formal justification of acceptable safety required by the aviation regulatory authority. A safety architecture is composed from a collection of bow tie diagrams (BTDs), a practical approach to manage safety risk by linking the identified hazards to the appropriate mitigation measures. The safety justification for a given unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operation can have many related BTDs. In practice, however, each BTD is independently developed, which poses challenges with respect to incremental development, maintaining consistency across different safety artifacts when changes occur, and in extracting and presenting stakeholder specific information relevant for decision making. We show how a safety architecture reconciles the various BTDs of a system, and, collectively, provide an overarching picture of system safety, by considering them as views of a unified model. We also show how it enables model-driven development of BTDs, replete with validations, transformations, and a range of views. Our approach, which we have implemented in our toolset, AdvoCATE, is illustrated with a running example drawn from a real UAS safety case. The models and some of the innovations described here were instrumental in successfully obtaining regulatory flight approval.

14 CFR 417.117 - Reviews.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... information: (i) Readiness of launch vehicle and payload. (ii) Readiness of any flight safety system and... of a launch safety review must ensure satisfaction of the following criteria: (i) A launch operator... operator must resolve all safety related action items. (ii) A launch operator must assign and certify...

The First Development of Human Factors Engineering Requirements for Application to Ground Task Design for a NASA Flight Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dischinger, H. Charles, Jr.; Stambolian, Damon B.; Miller, Darcy H.

2008-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has long applied standards-derived human engineering requirements to the development of hardware and software for use by astronauts while in flight. The most important source of these requirements has been NASA-STD-3000. While there have been several ground systems human engineering requirements documents, none has been applicable to the flight system as handled at NASA's launch facility at Kennedy Space Center. At the time of the development of previous human launch systems, there were other considerations that were deemed more important than developing worksites for ground crews; e.g., hardware development schedule and vehicle performance. However, experience with these systems has shown that failure to design for ground tasks has resulted in launch schedule delays, ground operations that are more costly than they might be, and threats to flight safety. As the Agency begins the development of new systems to return humans to the moon, the new Constellation Program is addressing this issue with a new set of human engineering requirements. Among these requirements is a subset that will apply to the design of the flight components and that is intended to assure ground crew success in vehicle assembly and maintenance tasks. These requirements address worksite design for usability and for ground crew safety.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Voluem 5: Nuclear system safety guidelines. Part 2: Space shuttle/nuclear payloads safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The design and operations guidelines and requirements developed in the study of space shuttle nuclear system transportation are presented. Guidelines and requirements are presented for the shuttle, nuclear payloads (reactor, isotope-Brayton and small isotope sources), ground support systems and facilities. Cross indices and references are provided which relate guidelines to each other, and to substantiating data in other volumes. The guidelines are intended for the implementation of nuclear safety related design and operational considerations in future space programs.

The 1991 International Aerospace and Ground Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The proceedings of the 1991 International Aerospace and Ground Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity are reported. Some of the topics covered include: lightning, lightning suppression, aerospace vehicles, aircraft safety, flight safety, aviation meteorology, thunderstorms, atmospheric electricity, warning systems, weather forecasting, electromagnetic coupling, electrical measurement, electrostatics, aircraft hazards, flight hazards, meteorological parameters, cloud (meteorology), ground effect, electric currents, lightning equipment, electric fields, measuring instruments, electrical grounding, and aircraft instruments.

Mission Control Center (MCC) System Specification for the Shuttle Orbital Flight Test (OFT) Timeframe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

System specifications to be used by the mission control center (MCC) for the shuttle orbital flight test (OFT) time frame were described. The three support systems discussed are the communication interface system (CIS), the data computation complex (DCC), and the display and control system (DCS), all of which may interfere with, and share processing facilities with other applications processing supporting current MCC programs. The MCC shall provide centralized control of the space shuttle OFT from launch through orbital flight, entry, and landing until the Orbiter comes to a stop on the runway. This control shall include the functions of vehicle management in the area of hardware configuration (verification), flight planning, communication and instrumentation configuration management, trajectory, software and consumables, payloads management, flight safety, and verification of test conditions/environment.

Green Propellant Landing Demonstration at U.S. Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulkey, Henry W.; Miller, Joseph T.; Bacha, Caitlin E.

2016-01-01

The Green Propellant Loading Demonstration (GPLD) was conducted December 2015 at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), leveraging work performed over recent years to bring lower toxicity hydrazine replacement green propellants to flight missions. The objective of this collaboration between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), WFF, the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), and Ecological Advanced Propulsion Systems (ECAPS) was to successfully accept LMP-103S propellant at a U.S. Range, store the propellant, and perform a simulated flight vehicle propellant loading. NASA GSFC Propulsion (Code 597) managed all aspects of the operation, handling logistics, preparing the procedures, and implementing the demonstration. In addition to the partnership described above, Moog Inc. developed an LMP-103S propellant-compatible titanium rolling diaphragm flight development tank and loaned it to GSFC to act as the GPLD flight vessel. The flight development tank offered the GPLD an additional level of flight-like propellant handling process and procedures. Moog Inc. also provided a compatible latching isolation valve for remote propellant expulsion. The GPLD operation, in concert with Moog Inc. executed a flight development tank expulsion efficiency performance test using LMP-103S propellant. As part of the demonstration work, GSFC and WFF documented Range safety analyses and practices including all elements of shipping, storage, handling, operations, decontamination, and disposal. LMP-103S has not been previously handled at a U.S. Launch Range. Requisite for this activity was an LMP-103S Risk Analysis Report and Ground Safety Plan. GSFC and WFF safety offices jointly developed safety documentation for application into the GPLD operation. The GPLD along with the GSFC Propulsion historical hydrazine loading experiences offer direct comparison between handling green propellant versus safety intensive, highly toxic hydrazine propellant. These described motives initiated the GPLD operation in order to investigate the handling and process safety variances in project resources between LMP-103S and typical in-space propellants. The GPLD risk reduction operation proved successful for many reasons including handling the green propellant at a U.S. Range, loading and pressurizing a flight-like tank, expelling the propellant, measuring the tank expulsion efficiency, and most significantly, GSFC propulsion personnel's new insight into the LMP-103S propellant handling details.

Green Propellant Loading Demonstration at U.S. Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulkey, Henry W.; Miller, Joseph T.; Bacha, Caitlin E.

2016-01-01

The Green Propellant Loading Demonstration (GPLD) was conducted December 2015 at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), leveraging work performed over recent years to bring lower toxicity hydrazine replacement green propellants to flight missions. The objective of this collaboration between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), WFF, the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB), and Ecological Advanced Propulsion Systems (ECAPS) was to successfully accept LMP-103S propellant at a U.S. Range, store the propellant, and perform a simulated flight vehicle propellant loading. NASA GSFC Propulsion (Code 597) managed all aspects of the operation, handling logistics, preparing the procedures, and implementing the demonstration. In addition to the partnership described above, Moog Inc. developed an LMP-103S propellant-compatible titanium rolling diaphragm flight development tank and loaned it to GSFC to act as the GPLD flight vessel. The flight development tank offered the GPLD an additional level of flight-like propellant handling process and procedures. Moog Inc. also provided a compatible latching isolation valve for remote propellant expulsion. The GPLD operation, in concert with Moog Inc. executed a flight development tank expulsion efficiency performance test using LMP-103S propellant. As part of the demonstration work, GSFC and WFF documented Range safety analyses and practices including all elements of shipping, storage, handling, operations, decontamination, and disposal. LMP-103S has not been previously handled at a U.S. Launch Range. Requisite for this activity was an LMP-103S Risk Analysis Report and Ground Safety Plan. GSFC and WFF safety offices jointly developed safety documentation for application into the GPLD operation. The GPLD along with the GSFC Propulsion historical hydrazine loading experiences offer direct comparison between handling green propellant versus safety intensive, highly toxic hydrazine propellant. These described motives initiated the GPLD operation in order to investigate the handling and process safety variances in project resources between LMP-103S and typical in-space propellants. The GPLD risk reduction operation proved successful for many reasons including handling the green propellant at a U.S. Range, loading and pressurizing a flight-like tank, expelling the propellant, measuring the tank expulsion efficiency, and most significantly, GSFC propulsion personnel's new insight into the LMP-103S propellant handling details.

Practical Applications of Cosmic Ray Science: Spacecraft, Aircraft, Ground Based Computation and Control Systems and Human Health and Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atwell, William; Koontz, Steve; Normand, Eugene

2012-01-01

In this paper we review the discovery of cosmic ray effects on the performance and reliability of microelectronic systems as well as on human health and safety, as well as the development of the engineering and health science tools used to evaluate and mitigate cosmic ray effects in earth surface, atmospheric flight, and space flight environments. Three twentieth century technological developments, 1) high altitude commercial and military aircraft; 2) manned and unmanned spacecraft; and 3) increasingly complex and sensitive solid state micro-electronics systems, have driven an ongoing evolution of basic cosmic ray science into a set of practical engineering tools (e.g. ground based test methods as well as high energy particle transport and reaction codes) needed to design, test, and verify the safety and reliability of modern complex electronic systems as well as effects on human health and safety. The effects of primary cosmic ray particles, and secondary particle showers produced by nuclear reactions with spacecraft materials, can determine the design and verification processes (as well as the total dollar cost) for manned and unmanned spacecraft avionics systems. Similar considerations apply to commercial and military aircraft operating at high latitudes and altitudes near the atmospheric Pfotzer maximum. Even ground based computational and controls systems can be negatively affected by secondary particle showers at the Earth's surface, especially if the net target area of the sensitive electronic system components is large. Accumulation of both primary cosmic ray and secondary cosmic ray induced particle shower radiation dose is an important health and safety consideration for commercial or military air crews operating at high altitude/latitude and is also one of the most important factors presently limiting manned space flight operations beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO).

Expanding AirSTAR Capability for Flight Research in an Existing Avionics Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laughter, Sean A.

2012-01-01

The NASA Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) project is an Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) test bed for experimental flight control laws and vehicle dynamics research. During its development, the test bed has gone through a number of system permutations, each meant to add functionality to the concept of operations of the system. This enabled the build-up of not only the system itself, but also the support infrastructure and processes necessary to support flight operations. These permutations were grouped into project phases and the move from Phase-III to Phase-IV was marked by a significant increase in research capability and necessary safety systems due to the integration of an Internal Pilot into the control system chain already established for the External Pilot. The major system changes in Phase-IV operations necessitated a new safety and failsafe system to properly integrate both the Internal and External Pilots and to meet acceptable project safety margins. This work involved retrofitting an existing data system into the evolved concept of operations. Moving from the first Phase-IV aircraft to the dynamically scaled aircraft further involved restructuring the system to better guard against electromagnetic interference (EMI), and the entire avionics wiring harness was redesigned in order to facilitate better maintenance and access to onboard electronics. This retrofit and harness re-design will be explored and how it integrates with the evolved Phase-IV operations.

On-board computer progress in development of A 310 flight testing program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reau, P.

1981-01-01

Onboard computer progress in development of an Airbus A 310 flight testing program is described. Minicomputers were installed onboard three A 310 airplanes in 1979 in order to: (1) assure the flight safety by exercising a limit check of a given set of parameters; (2) improve the efficiency of flight tests and allow cost reduction; and (3) perform test analysis on an external basis by utilizing onboard flight types. The following program considerations are discussed: (1) conclusions based on simulation of an onboard computer system; (2) brief descriptions of A 310 airborne computer equipment, specifically the onboard universal calculator (CUB) consisting of a ROLM 1666 system and visualization system using an AFIGRAF CRT; (3) the ground system and flight information inputs; and (4) specifications and execution priorities for temporary and permanent programs.

Resilient Propulsion Control Research for the NASA Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guo, Ten-Huei; Litt, Jonathan S.

2007-01-01

Gas turbine engines are designed to provide sufficient safety margins to guarantee robust operation with an exceptionally long life. However, engine performance requirements may be drastically altered during abnormal flight conditions or emergency maneuvers. In some situations, the conservative design of the engine control system may not be in the best interest of overall aircraft safety; it may be advantageous to "sacrifice" the engine to "save" the aircraft. Motivated by this opportunity, the NASA Aviation Safety Program is conducting resilient propulsion research aimed at developing adaptive engine control methodologies to operate the engine beyond the normal domain for emergency operations to maximize the possibility of safely landing the damaged aircraft. Previous research studies and field incident reports show that the propulsion system can be an effective tool to help control and eventually land a damaged aircraft. Building upon the flight-proven Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) experience, this area of research will focus on how engine control systems can improve aircraft safe-landing probabilities under adverse conditions. This paper describes the proposed research topics in Engine System Requirements, Engine Modeling and Simulation, Engine Enhancement Research, Operational Risk Analysis and Modeling, and Integrated Flight and Propulsion Controller Designs that support the overall goal.

Aviation Weather Information Communications Study (AWIN). Phase 1 and 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ball, J. W.; Herron, R. G.; Nozawa, E. T.; Thomas, E. A.; Witchey, R. D.

2000-01-01

This two part study examines the communication requirements to provide weather information in the cockpit as well as public and private communication systems available to address the requirements. Ongoing research projects combined with user needs for weather related information are used to identify and describe potential weather products that address decision support in three time frames: Far-Term Strategic, Near-Term Strategic and Tactical. Data requirements of these future products are identified and quantified. Communications systems and technologies available in the public as well as private sector are analyzed to identify potential solutions. Recommendations for further research identify cost, performance, and safety benefits to justify the investment. The study concludes that not all weather information has the same level of urgency to safety-of-flight and some information is more critical to one category of flight than another. Specific weather products need to be matched with communication systems with appropriate levels of reliability to support the criticality of the information. Available bandwidth for highly critical information should be preserved and dedicated to safety. Meanwhile, systems designed for in-flight-entertainment and other passenger/crew services could be used to support less critical information that is used only for planning and economic decision support.

The advancement of a new human factors report--'The Unique Report'--facilitating flight crew auditing of performance/operations as part of an airline's safety management system.

PubMed

Leva, M C; Cahill, J; Kay, A M; Losa, G; McDonald, N

2010-02-01

This paper presents the findings of research relating to the specification of a new human factors report, conducted as part of the work requirements for the Human Integration into the Lifecycle of Aviation Systems project, sponsored by the European Commission. Specifically, it describes the proposed concept for a unique report, which will form the basis for all operational and safety reports completed by flight crew. This includes all mandatory and optional reports. Critically, this form is central to the advancement of improved processes and technology tools, supporting airline performance management, safety management, organisational learning and knowledge integration/information-sharing activities. Specifically, this paper describes the background to the development of this reporting form, the logic and contents of this form and how reporting data will be made use of by airline personnel. This includes a description of the proposed intelligent planning process and the associated intelligent flight plan concept, which makes use of airline operational and safety analyses information. Primarily, this new reporting form has been developed in collaboration with a major Spanish airline. In addition, it has involved research with five other airlines. Overall, this has involved extensive field research, collaborative prototyping and evaluation of new reports/flight plan concepts and a number of evaluation activities. Participants have included both operational and management personnel, across different airline flight operations processes. Statement of Relevance: This paper presents the development of a reporting concept outlined through field research and collaborative prototyping within an airline. The resulting reporting function, embedded in the journey log compiled at the end of each flight, aims at enabling employees to audit the operations of the company they work for.

Applications of Advanced Nondestructive Measurement Techniques to Address Safety of Flight Issues on NASA Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prosser, Bill

2016-01-01

Advanced nondestructive measurement techniques are critical for ensuring the reliability and safety of NASA spacecraft. Techniques such as infrared thermography, THz imaging, X-ray computed tomography and backscatter X-ray are used to detect indications of damage in spacecraft components and structures. Additionally, sensor and measurement systems are integrated into spacecraft to provide structural health monitoring to detect damaging events that occur during flight such as debris impacts during launch and assent or from micrometeoroid and orbital debris, or excessive loading due to anomalous flight conditions. A number of examples will be provided of how these nondestructive measurement techniques have been applied to resolve safety critical inspection concerns for the Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), and a variety of launch vehicles and unmanned spacecraft.

Mars Exploration Rovers Launch Performance and TCM-1 Maneuver Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kangas, Julie A.; Potts, Christopher L.; Raofi, Behzad

2004-01-01

The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project successfully landed two identical rovers on Mars in order to remotely conduct geologic investigations, including characterization of rocks and soils that may hold clues to past water activity. Two landing sites, Gusev crater and Meridiani Planum, were selected out of nearly 200 candidate sites after balancing science returns and flight system engineering and safety. Precise trajectory targeting and control was necessary to achieve the atmospheric entry requirements for the selected landing sites within the flight system constraints. This paper discusses the expected and achieved launch vehicle performance and the impacts of that performance on the first Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM-1) while maintaining targeting flexibility in accommodating additional project concerns about landing site safety and possible in-flight retargeting to alternate landing sites.

Annual report to the NASA Administrator by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on the space shuttle program. Part 1: Observations and conclusions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

The panel reviewed the following areas of major significance for the Approach and Landing Test program: mission planning and crew training, flight-readiness of the Carrier Aircraft and the Orbiter, including its flight control and avionics system, facilities, and communications and ground support equipment. The management system for risk assessment was investigated. The Orbital Flight Test Program was also reviewed. Observations and recommendations are presented.

The Dynamic Aviation Data System (DADS).

PubMed

Soman, S; Strome, T; Francescutti, L H

1997-08-01

This paper proposes The Dynamic Aviation Data System (DADS), which integrates a variety of existing information sources regarding flight to serve as a tool to pilots in dealing with the challenges of flight. The system is composed of three main parts: a pilot's history on disk; a system that can read proposed flight plans and make suggestions based upon Geographical Information Systems, weather, aircraft, and case report databases that exist throughout North America; and a small hand-held computer that interfaces with the aircraft's instruments and that can be brought into the cockpit to aid the pilot before and during flight. The system is based upon technology that currently exists and information that is already regularly collected. While many issues regarding implementation and cost efficiency of the system need to be addressed, the system shows promise in its ability to make useful flight safety information available to all pilots in order to save lives.

Safety Characteristics in System Application Software for Human Rated Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mango, E. J.

2016-01-01

NASA and its industry and international partners are embarking on a bold and inspiring development effort to design and build an exploration class space system. The space system is made up of the Orion system, the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) system. All are highly coupled together and dependent on each other for the combined safety of the space system. A key area of system safety focus needs to be in the ground and flight application software system (GFAS). In the development, certification and operations of GFAS, there are a series of safety characteristics that define the approach to ensure mission success. This paper will explore and examine the safety characteristics of the GFAS development.

Avionics performance analysis: A historical review and a current assessment of flight instrumentation and control systems in civil aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

The role of flight instrumentation and control systems in the advancement of civil aviation to the safest form of commercial transportation is discussed. Safety, cost reduction, and increased capabilities provided by recent developments are emphasized. Cost/performance considerations are considered in terms of determining the relative values of comparable systems or the absolute worth of a system.

The Analysis of the Contribution of Human Factors to the In-Flight Loss of Control Accidents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ancel, Ersin; Shih, Ann T.

2012-01-01

In-flight loss of control (LOC) is currently the leading cause of fatal accidents based on various commercial aircraft accident statistics. As the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) emerges, new contributing factors leading to LOC are anticipated. The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP), along with other aviation agencies and communities are actively developing safety products to mitigate the LOC risk. This paper discusses the approach used to construct a generic integrated LOC accident framework (LOCAF) model based on a detailed review of LOC accidents over the past two decades. The LOCAF model is comprised of causal factors from the domain of human factors, aircraft system component failures, and atmospheric environment. The multiple interdependent causal factors are expressed in an Object-Oriented Bayesian belief network. In addition to predicting the likelihood of LOC accident occurrence, the system-level integrated LOCAF model is able to evaluate the impact of new safety technology products developed in AvSP. This provides valuable information to decision makers in strategizing NASA's aviation safety technology portfolio. The focus of this paper is on the analysis of human causal factors in the model, including the contributions from flight crew and maintenance workers. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) taxonomy was used to develop human related causal factors. The preliminary results from the baseline LOCAF model are also presented.

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.

Pilot In Command: A Feasibility Assessment of Autonomous Flight Management Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wing, David J.; Ballin, Mark G.; Krishnamurthy, Karthik

2004-01-01

Several years of NASA research have produced the air traffic management operational concept of Autonomous Flight Management with high potential for operational feasibility, significant system and user benefits, and safety. Among the chief potential benefits are demand-adaptive or scalable capacity, user flexibility and autonomy that may finally enable truly successful business strategies, and compatibility with current-day operations such that the implementation rate can be driven from within the user community. A concept summary of Autonomous Flight Management is provided, including a description of how these operations would integrate in shared airspace with existing ground-controlled flight operations. The mechanisms enabling the primary benefits are discussed, and key findings of a feasibility assessment of airborne autonomous operations are summarized. Concept characteristics that impact safety are presented, and the potential for initially implementing Autonomous Flight Management is discussed.

Federal Aviation Administration weather program to improve aviation safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wedan, R. W.

1983-01-01

The implementation of the National Airspace System (NAS) will improve safety services to aviation. These services include collision avoidance, improved landing systems and better weather data acquisition and dissemination. The program to improve the quality of weather information includes the following: Radar Remote Weather Display System; Flight Service Automation System; Automatic Weather Observation System; Center Weather Processor, and Next Generation Weather Radar Development.

Final Environmental Assessment for the Beddown and Flight Operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-01

Medical Group provides dental and medical services to military personnel and their families on GFAFB. EA for the Beddown and Flight Operations of...for System Safety Moulton, Carey L. 1990. Air Force Procedure For Predicting Aircraft Noise Around Airbases: Noise Exposure Model (NOISEMAP

Skylab consolidated instrumentation plan for SL-1/SL-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, D. E.

1972-01-01

The consolidated instrumentation plan is presented for employing optical and electronic data acquisition systems to monitor the performance and trajectory of Skylab 1 and Skylab 2 vehicles during the launch phase. Telemetry, optical, and electronic tracking equipment on board the vehicles, and data acquisition systems monitoring the flights are discussed. Flight safety instrumentation, vehicle data transmission systems, and instrumentation geography are also described.

Markov Jump-Linear Performance Models for Recoverable Flight Control Computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Hong; Gray, W. Steven; Gonzalez, Oscar R.

2004-01-01

Single event upsets in digital flight control hardware induced by atmospheric neutrons can reduce system performance and possibly introduce a safety hazard. One method currently under investigation to help mitigate the effects of these upsets is NASA Langley s Recoverable Computer System. In this paper, a Markov jump-linear model is developed for a recoverable flight control system, which will be validated using data from future experiments with simulated and real neutron environments. The method of tracking error analysis and the plan for the experiments are also described.

Review of AIDS development. [airborne computers for reliability engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vermeulen, H. C.; Danielsson, S. G.

1981-01-01

The operation and implementation of the aircraft integrated data system AIDS are described. The system is described as an engineering tool with strong emphasis on analysis of recorded information. The AIDS is primarily directed to the monitoring of parameters related to: the safety of the flight; the performance of the aircraft; the performance of the flight guidance system; and the performance and condition of the engines. The system provide short term trend analysis on a trend chart that is updated by the flight engineer on every flight that lasts more than 4 flight hours. Engine data prints are automatically presented during take-off and in the case of limit excedance, e.g., the print shows an automatically reported impending hotstarts on engine nr. 1. Other significant features are reported.

Initial Development of a Metric to Describe the Level of Safety Associated with Piloting an Aircraft with Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) Displays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bartolone, Anthony P.; Glabb, Louis J.; Hughes, Monica F.; Parrish, Russell V.

2005-01-01

Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays provide pilots with a continuous view of terrain combined with integrated guidance symbology in an effort to increase situation awareness (SA) and decrease workload during operations in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). It is hypothesized that SVS displays can replicate the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual out-the-window (OTW) visibility or time of day. Significant progress has been made towards evolving SVS displays as well as demonstrating their ability to increase SA compared to conventional avionics in a variety of conditions. While a substantial amount of data has been accumulated demonstrating the capabilities of SVS displays, the ability of SVS to replicate the safety and operational flexibility of VMC flight performance in all visibility conditions is unknown to any specific degree. In order to more fully quantify the relationship of flight operations in IMC with SVS displays to conventional operations conducted in VMC, a fundamental comparison to current day general aviation (GA) flight instruments was warranted. Such a comparison could begin to establish the extent to which SVS display concepts are capable of maintaining an "equivalent level of safety" with the round dials they could one day replace, for both current and future operations. A combination of subjective and objective data measures were used to quantify the relationship between selected components of safety that are associated with flying an approach. Four information display methods ranging from a "round dials" baseline through a fully integrated SVS package that includes terrain, pathway based guidance, and a strategic navigation display, were investigated in this high fidelity simulation experiment. In addition, a broad spectrum of pilots, representative of the GA population, were employed for testing in an attempt to enable greater application of the results and determine if "equivalent levels of safety" are achievable through the incorporation of SVS technology regardless of a pilot's flight experience.

Suborbital Safety Technical Committee- Summary of Proposed Standards & Guidelines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, Andy; Atencia Yepez, Amaya; Klicker, Michael; Howard, Diane; Verstraeten, Joram; Other Suborbital Safety TC Members

2013-09-01

There are currently no international safety standards and guidelines to assist designers, operators and authorities in the suborbital domain. There is a launch licensing regime in the United States (US) to assist the forerunners of the suborbital domain however this does not provide a safety approval for the vehicle against set standards or does not have an acceptable level of safety to achieve in terms of design or operation. In Europe a certification framework may be implemented however this (or any regulatory framework) is not in place as yet. This paper summarises the 5 tasks thus far completed by the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) Suborbital Safety Technical Committee (SS TC) in terms of deriving standards and guidelines for the suborbital domain. The SS TC comprises members from the suborbital industry (US and European vehicle designers), safety experts, legal experts, medical/training experts, prospective spaceport operators and members from the US and European authorities (though these members cannot directly steer the standards and guidelines - they can merely review them for interest and comment on non-policy aspects). The SS TC has been divided into three working groups (WG): Regulatory WG, Technical WG and Operations WG. The 5 tasks that are summarised in this paper include: Regulatory WG - (Task 1) Clarify and promote regulatory framework for suborbital flights (including discussions on Space Law 'v' Air Law for suborbital domain); Technical WG - (Task 1) Defining & Alignment (globally) of Safety Criteria for Suborbital domain using industry best practices, (Task 2) Software/complex hardware certification for suborbital flights; Operations WG - (Task 1) Flight Crew and Spaceflight Participant Medical and Training Standards & Guidelines for suborbital flight, (Task 2) Spaceport Safety Management System. This paper also details the next set of standards and guidelines that will be derived by the SS TC. The paper concludes that these and future IAASS suborbital safety standards and guidelines are needed now and should beconsidered by the industry players before the first commercial flights expected late 2013/early 2014.

Flight Guidance System Requirements Specification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Steven P.; Tribble, Alan C.; Carlson, Timothy M.; Danielson, Eric J.

2003-01-01

This report describes a requirements specification written in the RSML-e language for the mode logic of a Flight Guidance System of a typical regional jet aircraft. This model was created as one of the first steps in a five-year project sponsored by the NASA Langley Research Center, Rockwell Collins Inc., and the Critical Systems Research Group of the University of Minnesota to develop new methods and tools to improve the safety of avionics designs. This model will be used to demonstrate the application of a variety of methods and techniques, including safety analysis of system and subsystem requirements, verification of key properties using theorem provers and model checkers, identification of potential sources mode confusion in system designs, partitioning of applications based on the criticality of system hazards, and autogeneration of avionics quality code. While this model is representative of the mode logic of a typical regional jet aircraft, it does not describe an actual or planned product. Several aspects of a full Flight Guidance System, such as recovery from failed sensors, have been omitted, and no claims are made regarding the accuracy or completeness of this specification.

Qualitative Future Safety Risk Identification an Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barr, Lawrence C.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this report is to document the results of a high-level qualitative study that was conducted to identify future aviation safety risks and to assess the potential impacts to the National Airspace System (NAS) of NASA Aviation Safety research on these risks. Multiple external sources (for example, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Flight Safety Foundation, the National Research Council, and the Joint Planning and Development Office) were used to develop a compilation of future safety issues risks, also referred to as future tall poles. The primary criterion used to identify the most critical future safety risk issues was that the issue must be cited in several of these sources as a safety area of concern. The tall poles in future safety risk, in no particular order of importance, are as follows: Runway Safety, Loss of Control In Flight, Icing Ice Detection, Loss of Separation, Near Midair Collision Human Fatigue, Increasing Complexity and Reliance on Automation, Vulnerability Discovery, Data Sharing and Dissemination, and Enhanced Survivability in the Event of an Accident.

Study of a safety margin system for powered-lift STOL aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heffley, R. K.; Jewell, W. F.

1978-01-01

A study was conducted to explore the feasibility of a safety margin system for powered-lift aircraft which require a backside piloting technique. The objective of the safety margin system was to present multiple safety margin criteria as a single variable which could be tracked manually or automatically and which could be monitored for the purpose of deriving safety margin status. The study involved a pilot-in-the-loop analysis of several safety margin system concepts and a simulation experiment to evaluate those concepts which showed promise of providing a good solution. A system was ultimately configured which offered reasonable compromises in controllability, status information content, and the ability to regulate the safety margin at some expense of the allowable low speed flight path envelope.

Flight test summary of modified fuel systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barrett, B. G.

1976-01-01

Two different aircraft designs, each with two modified fuel control systems, were evaluated. Each aircraft was evaluated in a given series of defined ground and flight conditions while quantitative and qualitative observations were made. During this program, some ten flights were completed, and a total of about 13 hours of engine run time was accumulated by the two airplanes. The results of these evaluations with emphasis on the operational and safety aspects were analyzed. Ground tests of the engine alone were not able to predict acceptable limiting lean mixture settings for the flight envelopes of the Cessna Models 150 and T337.

NASA aviation safety reporting system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

Aviation safety reports that relate to loss of control in flight, problems that occur as a result of similar sounding alphanumerics, and pilot incapacitation are presented. Problems related to the go around maneuver in air carrier operations, and bulletins (and FAA responses to them) that pertain to air traffic control systems and procedures are included.

The Max Launch Abort System - Concept, Flight Test, and Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, Michael G.

2014-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is an independent engineering analysis and test organization providing support across the range of NASA programs. In 2007 NASA was developing the launch escape system for the Orion spacecraft that was evolved from the traditional tower-configuration escape systems used for the historic Mercury and Apollo spacecraft. The NESC was tasked, as a programmatic risk-reduction effort to develop and flight test an alternative to the Orion baseline escape system concept. This project became known as the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS), named in honor of Maxime Faget, the developer of the original Mercury escape system. Over the course of approximately two years the NESC performed conceptual and tradeoff analyses, designed and built full-scale flight test hardware, and conducted a flight test demonstration in July 2009. Since the flight test, the NESC has continued to further develop and refine the MLAS concept.

Workshop on Flight Crew Accident and Incident Human Factors Proceedings (MS Word file)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-06-01

On June 21 - 23, 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Office of : System Safety, as part of its Human Factors Data Project, convened the Workshop : on Flight Crew Accident and Incident Human Factors at The MITRE Corporation in : McLean...

Causal Factors and Adverse Events of Aviation Accidents and Incidents Related to Integrated Vehicle Health Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.; Briggs, Jeffrey L.; Evans, Joni K.; Jones, Sharon M.; Kurtoglu, Tolga; Leone, Karen M.; Sandifer, Carl E.

2011-01-01

Causal factors in aviation accidents and incidents related to system/component failure/malfunction (SCFM) were examined for Federal Aviation Regulation Parts 121 and 135 operations to establish future requirements for the NASA Aviation Safety Program s Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Project. Data analyzed includes National Transportation Safety Board (NSTB) accident data (1988 to 2003), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) incident data (1988 to 2003), and Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) incident data (1993 to 2008). Failure modes and effects analyses were examined to identify possible modes of SCFM. A table of potential adverse conditions was developed to help evaluate IVHM research technologies. Tables present details of specific SCFM for the incidents and accidents. Of the 370 NTSB accidents affected by SCFM, 48 percent involved the engine or fuel system, and 31 percent involved landing gear or hydraulic failure and malfunctions. A total of 35 percent of all SCFM accidents were caused by improper maintenance. Of the 7732 FAA database incidents affected by SCFM, 33 percent involved landing gear or hydraulics, and 33 percent involved the engine and fuel system. The most frequent SCFM found in ASRS were turbine engine, pressurization system, hydraulic main system, flight management system/flight management computer, and engine. Because the IVHM Project does not address maintenance issues, and landing gear and hydraulic systems accidents are usually not fatal, the focus of research should be those SCFMs that occur in the engine/fuel and flight control/structures systems as well as power systems.

Air Ground Integration Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lozito, Sandy; Mackintosh, Margaret-Anne; DiMeo, Karen; Kopardekar, Parimal

2002-01-01

A simulation was conducted to examine the effect of shared air/ground authority when each is equipped with enhanced traffic- and conflict-alerting systems. The potential benefits of an advanced air traffic management (ATM) concept referred to as "free flight" include improved safety through enhanced conflict detection and resolution capabilities, increased flight-operations management, and better decision-making tools for air traffic controllers and flight crews. One element of the free-flight concept suggests shifting aircraft separation responsibility from air traffic controllers to flight crews, thereby creating an environment with "shared-separation" authority. During FY00. NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center completed the first integrated, high-fidelity, real-time, human-in-the-loop simulation.

Crew Factors in Flight Operations XIV: Alertness Management in Regional Flight Operations Education Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosekind, Mark R.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Neri, David F.; Oyung, Raymond L.; Mallis, Melissa M.

2002-01-01

Regional operations encompass a broad range of pilots and equipment. This module is intended to help all those involved in regional aviation, including pilots, schedulers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, policy makers, and others, to understand the physiological factors underlying fatigue, how flight operations affect fatigue, and what can be done to counteract fatigue and maximize alertness and performance in their operations. The overall purpose of this module is to promote aviation safety, performance, and productivity. It is intended to meet three specific objectives: (1) to explain the current state of knowledge about the physiological mechanisms underlying fatigue; (2) to demonstrate how this knowledge can be applied to improving flight crew sleep, performance, and alertness; and (3) to offer strategies for alertness management. Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and National Transportation Safety Board (NISH) reports are used throughout this module to demonstrate that fatigue is a safety issue in the regional operations community. The appendices at the end of this module include the ASRS reports used for the examples contained in this publication, brief introductions to sleep disorders and relaxation techniques, summaries of relevant NASA publications, and a list of general readings on sleep, sleep disorders, and circadian rhythms.

Designing Flight Deck Procedures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Degani, Asaf; Wiener, Earl

2005-01-01

Three reports address the design of flight-deck procedures and various aspects of human interaction with cockpit systems that have direct impact on flight safety. One report, On the Typography of Flight- Deck Documentation, discusses basic research about typography and the kind of information needed by designers of flight deck documentation. Flight crews reading poorly designed documentation may easily overlook a crucial item on the checklist. The report surveys and summarizes the available literature regarding the design and typographical aspects of printed material. It focuses on typographical factors such as proper typefaces, character height, use of lower- and upper-case characters, line length, and spacing. Graphical aspects such as layout, color coding, fonts, and character contrast are discussed; and several cockpit conditions such as lighting levels and glare are addressed, as well as usage factors such as angular alignment, paper quality, and colors. Most of the insights and recommendations discussed in this report are transferable to paperless cockpit systems of the future and computer-based procedure displays (e.g., "electronic flight bag") in aerospace systems and similar systems that are used in other industries such as medical, nuclear systems, maritime operations, and military systems.

NASA Flight Operations of Ikhana and Global Hawk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Posada, Herman D.

2009-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the flight operations of Ikhana and Global Hawk Fire missions. The Ikhana fire missions modifications, ground systems, flight operations, range safety zones, primary and secondary emergency landing sites, and the Ikhana western states fire missions of 2007 are described, along with The Global Hawk specs, a description of the Global Hawk Pacific Science Campaign (GloPac '09) and GloPac payloads.

76 FR 57635 - Restrictions on Operators Employing Former Flight Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspectors...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-16

... Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspectors; Correction AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT... ``Restrictions on Operators Employing Former Flight Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspectors'' (76 FR 52231... of, a Flight Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspector, and had direct responsibility to inspect...

An Overview of the NASA Aviation Safety Program Propulsion Health Monitoring Element

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simon, Donald L.

2000-01-01

The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) has been initiated with aggressive goals to reduce the civil aviation accident rate, To meet these goals, several technology investment areas have been identified including a sub-element in propulsion health monitoring (PHM). Specific AvSP PHM objectives are to develop and validate propulsion system health monitoring technologies designed to prevent engine malfunctions from occurring in flight, and to mitigate detrimental effects in the event an in-flight malfunction does occur. A review of available propulsion system safety information was conducted to help prioritize PHM areas to focus on under the AvSP. It is noted that when a propulsion malfunction is involved in an aviation accident or incident, it is often a contributing factor rather than the sole cause for the event. Challenging aspects of the development and implementation of PHM technology such as cost, weight, robustness, and reliability are discussed. Specific technology plans are overviewed including vibration diagnostics, model-based controls and diagnostics, advanced instrumentation, and general aviation propulsion system health monitoring technology. Propulsion system health monitoring, in addition to engine design, inspection, maintenance, and pilot training and awareness, is intrinsic to enhancing aviation propulsion system safety.

Space Station flight telerobotic servicer functional requirements development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oberright, John; Mccain, Harry; Whitman, Ruth I.

1987-01-01

The Space Station flight telerobotic servicer (FTS), a flight robotic system for use on the first Space Station launch, is described. The objectives of the FTS program include: (1) the provision of an alternative crew EVA by supporting the crew in assembly, maintenance, and servicing activities, and (2) the improvement of crew safety by performing hazardous tasks such as spacecraft refueling or thermal and power system maintenance. The NASA/NBS Standard Reference Model provides the generic, hierarchical, structured functional control definition for the system. It is capable of accommodating additional degrees of machine intelligence in the future.

NASA B737 flight test results of the total energy control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruce, Kevin R.

1987-01-01

The Total Energy Control System (TECS) is an integrated autopilot/autothrottle developed by BCAC that was test flown on NASA Langley's Transport System Research Vehicle (i.e., a highly modified Boeing B737). This systems was developed using principles of total energy in which the total kinetic and potential energy of the airplane was controlled by the throttles, and the energy distribution controled by the elevator. TECS integrates all the control functions of a conventional pitch autopilot and autothrottle into a single generalized control concept. This integration provides decoupled flightpath and maneuver control, as well as a coordinated throttle response for all maneuvers. A mode hierarchy was established to preclude exceeding airplane safety and performance limits. The flight test of TECS took place as a series of five flights over a 33-week period during September 1985 at NASA Langley. Most of the original flight test plan was completed within the first three flights with the system not exhibiting any instabilities or design problems that required any gain adjustment during flight.

A rule-based system for real-time analysis of control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larson, Richard R.; Millard, D. Edward

1992-10-01

An approach to automate the real-time analysis of flight critical health monitoring and system status is being developed and evaluated at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. A software package was developed in-house and installed as part of the extended aircraft interrogation and display system. This design features a knowledge-base structure in the form of rules to formulate interpretation and decision logic of real-time data. This technique has been applied for ground verification and validation testing and flight testing monitoring where quick, real-time, safety-of-flight decisions can be very critical. In many cases post processing and manual analysis of flight system data are not required. The processing is described of real-time data for analysis along with the output format which features a message stack display. The development, construction, and testing of the rule-driven knowledge base, along with an application using the X-31A flight test program, are presented.

A rule-based system for real-time analysis of control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Larson, Richard R.; Millard, D. Edward

1992-01-01

An approach to automate the real-time analysis of flight critical health monitoring and system status is being developed and evaluated at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. A software package was developed in-house and installed as part of the extended aircraft interrogation and display system. This design features a knowledge-base structure in the form of rules to formulate interpretation and decision logic of real-time data. This technique has been applied for ground verification and validation testing and flight testing monitoring where quick, real-time, safety-of-flight decisions can be very critical. In many cases post processing and manual analysis of flight system data are not required. The processing is described of real-time data for analysis along with the output format which features a message stack display. The development, construction, and testing of the rule-driven knowledge base, along with an application using the X-31A flight test program, are presented.

Runway Safety Monitor Algorithm for Runway Incursion Detection and Alerting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, David F., Jr.; Jones, Denise R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Runway Safety Monitor (RSM) is an algorithm for runway incursion detection and alerting that was developed in support of NASA's Runway Incursion Prevention System (RIPS) research conducted under the NASA Aviation Safety Program's Synthetic Vision System element. The RSM algorithm provides pilots with enhanced situational awareness and warnings of runway incursions in sufficient time to take evasive action and avoid accidents during landings, takeoffs, or taxiing on the runway. The RSM currently runs as a component of the NASA Integrated Display System, an experimental avionics software system for terminal area and surface operations. However, the RSM algorithm can be implemented as a separate program to run on any aircraft with traffic data link capability. The report documents the RSM software and describes in detail how RSM performs runway incursion detection and alerting functions for NASA RIPS. The report also describes the RIPS flight tests conducted at the Dallas-Ft Worth International Airport (DFW) during September and October of 2000, and the RSM performance results and lessons learned from those flight tests.

Use of System Safety Risk Assessments for the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greenhalgh, Phillip O.; McCool, Alex (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This paper discusses the System Safety approach used to assess risk for the Space Shuttle Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM). Previous to the first RSRM flight in the fall of 1988, all systems were analyzed extensively to assure that hazards were identified, assessed and that the baseline risk was understood and appropriately communicated. Since the original RSRM baseline was established, Thiokol and NASA have implemented a number of initiatives that have further improved the RSRM. The robust design, completion of rigorous testing and flight success of the RSRM has resulted in a wise reluctance to make changes. One of the primary assessments required to accompany the documentation of each proposed change and aid in the decision making process is a risk assessment. Documentation supporting proposed changes, including the risk assessments from System Safety, are reviewed and assessed by Thiokol and NASA technical management. After thorough consideration, approved changes are implemented adding improvements to and reducing risk of the Space Shuttle RSRM.

A Piloted Evaluation of Damage Accommodating Flight Control Using a Remotely Piloted Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Kevin; Cox, David E.; Murri, Daniel G.; Riddick, Stephen E.

2011-01-01

Toward the goal of reducing the fatal accident rate of large transport airplanes due to loss of control, the NASA Aviation Safety Program has conducted research into flight control technologies that can provide resilient control of airplanes under adverse flight conditions, including damage and failure. As part of the safety program s Integrated Resilient Aircraft Control Project, the NASA Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research system was designed to address the challenges associated with the safe and efficient subscale flight testing of research control laws under adverse flight conditions. This paper presents the results of a series of pilot evaluations of several flight control algorithms used during an offset-to-landing task conducted at altitude. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the ability of various flight control technologies to prevent loss of control as stability and control characteristics were degraded. During the course of 8 research flights, data were recorded while one task was repeatedly executed by a single evaluation pilot. Two generic failures, which degraded stability and control characteristics, were simulated inflight for each of the 9 different flight control laws that were tested. The flight control laws included three different adaptive control methodologies, several linear multivariable designs, a linear robust design, a linear stability augmentation system, and a direct open-loop control mode. Based on pilot Cooper-Harper Ratings obtained for this test, the adaptive flight control laws provided the greatest overall benefit for the stability and control degradation scenarios that were considered. Also, all controllers tested provided a significant improvement in handling qualities over the direct open-loop control mode.

Pre-flight safety briefings, mood and information retention.

PubMed

Tehrani, Morteza; Molesworth, Brett R C

2015-11-01

Mood is a moderating factor that is known to affect performance. For airlines, the delivery of the pre-flight safety briefing prior to a commercial flight is not only an opportunity to inform passengers about the safety features on-board the aircraft they are flying, but an opportunity to positively influence their mood, and hence performance in the unlikely event of an emergency. The present research examined whether indeed the pre-flight safety briefing could be used to positively impact passengers' mood. In addition, the present research examined whether the recall of key safety messages contained within the pre-flight safety briefing was influenced by the style of briefing. Eighty-two participants were recruited for the research and divided into three groups; each group exposed to a different pre-flight cabin safety briefing video (standard, humorous, movie theme). Mood was measured prior and post safety briefing. The results revealed that pre-flight safety briefing videos can be used to manipulate passengers' mood. Safety briefings that are humorous or use movie themes to model their briefing were found to positively affect mood. However, there was a trade-off between entertainment and education, the greater the entertainment value, the poorer the retention of key safety messages. The results of the research are discussed from both an applied and theoretical perspective. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Weather Webcam System for the Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services in Miyazaki, Japan.

PubMed

Kanemaru, Katsuhiro; Katzer, Robert; Hanato, Syu; Nakamura, Koji; Matsuoka, Hiroshi; Ochiai, Hidenobu

In Japan, the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) system was initiated in 2001 and introduced to Miyazaki Prefecture in 2012. Mountainous areas occupy 88% of Miyazaki's land area, and HEMS flights can be subject to the effects of weather. Therefore, ensuring safety in changing weather conditions is a necessity for HEMS. The weather webcam system (WWS) was established to observe the meteorological conditions in 29 locations. Assessments of the probability of a flight based on conventional data including a weather chart provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency and meteorological reports provided by the Miyazaki Airport were compared with the assessment based on the combination of the information obtained from the WWS and the conventional data. The results showed that the probability of a flight by HEMS increased when using the WSS, leading to an increased transportation opportunity for patients in the mountains who rely on HEMS. In addition, the results indicate that the WWS may prevent flights in unfavorable weather conditions. The WWS used in conjunction with conventional weather data within Miyazaki HEMS increased the pilot's awareness of current weather conditions throughout the Prefecture, increasing the probability of accepting a flight. Copyright © 2017 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Initial development of a metric to describe the level of safety associated with piloting an aircraft with synthetic vision systems (SVS) displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartolone, Anthony P.; Glaab, Louis J.; Hughes, Monica F.; Parrish, Russell V.

2005-05-01

Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays provide pilots with a continuous view of terrain combined with integrated guidance symbology in an effort to increase situation awareness (SA) and decrease workload during operations in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). It is hypothesized that SVS displays can replicate the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual out-the-window (OTW) visibility or time of day. Throughout the course of recent SVS research, significant progress has been made towards evolving SVS displays as well as demonstrating their ability to increase SA compared to conventional avionics in a variety of conditions. While a substantial amount of data has been accumulated demonstrating the capabilities of SVS displays, the ability of SVS to replicate the safety and operational flexibility of VMC flight performance in all visibility conditions is unknown to any specific degree. The previous piloted simulations and flight tests have shown better SA and path precision is achievable with SVS displays without causing an increase in workload, however none of the previous SVS research attempted to fully capture the significance of SVS displays in terms of their contribution to safety or operational benefits. In order to more fully quantify the relationship of flight operations in IMC with SVS displays to conventional operations conducted in VMC, a fundamental comparison to current day general aviation (GA) flight instruments was warranted. Such a comparison could begin to establish the extent to which SVS display concepts are capable of maintaining an "equivalent level of safety" with the round dials they could one day replace, for both current and future operations. Such a comparison was the focus of the SVS-ES experiment conducted under the Aviation Safety and Security Program's (AvSSP) GA Element of the SVS Project at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. A combination of subjective and objective data measures were used in this preliminary research to quantify the relationship between selected components of safety that are associated with flying an approach. Four information display methods ranging from a "round dials" baseline through a fully integrated SVS package that includes terrain, pathway based guidance, and a strategic navigation display, were investigated in this high fidelity simulation experiment. In addition, a broad spectrum of pilots, representative of the GA population, were employed for testing in an attempt to enable greater application of the results and determine if "equivalent levels of safety" are achievable through the incorporation of SVS technology regardless of a pilot's flight experience.

Using computer graphics to enhance astronaut and systems safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, J. W.

1985-01-01

Computer graphics is being employed at the NASA Johnson Space Center as a tool to perform rapid, efficient and economical analyses for man-machine integration, flight operations development and systems engineering. The Operator Station Design System (OSDS), a computer-based facility featuring a highly flexible and versatile interactive software package, PLAID, is described. This unique evaluation tool, with its expanding data base of Space Shuttle elements, various payloads, experiments, crew equipment and man models, supports a multitude of technical evaluations, including spacecraft and workstation layout, definition of astronaut visual access, flight techniques development, cargo integration and crew training. As OSDS is being applied to the Space Shuttle, Orbiter payloads (including the European Space Agency's Spacelab) and future space vehicles and stations, astronaut and systems safety are being enhanced. Typical OSDS examples are presented. By performing physical and operational evaluations during early conceptual phases. supporting systems verification for flight readiness, and applying its capabilities to real-time mission support, the OSDS provides the wherewithal to satisfy a growing need of the current and future space programs for efficient, economical analyses.

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.

Apollo/Saturn 5 consolidated instrumentation plan for AS-511 (Apollo 16)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, D. E.

1972-01-01

The consolidated instrumentation plan, for employing optical and electronic data acquisition systems to monitor the performance and trajectory of Apollo Saturn 5 vehicle 511 during the launch phase of the mission (prelaunch, liftoff to insertion), is presented. Telemetry, optical, and electronic tracking equipment on board the vehicle and data acquisition systems monitoring the flight are discussed. Flight safety instrumentation, vehicle data transmission systems, and geophysical instrumentation are also described.

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

The development of an Infrared Environmental System for TOPEX Solar Panel Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noller, E.

1994-01-01

Environmental testing and flight qualification of the TOPEX/POSEIDON spacecraft solar panels were performed with infrared (IR) lamps and a control system that were newly designed and integrated. The basic goal was more rigorous testing of the costly panels' new composite-structure design without jeopardizing their safety. The technique greatly reduces the costs and high risks of testing flight solar panels.

The Federal Aviation Administration Plan for Research, Engineering and Development, 1994

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-01

Aeronautical Data Link Communications and (COTS) runway incursion system software will Applications, and 051-130 Airport Safety be demonstrated as a... airport departure and ar- efforts rival scheduling plans that optimize daily traffic flows for long-range flights between major city- * OTFP System to...Expanded HARS planning capabilities to in- aviation dispatchers to develop optimized high clude enhanced communications software for altitude flight

77 FR 52219 - Amendment of Class E Airspace; Lewistown, MT

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-29

... Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) standard instrument approach procedures at Lewistown Municipal Airport. This improves the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR...) standard instrument approach procedures at the airport. This action is necessary for the safety and...

Analysis of Aviation Safety Reporting System Incident Data Associated with the Technical Challenges of the System-Wide Safety and Assurance Technologies Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Withrow, Colleen A.; Reveley, Mary S.

2015-01-01

The Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) System-Wide Safety and Assurance Technologies (SSAT) Project asked the AvSP Systems and Portfolio Analysis Team to identify SSAT-related trends. SSAT had four technical challenges: advance safety assurance to enable deployment of NextGen systems; automated discovery of precursors to aviation safety incidents; increasing safety of human-automation interaction by incorporating human performance, and prognostic algorithm design for safety assurance. This report reviews incident data from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) for system-component-failure- or-malfunction- (SCFM-) related and human-factor-related incidents for commercial or cargo air carriers (Part 121), commuter airlines (Part 135), and general aviation (Part 91). The data was analyzed by Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) part, phase of flight, SCFM category, human factor category, and a variety of anomalies and results. There were 38 894 SCFM-related incidents and 83 478 human-factorrelated incidents analyzed between January 1993 and April 2011.

Launch Pad Escape System Design (Human Spaceflight)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maloney, Kelli

2011-01-01

A launch pad escape system for human spaceflight is one of those things that everyone hopes they will never need but is critical for every manned space program. Since men were first put into space in the early 1960s, the need for such an Emergency Escape System (EES) has become apparent. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has made use of various types of these EESs over the past 50 years. Early programs, like Mercury and Gemini, did not have an official launch pad escape system. Rather, they relied on a Launch Escape System (LES) of a separate solid rocket motor attached to the manned capsule that could pull the astronauts to safety in the event of an emergency. This could only occur after hatch closure at the launch pad or during the first stage of flight. A version of a LES, now called a Launch Abort System (LAS) is still used today for all manned capsule type launch vehicles. However, this system is very limited in that it can only be used after hatch closure and it is for flight crew only. In addition, the forces necessary for the LES/LAS to get the capsule away from a rocket during the first stage of flight are quite high and can cause injury to the crew. These shortcomings led to the development of a ground based EES for the flight crew and ground support personnel as well. This way, a much less dangerous mode of egress is available for any flight or ground personnel up to a few seconds before launch. The early EESs were fairly simple, gravity-powered systems to use when thing's go bad. And things can go bad very quickly and catastrophically when dealing with a flight vehicle fueled with millions of pounds of hazardous propellant. With this in mind, early EES designers saw such a passive/unpowered system as a must for last minute escapes. This and other design requirements had to be derived for an EES, and this section will take a look at the safety design requirements had to be derived for an EES, and this section will take a look at the safety design aspects for a launch pad escape system.

Development and Testing of a High Stability Engine Control (HISTEC) System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orme, John S.; DeLaat, John C.; Southwick, Robert D.; Gallops, George W.; Doane, Paul M.

1998-01-01

Flight tests were recently completed to demonstrate an inlet-distortion-tolerant engine control system. These flight tests were part of NASA's High Stability Engine Control (HISTEC) program. The objective of the HISTEC program was to design, develop, and flight demonstrate an advanced integrated engine control system that uses measurement-based, real-time estimates of inlet airflow distortion to enhance engine stability. With improved stability and tolerance of inlet airflow distortion, future engine designs may benefit from a reduction in design stall-margin requirements and enhanced reliability, with a corresponding increase in performance and decrease in fuel consumption. This paper describes the HISTEC methodology, presents an aircraft test bed description (including HISTEC-specific modifications) and verification and validation ground tests. Additionally, flight test safety considerations, test plan and technique design and approach, and flight operations are addressed. Some illustrative results are presented to demonstrate the type of analysis and results produced from the flight test program.

SSME digital control design characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, W. T.; Searle, R. F.

1985-01-01

To protect against a latent programming error (software fault) existing in an untried branch combination that would render the space shuttle out of control in a critical flight phase, the Backup Flight System (BFS) was chartered to provide a safety alternative. The BFS is designed to operate in critical flight phases (ascent and descent) by monitoring the activities of the space shuttle flight subsystems that are under control of the primary flight software (PFS) (e.g., navigation, crew interface, propulsion), then, upon manual command by the flightcrew, to assume control of the space shuttle and deliver it to a noncritical flight condition (safe orbit or touchdown). The problems associated with the selection of the PFS/BFS system architecture, the internal BFS architecture, the fault tolerant software mechanisms, and the long term BFS utility are discussed.

Better-Than-Visual Technologies for Next Generation Air Transportation System Terminal Maneuvering Area Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Bailey, Randall E.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Jones, Denise R.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Williams, Steve P.; Barmore, Bryan E.; Ellis, Kyle E.; Rehfeld, Sherri A.

2011-01-01

A consortium of industry, academia and government agencies are devising new concepts for future U.S. aviation operations under the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Many key capabilities are being identified to enable NextGen, including the concept of Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) replicating the capacity and safety of today's visual flight rules (VFR) in all-weather conditions. NASA is striving to develop the technologies and knowledge to enable EVO and to extend EVO towards a Better-Than-Visual (BTV) operational concept. The BTV operational concept uses an electronic means to provide sufficient visual references of the external world and other required flight references on flight deck displays that enable VFR-like operational tempos and maintain and improve the safety of VFR while using VFR-like procedures in all-weather conditions. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) research on technologies to enable the concept of BTV is described.

STS-26 Preflight Press Briefing: 5 Man Crew. Part 6 of 9

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

This NASA KSC video release presents part of a press conference held prior to Discovery flight STS-26, the first shuttle mission flown following the 51-L Challenger accident. The video opens with a statement from Commander Frederick H. Hauck, and the introductions of crew members, Richard O. Covey, Pilot, and mission specialists, John M. Lounge, George D. Nelson, and David C. Hilmers. Some of the questions posed by scientific journalists addressed the following subjects: launch preparation in the month prior to flight, astronaut family anxieties in light of the Challenger accident, extent of safety measures made prior to flight, flight readiness firing, the crew escape system, civilians in space, conservative mission design, astronaut selection, mission turnaround and launch rate, and the ability to maintain a high level of scrutiny regarding safety on future missions.

Space-Based Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Space-Based Range (SBR), previously known as Space-Based Telemetry and Range Safety (STARS), is a multicenter NASA proof-of-concept project to determine if space-based communications using NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) can support the Range Safety functions of acquiring tracking data and generating flight termination signals, while also providing broadband Range User data such as voice, video, and vehicle/payload data. There was a successful test of the Range Safety system at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on December 20, 2005, on a two-stage Terrier-Orion spin-stabilized sounding rocket. SBR transmitted GPS tracking data and maintained links with two TDRSS satellites simultaneously during the 10-min flight. The payload section deployed a parachute, landed in the Atlantic Ocean about 90 miles downrange from the launch site, and was successfully recovered. During the Terrier-Orion tests flights, more than 99 percent of all forward commands and more than 95 percent of all return frames were successfully received and processed. The time latency necessary for a command to travel from WFF over landlines to White Sands Complex and then to the vehicle via TDRSS, be processed onboard, and then be sent back to WFF was between 1.0 s and 1.1 s. The forward-link margins for TDRS-10 (TDRS East [TDE]) were 11 dB to 12 dB plus or minus 2 dB, and for TDRS-4 (TDRS Spare [TDS]) were 9 dB to 10 dB plus or minus 1.5 dB. The return-link margins for both TDE and TDS were 6 dB to 8 dB plus or minus 3 dB. There were 11 flights on an F-15B at Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) between November 2006 and February 2007. The Range User system tested a 184-element TDRSS Ku-band (15 GHz) phased-array antenna with data rates of 5 Mbps and 10 Mbps. This data was a combination of black-and-white cockpit video, Range Safety tracking and transceiver data, and aircraft and antenna controller data streams. IP data formatting was used.

If You've Got It, Use It (Simulation, That Is...)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Chad; Tucker, George

2006-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concept Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) UH-60 in-flight simulator, the use of simulation in support of safety monitor design specification development, the development of a failure/recovery (F/R) rating scale, the use of F/R Rating Scale as a common element between simulation and flight evaluation, and the expansion of the flight envelope without benefit of simulation.

Air STAR Beyond Visual Range UAS Description and Preliminary Test Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Kevin; Cox, David E.; Foster, John V.; Riddick, Stephen E.; Laughter, Sean A.

2016-01-01

The NASA Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research Unmanned Aerial System project's capabilities were expanded by updating the system design and concept of operations. The new remotely piloted airplane system design was flight tested to assess integrity and operational readiness of the design to perform flight research. The purpose of the system design is to improve aviation safety by providing a capability to validate, in high-risk conditions, technologies to prevent airplane loss of control. Two principal design requirements were to provide a high degree of reliability and that the new design provide a significant increase in test volume (relative to operations using the previous design). The motivation for increased test volume is to improve test efficiency and allow new test capabilities that were not possible with the previous design and concept of operations. Three successful test flights were conducted from runway 4-22 at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility.

An investigation of pre-launch and in-flight STS range safety radio signal degradation and dropout

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcdonald, Malcolm W.

1991-01-01

The range safety system (RSS) transmitters operate at a frequency of 416.500 MHz. The transmitting antennas transmit left circularly polarized waves, and the shuttle range safety system (SRSS) receiving antennas onboard the shuttle vehicle receive left circular polarization. Preliminary explanations are proposed for many of the observed fluctuations in signal levels. It is recommended that experiments and further investigation be performed to test the validity of certain of these explanations.

System Safety in Early Manned Space Program: A Case Study of NASA and Project Mercury

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, Frederick D.; Pitts, Donald

2005-01-01

This case study provides a review of National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA's) involvement in system safety during research and evolution from air breathing to exo-atmospheric capable flight systems culminating in the successful Project Mercury. Although NASA has been philosophically committed to the principals of system safety, this case study points out that budget and manpower constraints-as well as a variety of internal and external pressures can jeopardize even a well-designed system safety program. This study begins with a review of the evolution and early years of NASA's rise as a project lead agency and ends with the lessons learned from Project Mercury.

NASA Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Atlanta Demonstration: Surveillance Systems Performance Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cassell, Rick; Evers, Carl; Hicok, Dan; Lee, Derrick

1999-01-01

NASA conducted a series of flight experiments at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport as part of the Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Program. LVLASO is one of the subelements of the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) Program, which is focused on providing technology and operating procedures for achieving clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions, while also improving safety. LVLASO is investigating various technologies to be applied to airport surface operations, including advanced flight deck displays and surveillance systems. The purpose of this report is to document the performance of the surveillance systems tested as part of the LVLASO flight experiment. There were three surveillance sensors tested: primary radar using Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), Multilateration using the Airport Surface Target Identification System (ATIDS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) operating at 1090 MHz. The performance was compared to the draft requirements of the ICAO Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS). Performance parameters evaluated included coverage, position accuracy, and update rate. Each of the sensors was evaluated as a stand alone surveillance system.

Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Approaches Used in Development of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Max Launch Abort System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yuchnovicz, Daniel E.; Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Schuster, David M.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineering and Safety Center was chartered to develop an alternate launch abort system (LAS) as risk mitigation for the Orion Project. Its successful flight test provided data for the design of future LAS vehicles. Design of the flight test vehicle (FTV) and pad abort trajectory relied heavily on modeling and simulation including computational fluid dynamics for vehicle aero modeling, 6-degree-of-freedom kinematics models for flight trajectory modeling, and 3-degree-of-freedom kinematics models for parachute force modeling. This paper highlights the simulation techniques and the interaction between the aerodynamics, flight mechanics, and aerodynamic decelerator disciplines during development of the Max Launch Abort System FTV.

Flight-determined stability analysis of multiple-input-multiple-output control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.

1992-01-01

Singular value analysis can give conservative stability margin results. Applying structure to the uncertainty can reduce this conservatism. This paper presents flight-determined stability margins for the X-29A lateral-directional, multiloop control system. These margins are compared with the predicted unscaled singular values and scaled structured singular values. The algorithm was further evaluated with flight data by changing the roll-rate-to-aileron command-feedback gain by +/- 20 percent. Minimum eigenvalues of the return difference matrix which bound the singular values are also presented. Extracting multiloop singular values from flight data and analyzing the feedback gain variations validates this technique as a measure of robustness. This analysis can be used for near-real-time flight monitoring and safety testing.

Flight-determined stability analysis of multiple-input-multiple-output control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burken, John J.

1992-01-01

Singular value analysis can give conservative stability margin results. Applying structure to the uncertainty can reduce this conservatism. This paper presents flight-determined stability margins for the X-29A lateral-directional, multiloop control system. These margins are compared with the predicted unscaled singular values and scaled structured singular values. The algorithm was further evaluated with flight data by changing the roll-rate-to-aileron-command-feedback gain by +/- 20 percent. Also presented are the minimum eigenvalues of the return difference matrix which bound the singular values. Extracting multiloop singular values from flight data and analyzing the feedback gain variations validates this technique as a measure of robustness. This analysis can be used for near-real-time flight monitoring and safety testing.

Flight Testing of the Space Launch System (SLS) Adaptive Augmenting Control (AAC) Algorithm on an F/A-18

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Cornelius J.; VanZwieten, Tannen S.; Hanson, Curtis E.; Wall, John H.; Miller, Chris J.; Gilligan, Eric T.; Orr, Jeb S.

2014-01-01

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Flight Mechanics and Analysis Division developed an adaptive augmenting control (AAC) algorithm for launch vehicles that improves robustness and performance on an as-needed basis by adapting a classical control algorithm to unexpected environments or variations in vehicle dynamics. This was baselined as part of the Space Launch System (SLS) flight control system. The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was asked to partner with the SLS Program and the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development Program (GCDP) to flight test the AAC algorithm on a manned aircraft that can achieve a high level of dynamic similarity to a launch vehicle and raise the technology readiness of the algorithm early in the program. This document reports the outcome of the NESC assessment.

Air Data Boom System Development for the Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) Flight Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woods-Vedeler, Jessica A.; Cox, Jeff; Bondurant, Robert; Dupont, Ron; ODonnell, Louise; Vellines, Wesley, IV; Johnston, William M.; Cagle, Christopher M.; Schuster, David M.; Elliott, Kenny B.;

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.

Boeing electronic flight bag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trujillo, Eddie J.; Ellersick, Steven D.

2006-05-01

The Boeing Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) is a key element in the evolutionary process of an "e-enabled" flight deck. The EFB is designed to improve the overall safety, efficiency, and operation of the flight deck and corresponding airline operations by providing the flight crew with better information and enhanced functionality in a user-friendly digital format. The EFB is intended to increase the pilots' situational awareness of the airplane and systems, as well as improve the efficiency of information management. The system will replace documents and forms that are currently stored or carried onto the flight deck and put them, in digital format, at the crew's fingertips. This paper describes what the Boeing EFB is and the significant human factors and interface design issues, trade-offs, and decisions made during development of the display system. In addition, EFB formats, graphics, input control methods, challenges using COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf)-leveraged glass and formatting technology are discussed. The optical design requirements, display technology utilized, brightness control system, reflection challenge, and the resulting optical performance are presented.

Biomedical systems analysis program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Biomedical monitoring programs which were developed to provide a system analysis context for a unified hypothesis for adaptation to space flight are presented and discussed. A real-time system of data analysis and decision making to assure the greatest possible crew safety and mission success is described. Information about man's abilities, limitations, and characteristic reactions to weightless space flight was analyzed and simulation models were developed. The predictive capabilities of simulation models for fluid-electrolyte regulation, erythropoiesis regulation, and calcium regulation are discussed.

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.

A Novel Online Data-Driven Algorithm for Detecting UAV Navigation Sensor Faults.

PubMed

Sun, Rui; Cheng, Qi; Wang, Guanyu; Ochieng, Washington Yotto

2017-09-29

The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has increased significantly in recent years. On-board integrated navigation sensors are a key component of UAVs' flight control systems and are essential for flight safety. In order to ensure flight safety, timely and effective navigation sensor fault detection capability is required. In this paper, a novel data-driven Adaptive Neuron Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS)-based approach is presented for the detection of on-board navigation sensor faults in UAVs. Contrary to the classic UAV sensor fault detection algorithms, based on predefined or modelled faults, the proposed algorithm combines an online data training mechanism with the ANFIS-based decision system. The main advantages of this algorithm are that it allows real-time model-free residual analysis from Kalman Filter (KF) estimates and the ANFIS to build a reliable fault detection system. In addition, it allows fast and accurate detection of faults, which makes it suitable for real-time applications. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed fault detection method in terms of accuracy and misdetection rate.

GSFC Safety and Mission Assurance Organization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, Michael P.

2010-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's approach to safety and mission assurance. The contents include: 1) NASA GSFC Background; 2) Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate; 3) The Role of SMA-D and the Technical Authority; 4) GSFC Mission assurance Requirements; 5) GSFC Systems Review Office (SRO); 6) GSFC Supply Chain Management Program; and 7) GSFC ISO9001/AS9100 Status Brief.

Real-Time Safety Monitoring and Prediction for the National Airspace System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roychoudhury, Indranil

2016-01-01

As new operational paradigms and additional aircraft are being introduced into the National Airspace System (NAS), maintaining safety in such a rapidly growing environment becomes more challenging. It is therefore desirable to have both an overview of the current safety of the airspace at different levels of granularity, as well an understanding of how the state of the safety will evolve into the future given the anticipated flight plans, weather forecasts, predicted health of assets in the airspace, and so on. To this end, we have developed a Real-Time Safety Monitoring (RTSM) that first, estimates the state of the NAS using the dynamic models. Then, given the state estimate and a probability distribution of future inputs to the NAS, the framework predicts the evolution of the NAS, i.e., the future state, and analyzes these future states to predict the occurrence of unsafe events. The entire probability distribution of airspace safety metrics is computed, not just point estimates, without significant assumptions regarding the distribution type and or parameters. We demonstrate our overall approach by predicting the occurrence of some unsafe events and show how these predictions evolve in time as flight operations progress.

Flight set 360L007 (STS-33R) field joint protection system, thermal protection system, and systems tunnel components, volume 7

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The performance of the thermal protection system, field joint protection system, and systems tunnel components of flight set 360L007 is presented as evaluated by postflight hardware inspection. The condition of both motors was similar to previous flights. Four aft edge strikes were noted on the ground environment instrumentation thermal protection system. The hits all left a clean substrate, indicating that the damage was caused by nozzle severance debris and/or water impact. No National Space Transportation System debris criteria for missing thermal protection system were violated. Two problem reports were written against the field joint protection system. The first concerned two cracks in the K5NA closeout over the trunnion/vent valve location on the left-hand aft field joint. A similar condition was observed on Flight 5 (360H005). The second problem report referred to a number of small surface cracks between two impact marks on the left-hand forward field joint. Neither area exhibited loose material or any abnormal heat effects, and they have no impact on flight safety.

77 FR 75066 - Special Conditions: Airbus, A350-900 Series Airplane; Flight Envelope Protection (Icing and Non...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-19

... Protection (Icing and Non-Icing Conditions); High Incidence Protection and Alpha-Floor Systems AGENCY... or unusual design features associated with flight envelope protection in icing and non- icing... establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards. DATES...

78 FR 77611 - Special Conditions: Airbus, A350-900 Series Airplane; High Speed Protection System

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-24

... protected by the flight control laws from getting into non- symmetric upset conditions. The proposed special... the airplane is protected by the flight control laws from getting into non-symmetric upset conditions... standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that...

X-29 Number Two in Flight Closeup of Spin Chute Mechanism

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-06-27

Because the number two X-29 at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (later the Dryden Flight Research Center) flew at higher angles of attack than the number one aircraft, it required a spin chute system for safety. The system deployed a parachute for recovery of the aircraft if it inadvertently entered an uncontrolled spin. Most of the components of the spin chute system were located on a truss at the aft end of the aircraft. In addition, there were several cockpit modifications to facilitate use of the chute. The parachute was made of nylon and was of the conical ribbon type.

Practical Application of a Subscale Transport Aircraft for Flight Research in Control Upset and Failure Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cunningham, Kevin; Foster, John V.; Morelli, Eugene A.; Murch, Austin M.

2008-01-01

Over the past decade, the goal of reducing the fatal accident rate of large transport aircraft has resulted in research aimed at the problem of aircraft loss-of-control. Starting in 1999, the NASA Aviation Safety Program initiated research that included vehicle dynamics modeling, system health monitoring, and reconfigurable control systems focused on flight regimes beyond the normal flight envelope. In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis on adaptive control technologies for recovery from control upsets or failures including damage scenarios. As part of these efforts, NASA has developed the Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) flight facility to allow flight research and validation, and system testing for flight regimes that are considered too risky for full-scale manned transport airplane testing. The AirSTAR facility utilizes dynamically-scaled vehicles that enable the application of subscale flight test results to full scale vehicles. This paper describes the modeling and simulation approach used for AirSTAR vehicles that supports the goals of efficient, low-cost and safe flight research in abnormal flight conditions. Modeling of aerodynamics, controls, and propulsion will be discussed as well as the application of simulation to flight control system development, test planning, risk mitigation, and flight research.

The effects of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training on flight attendants' safety attitudes.

PubMed

Ford, Jane; Henderson, Robert; O'Hare, David

2014-02-01

A number of well-known incidents and accidents had led the aviation industry to introduce Crew Resource Management (CRM) training designed specifically for flight attendants, and joint (pilot and flight attendant) CRM training as a way to improve teamwork and communication. The development of these new CRM training programs during the 1990s highlighted the growing need for programs to be evaluated using research tools that had been validated for the flight attendant population. The FSAQ (Flight Safety Attitudes Questionnaire-Flight Attendants) was designed specifically to obtain safety attitude data from flight attendants working for an Asia-Pacific airline. Flight attendants volunteered to participate in a study before receiving CRM training (N=563) and again (N=526) after CRM training. Almost half (13) of the items from the 36-item FSAQ showed highly significant changes following CRM training. Years of experience, crew position, seniority, leadership roles, flight attendant crew size, and length of route flown were all predictive of safety attitudes. CRM training for flight attendants is a valuable tool for increasing positive teamwork behaviors between the flight attendant and pilot sub-groups. Joint training sessions, where flight attendants and pilots work together to find solutions to in-flight emergency scenarios, provide a particularly useful strategy in breaking down communication barriers between the two sub-groups. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

75 FR 57383 - Modification of Class E Airspace; Willcox, AZ

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-21

... System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures (SIAPs) at Cochise County Airport. This will improve the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the airport. DATES: Effective... action is necessary for the safety and management of IFR operations. The FAA has determined this...

75 FR 57375 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Toledo, WA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-21

... System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) at Ed Carlson Memorial Field-South Lewis County Airport. This will improve the safety and management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations... is necessary for the safety and management of IFR operations. The FAA has determined this regulation...

Sounding rocket and balloon flight safety philosophy and methodologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beyma, R. J.

1986-01-01

NASA's sounding rocket and balloon goal is to successfully and safely perform scientific research. This is reflected in the design, planning, and conduct of sounding rocket and balloon operations. The purpose of this paper is to acquaint the sounding rocket and balloon scientific community with flight safety philosophy and methodologies, and how range safety affects their programs. This paper presents the flight safety philosophy for protecting the public against the risk created by the conduct of sounding rocket and balloon operations. The flight safety criteria used to implement this philosophy are defined and the methodologies used to calculate mission risk are described.

Real-time in-flight engine performance and health monitoring techniques for flight research application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ray, Ronald J.; Hicks, John W.; Wichman, Keith D.

1991-01-01

Procedures for real time evaluation of the inflight health and performance of gas turbine engines and related systems were developed to enhance flight test safety and productivity. These techniques include the monitoring of the engine, the engine control system, thrust vectoring control system health, and the detection of engine stalls. Real time performance techniques were developed for the determination and display of inflight thrust and for aeroperformance drag polars. These new methods were successfully shown on various research aircraft at NASA-Dryden. The capability of NASA's Western Aeronautical Test Range and the advanced data acquisition systems were key factors for implementation and real time display of these methods.

Aviation safety and automation technology for subsonic transports

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Albers, James A.

1991-01-01

Discussed here are aviation safety human factors and air traffic control (ATC) automation research conducted at the NASA Ames Research Center. Research results are given in the areas of flight deck and ATC automations, displays and warning systems, crew coordination, and crew fatigue and jet lag. Accident investigation and an incident reporting system that is used to guide the human factors research is discussed. A design philosophy for human-centered automation is given, along with an evaluation of automation on advanced technology transports. Intelligent error tolerant systems such as electronic checklists are discussed along with design guidelines for reducing procedure errors. The data on evaluation of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training indicates highly significant positive changes in appropriate flight deck behavior and more effective use of available resources for crew members receiving the training.

STS-114: Mission Status/Post MMT Briefing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

Paul Hill, STS-114 Lead Shuttle Flight Director, and Wayne Hill, Deputy Manager for the Space Shuttle Program and Chair of the Mission Management Team, discusses with the News media the complete operational success of the STS-114 Flight. Paul Hill mentioned the undocking and flight around did occur right on time that day, and checking out Discovery's entry system in preparation for de-orbit on Monday morning. He summarized the long list of flight operations and activities demonstrated like various forms of inspections on RCC and tile, gap fillers and blanket, imagery and photography, three space walks and re-supply. Wayne Hill talked about flight control check out, pre-entry plans, opportunity landing in Cape Carneval, Florida and back-up landing operations in Edwards Air Force Base, California. He emphasized the concern for crew and public safety during landing. News media focused their questions on public expectations and feelings about the return of the Shuttle to Earth, analysis of mechanical and technical failures, safety of dark or daylight landings.

Design of Low Complexity Model Reference Adaptive Controllers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanson, Curt; Schaefer, Jacob; Johnson, Marcus; Nguyen, Nhan

2012-01-01

Flight research experiments have demonstrated that adaptive flight controls can be an effective technology for improving aircraft safety in the event of failures or damage. However, the nonlinear, timevarying nature of adaptive algorithms continues to challenge traditional methods for the verification and validation testing of safety-critical flight control systems. Increasingly complex adaptive control theories and designs are emerging, but only make testing challenges more difficult. A potential first step toward the acceptance of adaptive flight controllers by aircraft manufacturers, operators, and certification authorities is a very simple design that operates as an augmentation to a non-adaptive baseline controller. Three such controllers were developed as part of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration flight research experiment to determine the appropriate level of complexity required to restore acceptable handling qualities to an aircraft that has suffered failures or damage. The controllers consist of the same basic design, but incorporate incrementally-increasing levels of complexity. Derivations of the controllers and their adaptive parameter update laws are presented along with details of the controllers implementations.

X-40A Free Flight #5

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-05-08

X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A underwent a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound.

Readiness for First Crewed Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaible, Dawn M.

2011-01-01

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was requested to develop a generic framework for evaluating whether any given program has sufficiently complete and balanced plans in place to allow crewmembers to fly safely on a human spaceflight system for the first time (i.e., first crewed flight). The NESC assembled a small team which included experts with experience developing robotic and human spaceflight and aviation systems through first crewed test flight and into operational capability. The NESC team conducted a historical review of the steps leading up to the first crewed flights of Mercury through the Space Shuttle. Benchmarking was also conducted with the United States (U.S.) Air Force and U.S. Navy. This report contains documentation of that review.

Preparing Safety Cases for Operating Outside Prescriptive Fatigue Risk Management Regulations.

PubMed

Gander, Philippa; Mangie, Jim; Wu, Lora; van den Berg, Margo; Signal, Leigh; Phillips, Adrienne

2017-07-01

Transport operators seeking to operate outside prescriptive fatigue management regulations are typically required to present a safety case justifying how they will manage the associated risk. This paper details a method for constructing a successful safety case. The method includes four elements: 1) scope (prescriptive rules and operations affected); 2) risk assessment; 3) risk mitigation strategies; and 4) monitoring ongoing risk. A successful safety case illustrates this method. It enables landing pilots in 3-pilot crews to choose the second or third in-flight rest break, rather than the regulatory requirement to take the third break. Scope was defined using a month of scheduled flights that would be covered (N = 4151). These were analyzed in the risk assessment using existing literature on factors affecting fatigue to estimate the maximum time awake at top of descent and sleep opportunities in each break. Additionally, limited data collected before the new regulations showed that pilots flying at landing chose the third break on only 6% of flights. A prospective survey comparing subjective reports (N = 280) of sleep in the second vs. third break and fatigue and sleepiness ratings at top of descent confirmed that the third break is not consistently superior. The safety case also summarized established systems for fatigue monitoring, risk assessment and hazard identification, and multiple fatigue mitigation strategies that are in place. Other successful safety cases have used this method. The evidence required depends on the expected level of risk and should evolve as experience with fatigue risk management systems builds.Gander P, Mangie J, Wu L, van den Berg M, Signal L, Phillips A. Preparing safety cases for operating outside prescriptive fatigue risk management regulations. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(7):688-696.

Safety Versus Passenger Service: The Flight Attendants’ Dilemma

PubMed Central

Damos, Diane L.; Boyett, Kimberly S.; Gibbs, Patt

2013-01-01

After 9/11, new security duties were instituted at many U.S. air carriers and existing safety and security duties received increased emphasis. Concurrently, in-flight services were changed and in many cases, cabin crews were reduced. This article examines the post-9/11 conflict between passenger service and the timely performance of safety and security duties at 1 major U.S. air carrier. In-flight data were obtained on both international and domestic flights. The data suggest that the prompt performance of the safety and security duties is adversely affected by the number of service duties occurring in the later part of both international and domestic flights. PMID:23667300

Summary of Federal Aviation Administration Responses to National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

reconsiderations, status reports, and followup actions. The NTSB system of priority classification for action provides for documented NTSB followup action for...controllers transmitted information to the flightcrew regarding the location and intensity of the thunderstorm system in the path of the flight, although other... system . Testimony given at a public hearing held in Omaha, Nebraska, during September 1980 indicated that the full extent of the area of precipitation and

14 CFR 417.1 - General information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... safety for a launch if written evidence demonstrates that a Federal launch range has, by the effective... provision. Written evidence includes: (1) Range flight plan approval, (2) Missile system pre-launch safety... email to the FAA stating that the MIC was approved, or (6) Operation approval. (d) Waiver. For a...

Concept of Operations for Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck Displays and Decision Support Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Randall E.; Prinzel, Lawrence J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Young, Steve D.

2011-01-01

The document describes a Concept of Operations for Flight Deck Display and Decision Support technologies which may help enable emerging Next Generation Air Transportation System capabilities while also maintaining, or improving upon, flight safety. This concept of operations is used as the driving function within a spiral program of research, development, test, and evaluation for the Integrated Intelligent Flight Deck (IIFD) project. As such, the concept will be updated at each cycle within the spiral to reflect the latest research results and emerging developments

Development of CO2 laser Doppler instrumentation for detection of clear air turbulence, volume 2: Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, C. E.; Jelalian, A. V.

1979-01-01

Analyses of the mounting and mount support systems of the clear air turbulence transmitters verify that satisfactory shock and vibration isolation are attained. The mount support structure conforms to flight crash safety requirements with high margins of safety. Restraint cables reinforce the mounts in the critical loaded forward direction limiting maximum forward system deflection to 1 1/4 inches.

Technology and Tool Development to Support Safety and Mission Assurance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Denney, Ewen; Pai, Ganesh

2017-01-01

The Assurance Case approach is being adopted in a number of safety-mission-critical application domains in the U.S., e.g., medical devices, defense aviation, automotive systems, and, lately, civil aviation. This paradigm refocuses traditional, process-based approaches to assurance on demonstrating explicitly stated assurance goals, emphasizing the use of structured rationale, and concrete product-based evidence as the means for providing justified confidence that systems and software are fit for purpose in safely achieving mission objectives. NASA has also been embracing assurance cases through the concepts of Risk Informed Safety Cases (RISCs), as documented in the NASA System Safety Handbook, and Objective Hierarchies (OHs) as put forth by the Agency's Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA). This talk will give an overview of the work being performed by the SGT team located at NASA Ames Research Center, in developing technologies and tools to engineer and apply assurance cases in customer projects pertaining to aviation safety. We elaborate how our Assurance Case Automation Toolset (AdvoCATE) has not only extended the state-of-the-art in assurance case research, but also demonstrated its practical utility. We have successfully developed safety assurance cases for a number of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations, which underwent, and passed, scrutiny both by the aviation regulator, i.e., the FAA, as well as the applicable NASA boards for airworthiness and flight safety, flight readiness, and mission readiness. We discuss our efforts in expanding AdvoCATE capabilities to support RISCs and OHs under a project recently funded by OSMA under its Software Assurance Research Program. Finally, we speculate on the applicability of our innovations beyond aviation safety to such endeavors as robotic, and human spaceflight.

Flight Deck-Based Delegated Separation: Evaluation of an On-Board Interval Management System with Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Shelton, Kevin J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Arthur, Jarvis J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Norman, Rober M.; Ellis, Kyle K. E.; Barmore, Bryan E.

2011-01-01

An emerging Next Generation Air Transportation System concept - Equivalent Visual Operations (EVO) - can be achieved using an electronic means to provide sufficient visibility of the external world and other required flight references on flight deck displays that enable the safety, operational tempos, and visual flight rules (VFR)-like procedures for all weather conditions. Synthetic and enhanced flight vision system technologies are critical enabling technologies to EVO. Current research evaluated concepts for flight deck-based interval management (FIM) operations, integrated with Synthetic Vision and Enhanced Vision flight-deck displays and technologies. One concept involves delegated flight deck-based separation, in which the flight crews were paired with another aircraft and responsible for spacing and maintaining separation from the paired aircraft, termed, "equivalent visual separation." The operation required the flight crews to acquire and maintain an "equivalent visual contact" as well as to conduct manual landings in low-visibility conditions. The paper describes results that evaluated the concept of EVO delegated separation, including an off-nominal scenario in which the lead aircraft was not able to conform to the assigned spacing resulting in a loss of separation.

Flight Test Evaluation of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) Concept for Multiple Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Marcus; Jung, Jaewoo; Rios, Joseph; Mercer, Joey; Homola, Jeffrey; Prevot, Thomas; Mulfinger, Daniel; Kopardekar, Parimal

2017-01-01

This study evaluates a traffic management concept designed to enable simultaneous operations of multiple small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace system (NAS). A five-day flight-test activity is described that examined the feasibility of operating multiple UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) of their respective operators in the same airspace. Over the five-day campaign, three groups of five flight crews operated a total of eleven different aircraft. Each group participated in four flight scenarios involving five simultaneous missions. Each vehicle was operated BVLOS up to 1.5 miles from the pilot in command. Findings and recommendations are presented to support the feasibility and safety of routine BVLOS operations for small UAS.

Flight Test Evaluation of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) Concept for Multiple Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Marcus; Jung, Jaewoo; Rios, Joseph; Mercer, Joey; Homola, Jeffrey; Prevot, Thomas; Mulfinger, Daniel; Kopardekar, Parimal

2017-01-01

This study evaluates a traffic management concept designed to enable simultaneous operations of multiple small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the national airspace system (NAS). A five-day flight-test activity is described that examined the feasibility of operating multiple UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) of their respective operators in the same airspace. Over the five-day campaign, three groups of five flight crews operated a total of eleven different aircraft. Each group participated in four flight scenarios involving five simultaneous missions. Each vehicle was operated BVLOS up to 1.5 miles from the pilot in command. Findings and recommendations are presented to support the feasibility and safety of routine BVLOS operations for small UAS.

A flight simulator control system using electric torque motors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musick, R. O.; Wagner, C. A.

1975-01-01

Control systems are required in flight simulators to provide representative stick and rudder pedal characteristics. A system has been developed that uses electric dc torque motors instead of the more common hydraulic actuators. The torque motor system overcomes certain disadvantages of hydraulic systems, such as high cost, high power consumption, noise, oil leaks, and safety problems. A description of the torque motor system is presented, including both electrical and mechanical design as well as performance characteristics. The system develops forces sufficiently high for most simulations, and is physically small and light enough to be used in most motion-base cockpits.

Support of Helicopter 'Free Flight' Operations in the 1996 Olympics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Branstetter, James R.; Cooper, Eric G.

1996-01-01

The microcosm of activity surrounding the 1996 Olympic Games provided researchers an opportunity for demonstrating state-of-the art technology in the first large-scale deployment of a prototype digital communication/navigation/surveillance system in a confined environment. At the same time it provided an ideal opportunity for transportation officials to showcase the merits of an integrated transportation system in meeting the operational needs to transport time sensitive goods and provide public safety services under real-world conditions. Five aeronautical CNS functions using a digital datalink system were chosen for operational flight testing onboard 91 aircraft, most of them helicopters, participating in the Atlanta Short-Haul Transportation System. These included: GPS-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance, Cockpit Display of Traffic Information, Controller-Pilot Communications, Graphical Weather Information (uplink), and Automated Electronic Pilot Reporting (downlink). Atlanta provided the first opportunity to demonstrate, in an actual operating environment, key datalink functions which would enhance flight safety and situational awareness for the pilot and supplement conventional air traffic control. The knowledge gained from such a large-scale deployment will help system designers in development of a national infrastructure where aircraft would have the ability to navigate autonomously.

14 CFR 417.227 - Toxic release hazard analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Toxic release hazard analysis. 417.227..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.227 Toxic release hazard analysis. A flight safety analysis must establish flight commit criteria that protect the public from any...

14 CFR 417.217 - Overflight gate analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Overflight gate analysis. 417.217 Section..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.217 Overflight gate analysis. For a launch that involves flight over a populated or other protected area, the flight safety...

The XP spaceplane: A near term multi-purpose suborbital RLV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lauer, Charles J.

2007-06-01

This paper will describe the history, technology and design features of the XP spaceplane being developed by Rocketplane Ltd. in Oklahoma. The XP is a four seat fighter-sized spaceplane that uses turbojets for takeoff and landing and a liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket engine for main propulsion during its ascent to a 100 km apogee suborbital space flight. The XP is intended to serve a variety of markets including suborbital tourist flights, intermediate duration microgravity research, remote sensing, astronomy, and microsatellite launch missions. Changes in vehicle configuration and flight profile for serving each of these markets will be described. The prototype XP will have its rollout ceremony at the end of 2007 and will begin test flights in early 2008. Commercial space flight operations are expected to begin in fall 2008 with tourist flights and microgravity research flights being the early customer base. The spaceplane's flight systems, safety systems, and operating procedures will be reviewed. In addition, key elements of the Rocketplane business and financial model will be discussed.

How Past Loss of Control Accidents May Inform Safety Cases for Advanced Control Systems on Commercial Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, C. M.; Johnson, C. W.

2008-01-01

This paper describes five loss of control accidents involving commercial aircraft, and derives from those accidents three principles to consider when developing a potential safety case for an advanced flight control system for commercial aircraft. One, among the foundational evidence needed to support a safety case is the availability to the control system of accurate and timely information about the status and health of relevant systems and components. Two, an essential argument to be sustained in the safety case is that pilots are provided with adequate information about the control system to enable them to understand the capabilities that it provides. Three, another essential argument is that the advanced control system will not perform less safely than a good pilot.

Flight to the future : human factors in air traffic control

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

The nation's air traffic control system is responsible for managing a complex : mixture of air traffic from commercial, general, corporate, and military : aviation. Despite a strong safety record, the system does suffer occasional : serious disruptio...

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.

Comparison of Aircraft Models and Integration Schemes for Interval Management in the TRACON

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neogi, Natasha; Hagen, George E.; Herencia-Zapana, Heber

2012-01-01

Reusable models of common elements for communication, computation, decision and control in air traffic management are necessary in order to enable simulation, analysis and assurance of emergent properties, such as safety and stability, for a given operational concept. Uncertainties due to faults, such as dropped messages, along with non-linearities and sensor noise are an integral part of these models, and impact emergent system behavior. Flight control algorithms designed using a linearized version of the flight mechanics will exhibit error due to model uncertainty, and may not be stable outside a neighborhood of the given point of linearization. Moreover, the communication mechanism by which the sensed state of an aircraft is fed back to a flight control system (such as an ADS-B message) impacts the overall system behavior; both due to sensor noise as well as dropped messages (vacant samples). Additionally simulation of the flight controller system can exhibit further numerical instability, due to selection of the integration scheme and approximations made in the flight dynamics. We examine the theoretical and numerical stability of a speed controller under the Euler and Runge-Kutta schemes of integration, for the Maintain phase for a Mid-Term (2035-2045) Interval Management (IM) Operational Concept for descent and landing operations. We model uncertainties in communication due to missed ADS-B messages by vacant samples in the integration schemes, and compare the emergent behavior of the system, in terms of stability, via the boundedness of the final system state. Any bound on the errors incurred by these uncertainties will play an essential part in a composable assurance argument required for real-time, flight-deck guidance and control systems,. Thus, we believe that the creation of reusable models, which possess property guarantees, such as safety and stability, is an innovative and essential requirement to assessing the emergent properties of novel airspace concepts of operation.

The Dangers of Failure Masking in Fault-Tolerant Software: Aspects of a Recent In-Flight Upset Event

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, C. W.; Holloway, C. M.

2007-01-01

On 1 August 2005, a Boeing Company 777-200 aircraft, operating on an international passenger flight from Australia to Malaysia, was involved in a significant upset event while flying on autopilot. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the event discovered that an anomaly existed in the component software hierarchy that allowed inputs from a known faulty accelerometer to be processed by the air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU) and used by the primary flight computer, autopilot and other aircraft systems. This anomaly had existed in original ADIRU software, and had not been detected in the testing and certification process for the unit. This paper describes the software aspects of the incident in detail, and suggests possible implications concerning complex, safety-critical, fault-tolerant software.

A Risk Assessment Model for Reduced Aircraft Separation: A Quantitative Method to Evaluate the Safety of Free Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cassell, Rick; Smith, Alex; Connors, Mary; Wojciech, Jack; Rosekind, Mark R. (Technical Monitor)

1996-01-01

As new technologies and procedures are introduced into the National Airspace System, whether they are intended to improve efficiency, capacity, or safety level, the quantification of potential changes in safety levels is of vital concern. Applications of technology can improve safety levels and allow the reduction of separation standards. An excellent example is the Precision Runway Monitor (PRM). By taking advantage of the surveillance and display advances of PRM, airports can run instrument parallel approaches to runways separated by 3400 feet with the same level of safety as parallel approaches to runways separated by 4300 feet using the standard technology. Despite a wealth of information from flight operations and testing programs, there is no readily quantifiable relationship between numerical safety levels and the separation standards that apply to aircraft on final approach. This paper presents a modeling approach to quantify the risk associated with reducing separation on final approach. Reducing aircraft separation, both laterally and longitudinally, has been the goal of several aviation R&D programs over the past several years. Many of these programs have focused on technological solutions to improve navigation accuracy, surveillance accuracy, aircraft situational awareness, controller situational awareness, and other technical and operational factors that are vital to maintaining flight safety. The risk assessment model relates different types of potential aircraft accidents and incidents and their contribution to overall accident risk. The framework links accident risks to a hierarchy of failsafe mechanisms characterized by procedures and interventions. The model will be used to assess the overall level of safety associated with reducing separation standards and the introduction of new technology and procedures, as envisaged under the Free Flight concept. The model framework can be applied to various aircraft scenarios, including parallel and in-trail approaches. This research was performed under contract to NASA and in cooperation with the FAA's Safety Division (ASY).

Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN and C) Design Overview and Flight Test Results from NASA's Max Launch Abort System (MLAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lanzi, Raymond J.; Ward, Philip R.

2010-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Engineering and Safety Center designed, developed and flew the alternative Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) as risk mitigation for the baseline Orion spacecraft launch abort system already in development. The NESC was tasked with both formulating a conceptual objective system design of this alternative MLAS as well as demonstrating this concept with a simulated pad abort flight test. Less than 2 years after Project start the MLAS simulated pad abort flight test was successfully conducted from Wallops Island on July 8, 2009. The entire flight test duration was 88 seconds during which time multiple staging events were performed and nine separate critically timed parachute deployments occurred as scheduled. This paper provides an overview of the guidance navigation and control technical approaches employed on this rapid prototyping activity; describes the methodology used to design the MLAS flight test vehicle; and lessons that were learned during this rapid prototyping project are also summarized.

Coherent lidar airborne wind sensor II: flight-test results at 2 and 10 νm.

PubMed

Targ, R; Steakley, B C; Hawley, J G; Ames, L L; Forney, P; Swanson, D; Stone, R; Otto, R G; Zarifis, V; Brockman, P; Calloway, R S; Klein, S H; Robinson, P A

1996-12-20

The use of airborne laser radar (lidar) to measure wind velocities and to detect turbulence in front of an aircraft in real time can significantly increase fuel efficiency, flight safety, and terminal area capacity. We describe the flight-test results for two coherent lidar airborne shear sensor (CLASS) systems and discuss their agreement with our theoretical simulations. The 10.6-μm CO(2) system (CLASS-10) is a flying brassboard; the 2.02-μm Tm:YAG solid-state system (CLASS-2) is configured in a rugged, light-weight, high-performance package. Both lidars have shown a wind measurement accuracy of better than 1 m/s.

Single-Lever Power Control for General Aviation Aircraft Promises Improved Efficiency and Simplified Pilot Controls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Musgrave, Jeffrey L.

1997-01-01

General aviation research is leading to major advances in internal combustion engine control systems for single-engine, single-pilot aircraft. These advances promise to increase engine performance and fuel efficiency while substantially reducing pilot workload and increasing flight safety. One such advance is a single-lever power control (SLPC) system, a welcome departure from older, less user-friendly, multilever engine control systems. The benefits of using single-lever power controls for general aviation aircraft are improved flight safety through advanced engine diagnostics, simplified powerplant operations, increased time between overhauls, and cost-effective technology (extends fuel burn and reduces overhaul costs). The single-lever concept has proven to be so effective in preliminary studies that general aviation manufacturers are making plans to retrofit current aircraft with the technology and are incorporating it in designs for future aircraft.

14 CFR 417.309 - Flight safety system analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... system anomaly occurring and all of its effects as determined by the single failure point analysis and... termination system. (c) Single failure point. A command control system must undergo an analysis that... fault tree analysis or a failure modes effects and criticality analysis; (2) Identify all possible...

14 CFR 417.309 - Flight safety system analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... system anomaly occurring and all of its effects as determined by the single failure point analysis and... termination system. (c) Single failure point. A command control system must undergo an analysis that... fault tree analysis or a failure modes effects and criticality analysis; (2) Identify all possible...

14 CFR 417.309 - Flight safety system analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... system anomaly occurring and all of its effects as determined by the single failure point analysis and... termination system. (c) Single failure point. A command control system must undergo an analysis that... fault tree analysis or a failure modes effects and criticality analysis; (2) Identify all possible...

14 CFR 417.309 - Flight safety system analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... system anomaly occurring and all of its effects as determined by the single failure point analysis and... termination system. (c) Single failure point. A command control system must undergo an analysis that... fault tree analysis or a failure modes effects and criticality analysis; (2) Identify all possible...

14 CFR 417.309 - Flight safety system analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... system anomaly occurring and all of its effects as determined by the single failure point analysis and... termination system. (c) Single failure point. A command control system must undergo an analysis that... fault tree analysis or a failure modes effects and criticality analysis; (2) Identify all possible...

Flight-deck automation - Promises and problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiener, E. L.; Curry, R. E.

1980-01-01

The paper analyzes the role of human factors in flight-deck automation, identifies problem areas, and suggests design guidelines. Flight-deck automation using microprocessor technology and display systems improves performance and safety while leading to a decrease in size, cost, and power consumption. On the other hand negative factors such as failure of automatic equipment, automation-induced error compounded by crew error, crew error in equipment set-up, failure to heed automatic alarms, and loss of proficiency must also be taken into account. Among the problem areas discussed are automation of control tasks, monitoring of complex systems, psychosocial aspects of automation, and alerting and warning systems. Guidelines are suggested for designing, utilising, and improving control and monitoring systems. Investigation into flight-deck automation systems is important as the knowledge gained can be applied to other systems such as air traffic control and nuclear power generation, but the many problems encountered with automated systems need to be analyzed and overcome in future research.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tenney, J.L.

SARS is a data acquisition system designed to gather and process radar data from aircraft flights. A database of flight trajectories has been developed for Albuquerque, NM, and Amarillo, TX. The data is used for safety analysis and risk assessment reports. To support this database effort, Sandia developed a collection of hardware and software tools to collect and post process the aircraft radar data. This document describes the data reduction tools which comprise the SARS, and maintenance procedures for the hardware and software system.

NASA's Space Launch Initiative Targets Toxic Propellants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurlbert, Eric; McNeal, Curtis; Davis, Daniel J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

When manned and unmanned space flight first began, the clear and overriding design consideration was performance. Consequently, propellant combinations of all kinds were considered, tested, and, when they lifted the payload a kilometer higher, or an extra kilogram to the same altitude, they became part of our operational inventory. Cost was not considered. And with virtually all of the early work being performed by the military, safety was hardly a consideration. After all, fighting wars has always been dangerous. Those days are past now. With space flight, and the products of space flight, a regular part of our lives today, safety and cost are being reexamined. NASA's focus turns naturally to its Shuttle Space Transportation System. Designed, built, and flown for the first time in the 1970s, this system remains today America's workhorse for manned space flight. Without its tremendous lift capability and mission flexibility, the International Space Station would not exist. And the Hubble telescope would be a monument to shortsighted management, rather than the clear penetrating eye on the stars it is today. But the Shuttle system fully represents the design philosophy of its period: it is too costly to operate, and not safe enough for regular long term access to space. And one of the key reasons is the utilization of toxic propellants. This paper will present an overview of the utilization of toxic propellants on the current Shuttle system.

Design and Development of a 200-kW Turbo-Electric Distributed Propulsion Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papathakis, Kurt V.; Kloesel, Kurt J.; Lin, Yohan; Clarke, Sean; Ediger, Jacob J.; Ginn, Starr

2016-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) is developing a Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST) Testbed as part of the HEIST Project, to study power management and transition complexities, modular architectures, and flight control laws for turbo-electric distributed propulsion technologies using representative hardware and piloted simulations. Capabilities are being developed to assess the flight readiness of hybrid electric and distributed electric vehicle architectures. Additionally, NASA will leverage experience gained and assets developed from HEIST to assist in flight-test proposal development, flight-test vehicle design, and evaluation of hybrid electric and distributed electric concept vehicles for flight safety. The HEIST test equipment will include three trailers supporting a distributed electric propulsion wing, a battery system and turbogenerator, dynamometers, and supporting power and communication infrastructure, all connected to the AFRC Core simulation. Plans call for 18 high performance electric motors that will be powered by batteries and the turbogenerator, and commanded by a piloted simulation. Flight control algorithms will be developed on the turbo-electric distributed propulsion system.

Flight Testing and Real-Time System Identification Analysis of a UH-60A Black Hawk Helicopter with an Instrumented External Sling Load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCoy, Allen H.

1998-01-01

Helicopter external air transportation plays an important role in today's world. For both military and civilian helicopters, external sling load operations offer an efficient and expedient method of handling heavy, oversized cargo. With the ability to reach areas otherwise inaccessible by ground transportation, helicopter external load operations are conducted in industries such as logging, construction, and fire fighting, as well as in support of military tactical transport missions. Historically, helicopter and load combinations have been qualified through flight testing, requiring considerable time and cost. With advancements in simulation and flight test techniques there is potential to substantially reduce costs and increase the safety of helicopter sling load certification. Validated simulation tools make possible accurate prediction of operational flight characteristics before initial flight tests. Real time analysis of test data improves the safety and efficiency of the testing programs. To advance these concepts, the U.S. Army and NASA, in cooperation with the Israeli Air Force and Technion, under a Memorandum of Agreement, seek to develop and validate a numerical model of the UH-60 with sling load and demonstrate a method of near real time flight test analysis. This thesis presents results from flight tests of a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter with various external loads. Tests were conducted as the U.S. first phase of this MOA task. The primary load was a container express box (CONEX) which contained a compact instrumentation package. The flights covered the airspeed range from hover to 70 knots. Primary maneuvers were pitch and roll frequency sweeps, steps, and doublets. Results of the test determined the effect of the suspended load on both the aircraft's handling qualities and its control system's stability margins. Included were calculations of the stability characteristics of the load's pendular motion. Utilizing CIFER(R) software, a method for near-real time system identification was also demonstrated during the flight test program.

An Overview of an Experimental Demonstration Aerotow Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, James E.; Bowers, Albion H.; Lokos, William A.; Peters, Todd L.; Gera, Joseph

1998-01-01

An overview of an experimental demonstration of aerotowing a delta-wing airplane with low-aspect ratio and relatively high wing loading is presented. Aerotowing of future space launch configurations is a new concept, and the objective of the work described herein is to demonstrate the aerotow operation using an airplane configuration similar to conceptual space launch vehicles. Background information on the use of aerotow for a space launch vehicle is presented, and the aerotow system used in this demonstration is described. The ground tests, analytical studies, and flight planning used to predict system behavior and to enhance flight safety are detailed. The instrumentation suite and flight test maneuvers flown are discussed, preliminary performance is assessed, and flight test results are compared with the preflight predictions.

Design Considerations for Attitude State Awareness and Prevention of Entry into Unusual Attitudes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellis, Kyle K. E.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Arthur, Jarvis J.; Nicholas, Stephanie N.; Kiggins, Daniel; Verstynen, Harry; Hubbs, Clay; Wilkerson, James

2017-01-01

Loss of control - inflight (LOC-I) has historically represented the largest category of commercial aviation fatal accidents. A review of the worldwide transport airplane accidents (2001-2010) evinced that loss of attitude or energy state awareness was responsible for a large majority of the LOC-I events. A Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) study of 18 worldwide loss-of-control accidents and incidents determined that flight crew loss of attitude awareness or energy state awareness due to lack of external visual reference cues was a significant causal factor in 17 of the 18 reviewed flights. CAST recommended that "Virtual Day-Visual Meteorological Condition" (Virtual Day-VMC) displays be developed to provide the visual cues necessary to prevent loss-of-control resulting from flight crew spatial disorientation and loss of energy state awareness. Synthetic vision or equivalent systems (SVS) were identified for a design "safety enhancement" (SE-200). Part of this SE involves the conduct of research for developing minimum aviation system performance standards (MASPS) for these flight deck display technologies to aid flight crew attitude and energy state awareness similar to that of a virtual day-VMC-like environment. This paper will describe a novel experimental approach to evaluating a flight crew's ability to maintain attitude awareness and to prevent entry into unusual attitudes across several SVS optical flow design considerations. Flight crews were subjected to compound-event scenarios designed to elicit channelized attention and startle/surprise within the crew. These high-fidelity scenarios, designed from real-world events, enable evaluation of the efficacy of SVS at improving flight crew attitude awareness to reduce the occurrence of LOC-I incidents in commercial flight operations.

Verification and Validation of Flight-Critical Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brat, Guillaume

2010-01-01

For the first time in many years, the NASA budget presented to congress calls for a focused effort on the verification and validation (V&V) of complex systems. This is mostly motivated by the results of the VVFCS (V&V of Flight-Critical Systems) study, which should materialize as a a concrete effort under the Aviation Safety program. This talk will present the results of the study, from requirements coming out of discussions with the FAA and the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) to technical plan addressing the issue, and its proposed current and future V&V research agenda, which will be addressed by NASA Ames, Langley, and Dryden as well as external partners through NASA Research Announcements (NRA) calls. This agenda calls for pushing V&V earlier in the life cycle and take advantage of formal methods to increase safety and reduce cost of V&V. I will present the on-going research work (especially the four main technical areas: Safety Assurance, Distributed Systems, Authority and Autonomy, and Software-Intensive Systems), possible extensions, and how VVFCS plans on grounding the research in realistic examples, including an intended V&V test-bench based on an Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) architecture and hosted by Dryden.

The Cognitive Consequences of Patterns of Information Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hutchins, Edwin

1999-01-01

The flight deck of a modern commercial airliner is a complex system consisting of two or more crew and a suite of technological devices. The flight deck of the state-of-the-art Boeing 747-400 is shown. When everything goes right, all modern flight decks are easy to use. When things go sour, however, automated flight decks provide opportunities for new kinds of problems. A recent article in Aviation Week cited industry concern over the problem of verifying the safety of complex systems on automated, digital aircraft, stating that the industry must "guard against the kind of incident in which people and the automation seem to mismanage a minor occurrence or non-routine situation into larger trouble." The design of automated flight deck systems that flight crews find easy to use safely is a challenge in part because this design activity requires a theoretical perspective which can simultaneously cover the interactions of people with each other and with technology. In this paper, some concepts that can be used to understand the flight deck as a system that is composed of two or more pilots and a complex suite of automated devices is introduced.

NASA Langley Research Center's Simulation-To-Flight Concept Accomplished through the Integration Laboratories of the Transport Research Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez, Debbie; Davidson, Paul C.; Kenney, P. Sean; Hutchinson, Brian K.

2004-01-01

The Flight Simulation and Software Branch (FSSB) at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) maintains the unique national asset identified as the Transport Research Facility (TRF). The TRF is a group of facilities and integration laboratories utilized to support the LaRC's simulation-to-flight concept. This concept incorporates common software, hardware, and processes for both groundbased flight simulators and LaRC s B-757-200 flying laboratory identified as the Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System (ARIES). These assets provide Government, industry, and academia with an efficient way to develop and test new technology concepts to enhance the capacity, safety, and operational needs of the ever-changing national airspace system. The integration of the TRF enables a smooth continuous flow of the research from simulation to actual flight test.

Orion MPCV Touchdown Detection Threshold Development and Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daum, Jared; Gay, Robert

2013-01-01

A robust method of detecting Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) splashdown is necessary to ensure crew and hardware safety during descent and after touchdown. The proposed method uses a triple redundant system to inhibit Reaction Control System (RCS) thruster firings, detach parachute risers from the vehicle, and transition to the post-landing segment of the Flight Software (FSW). An in-depth trade study was completed to determine optimal characteristics of the touchdown detection method resulting in an algorithm monitoring filtered, lever-arm corrected, 200 Hz Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) vehicle acceleration magnitude data against a tunable threshold using persistence counter logic. Following the design of the algorithm, high fidelity environment and vehicle simulations, coupled with the actual vehicle FSW, were used to tune the acceleration threshold and persistence counter value to result in adequate performance in detecting touchdown and sufficient safety margin against early detection while descending under parachutes. An analytical approach including Kriging and adaptive sampling allowed for a sufficient number of finite element analysis (FEA) impact simulations to be completed using minimal computation time. The combination of a persistence counter of 10 and an acceleration threshold of approximately 57.3 ft/s2 resulted in an impact performance factor of safety (FOS) of 1.0 and a safety FOS of approximately 2.6 for touchdown declaration. An RCS termination acceleration threshold of approximately 53.1 ft/s(exp)2 with a persistence counter of 10 resulted in an increased impact performance FOS of 1.2 at the expense of a lowered under-parachutes safety factor of 2.2. The resulting tuned algorithm was then tested on data from eight Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) flight tests, showing an experimental minimum safety FOS of 6.1. The formulated touchdown detection algorithm will be flown on the Orion MPCV FSW during the Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) mission in the second half of 2014.

Airworthiness criteria development for powered-lift aircraft: A program summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heffley, R. K.; Stapleford, R. L.; Rumold, R. C.

1977-01-01

A four-year simulation program to develop airworthiness criteria for powered-lift aircraft is summarized. All flight phases affected by use of powered lift (approach, landing, takeoff) are treated with regard to airworthiness problem areas (limiting flight conditions and safety margins: stability, control, and performance; and systems failure). The general features of powered-lift aircraft are compared to conventional aircraft.

Systems and Techniques for Identifying and Avoiding Ice

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansman, R. John

1995-01-01

In-flight icing is one of the most difficult aviation weather hazards facing general aviation. Because most aircraft in the general aviation category are not certified for flight into known icing conditions, techniques for identifying and avoiding in-flight ice are important to maintain safety while increasing the utility and dispatch capability which is part of the AGATE vision. This report summarizes a brief study effort which: (1) Reviewed current ice identification, forecasting, and avoidance techniques; (2) Assessed feasibility of improved forecasting and ice avoidance procedures; and (3) Identified key issues for the development of improved capability with regard to in-flight icing.

Software safety - A user's practical perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunn, William R.; Corliss, Lloyd D.

1990-01-01

Software safety assurance philosophy and practices at the NASA Ames are discussed. It is shown that, to be safe, software must be error-free. Software developments on two digital flight control systems and two ground facility systems are examined, including the overall system and software organization and function, the software-safety issues, and their resolution. The effectiveness of safety assurance methods is discussed, including conventional life-cycle practices, verification and validation testing, software safety analysis, and formal design methods. It is concluded (1) that a practical software safety technology does not yet exist, (2) that it is unlikely that a set of general-purpose analytical techniques can be developed for proving that software is safe, and (3) that successful software safety-assurance practices will have to take into account the detailed design processes employed and show that the software will execute correctly under all possible conditions.

Crew Factors in Flight Operations XV: Alertness Management in General Aviation Education Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosekind, Mark R.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Neri, David F.; Oyung, Raymond L.; Mallis, Melissa M.; Cannon, Mary M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Regional operations encompass a broad range of pilots and equipment. This module is intended to help all those involved in regional aviation, including pilots, schedulers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, policy makers, and others, to understand the physiological factors underlying fatigue, how flight operations affect fatigue, and what can be done to counteract fatigue and maximize alertness and performance in their operations. The overall purpose of this module is to promote aviation safety, performance, and productivity. It is intended to meet three specific objectives: (1) to explain the current state of knowledge about the physiological mechanisms underlying fatigue; (2) to demonstrate how this knowledge can be applied to improving flight crew sleep, performance, and alertness; and (3) to offer strategies for alertness management. Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and National Transportation Safety Board (NISH) reports are used throughout this module to demonstrate that fatigue is a safety issue in the regional operations community. The appendices at the end of this module include the ASRS reports used for the examples contained in this publication, brief introductions to sleep disorders and relaxation techniques, summaries of relevant NASA publications, and a list of general readings on sleep, sleep disorders, and circadian rhythms.

Multiple Kernel Learning for Heterogeneous Anomaly Detection: Algorithm and Aviation Safety Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Das, Santanu; Srivastava, Ashok N.; Matthews, Bryan L.; Oza, Nikunj C.

2010-01-01

The world-wide aviation system is one of the most complex dynamical systems ever developed and is generating data at an extremely rapid rate. Most modern commercial aircraft record several hundred flight parameters including information from the guidance, navigation, and control systems, the avionics and propulsion systems, and the pilot inputs into the aircraft. These parameters may be continuous measurements or binary or categorical measurements recorded in one second intervals for the duration of the flight. Currently, most approaches to aviation safety are reactive, meaning that they are designed to react to an aviation safety incident or accident. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach based on the theory of multiple kernel learning to detect potential safety anomalies in very large data bases of discrete and continuous data from world-wide operations of commercial fleets. We pose a general anomaly detection problem which includes both discrete and continuous data streams, where we assume that the discrete streams have a causal influence on the continuous streams. We also assume that atypical sequence of events in the discrete streams can lead to off-nominal system performance. We discuss the application domain, novel algorithms, and also discuss results on real-world data sets. Our algorithm uncovers operationally significant events in high dimensional data streams in the aviation industry which are not detectable using state of the art methods

NASA's Aviation Safety and Modeling Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chidester, Thomas R.; Statler, Irving C.

2006-01-01

The Aviation Safety Monitoring and Modeling (ASMM) Project of NASA's Aviation Safety program is cultivating sources of data and developing automated computer hardware and software to facilitate efficient, comprehensive, and accurate analyses of the data collected from large, heterogeneous databases throughout the national aviation system. The ASMM addresses the need to provide means for increasing safety by enabling the identification and correcting of predisposing conditions that could lead to accidents or to incidents that pose aviation risks. A major component of the ASMM Project is the Aviation Performance Measuring System (APMS), which is developing the next generation of software tools for analyzing and interpreting flight data.

Report to the NASA Administrator by the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel on the Space Shuttle Program. Part 1: Observations and Conclusions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

Each system was chosen on the basis of its importance with respect to crew safety and mission success. An overview of the systems management is presented. The space shuttle main engine, orbiter thermal protection system, avionics, external tanks and solid rocket boosters were examined. The ground test and ground support equipment programs were studied. Program management was found to have an adequate understanding of the significant ground and flight risks involved.

Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (OAWL): aircraft test-flight history and current plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tucker, Sara C.; Weimer, Carl; Adkins, Mike; Delker, Tom; Gleeson, David; Kaptchen, Paul; Good, Bill; Kaplan, Mike; Applegate, Jeff; Taudien, Glenn

2015-09-01

To address mission risk and cost limitations the US has faced in putting a much needed Doppler wind lidar into space, Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp, with support from NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), has developed the Optical Autocovariance Wind Lidar (OAWL), designed to measure winds from aerosol backscatter at the 355 nm or 532 nm wavelengths. Preliminary proof of concept hardware efforts started at Ball back in 2004. From 2008 to 2012, under an ESTO-funded Instrument Incubator Program, Ball incorporated the Optical Autocovariance (OA) interferometer receiver into a prototype breadboard lidar system by adding a laser, telescope, and COTS-based data system for operation at the 355 nm wavelength. In 2011, the prototype system underwent ground-based validation testing, and three months later, after hardware and software modifications to ensure autonomous operation and aircraft safety, it was flown on the NASA WB-57 aircraft. The history of the 2011 test flights are reviewed, including efforts to get the system qualified for aircraft flights, modifications made during the flight test period, and the final flight data results. We also present lessons learned and plans for the new, robust, two-wavelength, aircraft system with flight demonstrations planned for Spring 2016.

[Aviation medicine laboratory of the North Fleet air base celebrates the 70th anniversary].

PubMed

Gavrilov, V V; Mazaĭkin, D N; Buldakov, I M; Pisarev, A A

2013-05-01

The article is dedicated to the history of formation and development of the oldest aviation medicine department and its role in a flight safety of the North Fleet naval aviation. The aviation medicine laboratory was created in the years of the Great Patriotic war for medical backup of flights, medical review board, delivering of combat casualty care, prophylaxis of hypothermia and exhaustion of flight and ground crew. In a post-war period the aviation medicine laboratory made a great contribution to development of medical backup of educational and combat activity of the North Fleet aviation. Participation in cosmonaut applicants selection (incl. Yu.A. Gagarin), optimization of flight services during the transmeridian flights, research of carrier-based aircraft habitability and body state of the contingent during the longstanding ship-based aviation, development of treatment methods for functional status of sea-based aviation crew are the achievements of aviation medicine laboratory. Nowadays medicine laboratory is performing a research and practice, methodic and consultative activity with the aim of improving the system of medical backup, aviation medicine, psychology, flight safety, improvement of air crew health, prolong of flying proficiency.

An airborne FLIR detection and warning system for low altitude wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sinclair, Peter C.; Kuhn, Peter M.

1991-01-01

It is shown through some preliminary flight measurement research that a forward looking infrared radiometer (FLIR) system can be used to successfully detect the cool downdraft of downbursts (microbusts/macrobursts) and thunderstorm gust front outflows that are responsible for most of the low altitude wind shear (LAWS) events. The FLIR system provides a much greater safety margin for the pilot than that provided by reactive designs such as inertial air speed systems. Preliminary results indicate that an advanced airborne FLIR system could provide the pilot with remote indication of microburst (MB) hazards along the flight path ahead of the aircraft. Results of a flight test of a prototype FLIR system show that a minimum warning time of one to four minutes (5 to 10 km), depending on aircraft speed, is available to the pilot prior to the microburst encounter.

Obtaining Valid Safety Data for Software Safety Measurement and Process Improvement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor r.; Zelkowitz, Marvin V.; Layman, Lucas; Dangle, Kathleen; Diep, Madeline

2010-01-01

We report on a preliminary case study to examine software safety risk in the early design phase of the NASA Constellation spaceflight program. Our goal is to provide NASA quality assurance managers with information regarding the ongoing state of software safety across the program. We examined 154 hazard reports created during the preliminary design phase of three major flight hardware systems within the Constellation program. Our purpose was two-fold: 1) to quantify the relative importance of software with respect to system safety; and 2) to identify potential risks due to incorrect application of the safety process, deficiencies in the safety process, or the lack of a defined process. One early outcome of this work was to show that there are structural deficiencies in collecting valid safety data that make software safety different from hardware safety. In our conclusions we present some of these deficiencies.

Control System Upgrade for a Mass Property Measurement Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chambers, William; Hinkle, R. Kenneth (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Mass Property Measurement Facility (MPMF) at the Goddard Space Flight Center has undergone modifications to ensure the safety of Flight Payloads and the measurement facility. The MPMF has been technically updated to improve reliability and increase the accuracy of the measurements. Modifications include the replacement of outdated electronics with a computer based software control system, the addition of a secondary gas supply in case of a catastrophic failure to the gas supply and a motor controlled emergency stopping feature instead of a hard stop.

Integrating Safety and Mission Assurance into Systems Engineering Modeling Practices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beckman, Sean; Darpel, Scott

2015-01-01

During the early development of products, flight, or experimental hardware, emphasis is often given to the identification of technical requirements, utilizing such tools as use case and activity diagrams. Designers and project teams focus on understanding physical and performance demands and challenges. It is typically only later, during the evaluation of preliminary designs that a first pass, if performed, is made to determine the process, safety, and mission quality assurance requirements. Evaluation early in the life cycle, though, can yield requirements that force a fundamental change in design. This paper discusses an alternate paradigm for using the concepts of use case or activity diagrams to identify safety hazard and mission quality assurance risks and concerns using the same systems engineering modeling tools being used to identify technical requirements. It contains two examples of how this process might be used in the development of a space flight experiment, and the design of a Human Powered Pizza Delivery Vehicle, along with the potential benefits to decrease development time, and provide stronger budget estimates.

Preparing safety data packages for experimenters using the Get Away Special (GAS) carrier system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosko, Jerome

1992-01-01

The implementation of NSTS 1700.7B and more forceful scruntiny of data packages by the Johnson Space Flight Center (JSC) lead to the development of a classification policy for GAS/CAP payloads. The purpose of this policy is to classify experiments using the carrier system so that they receive an appropriate level of JSC review (i.e., one or multiphase reviews). This policy is based on energy containment to show inherent payload safety. It impacts the approach to performing hazard analyses and the nature of the data package. This paper endeavors to explain the impact of this policy as well as the impact of recent JSC as well as Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC) 'interpretations' of existing requirements. The GAS canister does adequately contain most experiments when flown in the sealed configuration (however this must be shown, not merely stated). This paper also includes data package preparation guidelines for those experiments that require an opening door which often present unique safety issues.

Space Operations Center System Analysis: Requirements for a Space Operations Center, revision A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodcock, G. R.

1982-01-01

The system and program requirements for a space operations center as defined by systems analysis studies are presented as a guide for future study and systems definition. Topics covered include general requirements for safety, maintainability, and reliability, service and habitat modules, the health maintenance facility; logistics modules; the docking tunnel; and subsystem requirements (structures, electrical power, environmental control/life support; extravehicular activity; data management; communications and tracking; docking/berthing; flight control/propulsion; and crew support). Facilities for flight support, construction, satellite and mission servicing, and fluid storage are included as well as general purpose support equipment.

KSC-05PD-0587

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, a worker rolls the plastic cover removed from the Orbital Boom Sensor System (OBSS), at right, which will be installed in the payload bay of Atlantis. The 50- foot-long OBSS attaches to the Remote Manipulator System, or Shuttle robotic arm, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. The Return to Flight mission STS-121 has a launch window of July 12 - July 31, 2005.

KSC-05PD-0175

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. In the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 3, workers oversee the lowering of the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) on the starboard side of Discoverys payload bay. At lower right is the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or Shuttle robotic arm. The 50-foot-long OBSS attaches to the RMS, and is one of the new safety measures for Return to Flight, equipping the orbiter with cameras and laser systems to inspect the Shuttles Thermal Protection System while in space. The Return to Flight mission, STS-114, has a launch window of May 12 to June 3, 2005.

Crew fatigue safety performance indicators for fatigue risk management systems.

PubMed

Gander, Philippa H; Mangie, Jim; Van Den Berg, Margo J; Smith, A Alexander T; Mulrine, Hannah M; Signal, T Leigh

2014-02-01

Implementation of Fatigue Risk Management Systems (FRMS) is gaining momentum; however, agreed safety performance indicators (SPIs) are lacking. This paper proposes an initial set of SPIs based on measures of crewmember sleep, performance, and subjective fatigue and sleepiness, together with methods for interpreting them. Data were included from 133 landing crewmembers on 2 long-range and 3 ultra-long-range trips (4-person crews, 3 airlines, 220 flights). Studies had airline, labor, and regulatory support, and underwent independent ethical review. SPIs evaluated preflight and at top of descent (TOD) were: total sleep in the prior 24 h and time awake at duty start and at TOD (actigraphy); subjective sleepiness (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale) and fatigue (Samn-Perelli scale); and psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) performance. Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric ANOVA with post hoc tests was used to identify significant differences between flights for each SPI. Visual and preliminary quantitative comparisons of SPIs between flights were made using box plots and bar graphs. Statistical analyses identified significant differences between flights across a range of SPls. In an FRMS, crew fatigue SPIs are envisaged as a decision aid alongside operational SPIs, which need to reflect the relevant causes of fatigue in different operations. We advocate comparing multiple SPIs between flights rather than defining safe/unsafe thresholds on individual SPIs. More comprehensive data sets are needed to identify the operational and biological factors contributing to the differences between flights reported here. Global sharing of an agreed core set of SPIs would greatly facilitate implementation and improvement of FRMS.

Agent Architecture for Aviation Data Integration System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kulkarni, Deepak; Wang, Yao; Windrem, May; Patel, Hemil; Wei, Mei

2004-01-01

This paper describes the proposed agent-based architecture of the Aviation Data Integration System (ADIS). ADIS is a software system that provides integrated heterogeneous data to support aviation problem-solving activities. Examples of aviation problem-solving activities include engineering troubleshooting, incident and accident investigation, routine flight operations monitoring, safety assessment, maintenance procedure debugging, and training assessment. A wide variety of information is typically referenced when engaging in these activities. Some of this information includes flight recorder data, Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) reports, Jeppesen charts, weather data, air traffic control information, safety reports, and runway visual range data. Such wide-ranging information cannot be found in any single unified information source. Therefore, this information must be actively collected, assembled, and presented in a manner that supports the users problem-solving activities. This information integration task is non-trivial and presents a variety of technical challenges. ADIS has been developed to do this task and it permits integration of weather, RVR, radar data, and Jeppesen charts with flight data. ADIS has been implemented and used by several airlines FOQA teams. The initial feedback from airlines is that such a system is very useful in FOQA analysis. Based on the feedback from the initial deployment, we are developing a new version of the system that would make further progress in achieving following goals of our project.

Aviation System Safety and Pilot Risk Perception: Implications for Enhancing Decision-Making Skills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Mavis F.

2001-01-01

This research explores risk perception in a defined population of flight instructors and the implications of these views for flight training. Flight instructors and students engaged in collegiate aviation flight training were interviewed for this qualitative study. Thirty-three percent of the instructors interviewed reported that flying is not a risky activity. This is important because research identifies risk perception as one factor influencing instructional choices. These choices can then impact the subsequent decision-making processes of flight students. Facilitating pilot decision-making through the use of an appropriate type of learning that incorporates the modeling of consensually validated cognitive procedures and risk management processes is discussed.

Analysis of Eye-Tracking Data with Regards to the Complexity of Flight Deck Information Automation and Management - Inattentional Blindness, System State Awareness, and EFB Usage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dill, Evan T.; Young, Steven D.

2015-01-01

In the constant drive to further the safety and efficiency of air travel, the complexity of avionics-related systems, and the procedures for interacting with these systems, appear to be on an ever-increasing trend. While this growing complexity often yields productive results with respect to system capabilities and flight efficiency, it can place a larger burden on pilots to manage increasing amounts of information and to understand intricate system designs. Evidence supporting this observation is becoming widespread, yet has been largely anecdotal or the result of subjective analysis. One way to gain more insight into this issue is through experimentation using more objective measures or indicators. This study utilizes and analyzes eye-tracking data obtained during a high-fidelity flight simulation study wherein many of the complexities of current flight decks, as well as those planned for the next generation air transportation system (NextGen), were emulated. The following paper presents the findings of this study with a focus on electronic flight bag (EFB) usage, system state awareness (SSA) and events involving suspected inattentional blindness (IB).

Investigation of Optimal Control Allocation for Gust Load Alleviation in Flight Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frost, Susan A.; Taylor, Brian R.; Bodson, Marc

2012-01-01

Advances in sensors and avionics computation power suggest real-time structural load measurements could be used in flight control systems for improved safety and performance. A conventional transport flight control system determines the moments necessary to meet the pilot's command, while rejecting disturbances and maintaining stability of the aircraft. Control allocation is the problem of converting these desired moments into control effector commands. In this paper, a framework is proposed to incorporate real-time structural load feedback and structural load constraints in the control allocator. Constrained optimal control allocation can be used to achieve desired moments without exceeding specified limits on monitored load points. Minimization of structural loads by the control allocator is used to alleviate gust loads. The framework to incorporate structural loads in the flight control system and an optimal control allocation algorithm will be described and then demonstrated on a nonlinear simulation of a generic transport aircraft with flight dynamics and static structural loads.

Towards Real-time, On-board, Hardware-Supported Sensor and Software Health Management for Unmanned Aerial Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schumann, Johann; Rozier, Kristin Y.; Reinbacher, Thomas; Mengshoel, Ole J.; Mbaya, Timmy; Ippolito, Corey

2013-01-01

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) can only be deployed if they can effectively complete their missions and respond to failures and uncertain environmental conditions while maintaining safety with respect to other aircraft as well as humans and property on the ground. In this paper, we design a real-time, on-board system health management (SHM) capability to continuously monitor sensors, software, and hardware components for detection and diagnosis of failures and violations of safety or performance rules during the flight of a UAS. Our approach to SHM is three-pronged, providing: (1) real-time monitoring of sensor and/or software signals; (2) signal analysis, preprocessing, and advanced on the- fly temporal and Bayesian probabilistic fault diagnosis; (3) an unobtrusive, lightweight, read-only, low-power realization using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that avoids overburdening limited computing resources or costly re-certification of flight software due to instrumentation. Our implementation provides a novel approach of combining modular building blocks, integrating responsive runtime monitoring of temporal logic system safety requirements with model-based diagnosis and Bayesian network-based probabilistic analysis. We demonstrate this approach using actual data from the NASA Swift UAS, an experimental all-electric aircraft.

Preliminary Results Obtained in Integrated Safety Analysis of NASA Aviation Safety Program Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reveley, Mary S.

2003-01-01

The goal of the NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) is to develop and demonstrate technologies that contribute to a reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of 5 by the year 2007 and by a factor of 10 by the year 2022. Integrated safety analysis of day-to-day operations and risks within those operations will provide an understanding of the Aviation Safety Program portfolio. Safety benefits analyses are currently being conducted. Preliminary results for the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) and Weather Accident Prevention (WxAP) projects of the AvSP have been completed by the Logistics Management Institute under a contract with the NASA Glenn Research Center. These analyses include both a reliability analysis and a computer simulation model. The integrated safety analysis method comprises two principal components: a reliability model and a simulation model. In the reliability model, the results indicate how different technologies and systems will perform in normal, degraded, and failed modes of operation. In the simulation, an operational scenario is modeled. The primary purpose of the SVS project is to improve safety by providing visual-flightlike situation awareness during instrument conditions. The current analyses are an estimate of the benefits of SVS in avoiding controlled flight into terrain. The scenario modeled has an aircraft flying directly toward a terrain feature. When the flight crew determines that the aircraft is headed toward an obstruction, the aircraft executes a level turn at speed. The simulation is ended when the aircraft completes the turn.

The Unexpected Education: What We Can Learn from Disaster News Stories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garner, Ana C.

A study explored the safety education provided by six newspapers, using the 1988 crash of Delta Flight 1141 as a case study. A total of 351 "Delta 1141" news stories were analyzed for five key areas: overall story category, passenger safety theme, flight personnel safety theme, plane safety theme, and rescue safety. Of the stories…

Design considerations and practical results with long duration systems for manned world flights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nott, Julian

2004-01-01

This paper describes development of three balloon types by the author, all proposed for piloted flights around the world. The first was a superpressure pumpkin used to cross Australia. However, the balloon took up an incorrect shape when inflated. Because of this and other problems, the pumpkin was abandoned and the author built a combined helium-hot air balloon. This in turn was abandoned because it was cumbersome and costly. The author then developed an entirely new system, carrying cryogenic liquid helium to create lift in flight. Two very successful 24-h flights were made. In addition several inventions were developed for crew safety. Perhaps the most important is an entirely new way to protect pilots against sudden cabin pressure loss, with potentially broad use.

Flight tests show potential benefits of data link as primary communication medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scanlon, Charles H.; Knox, Charles E.

1991-01-01

Message exchange for air traffic control (ATC) purposes via data link offers the potential benefits of increasing the airspace system safety and efficiency. This is accomplished by reducing communication errors and relieving the overloaded ATC radio frequencies, which hamper efficient message exchanges during peak traffic periods in many busy terminal areas. However, the many uses and advantages of data link create additional questions concerning the interface among the human-users and the cockpit and ground systems. A flight test was conducted in the NASA Langley B-737 airplane to contrast flight operations using current voice communications with the use of data link for transmitting both strategic and tactical ATC clearances during a typical commercial airline flight from takeoff to landing. Commercial airplane pilots were used as test subjects.

Lessons learned from the Space Flyer Unit (SFU) mission.

PubMed

Kuriki, Kyoichi; Ninomiya, Keiken; Takei, Mitsuru; Matsuoka, Shinobu

2002-11-01

The Space Flyer Unit (SFU) system and mission chronology are briefly introduced. Lessons learned from the SFU mission are categorized as programmatic and engineering lessons. In the programmatic category are dealt with both international and domestic collaborations. As for the engineering lessons safety design, orbital operation, in-flight anomaly, and post flight analyses are the major topics reviewed. c2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transsexualism and Flight Safety

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-08

Security Classification) Transsexualism and Flight Safety 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Clements, Thomas I. and Wicks, Roland E. 13a. TYPE OF REPORT 13b. TIME... transsexual pilot with questionable judgment affecting flight safety is reported. The definition, etiology, and presenting symptoms are discussed. Three...involve all the phases of therapy and can be significant. Though the transsexual tends to have more episodes of anxiety and depression than the norm

14 CFR 1214.505 - Program implementation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 1214.505 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission... each NASA Installation will designate mission critical space systems areas. (b) NASA installations will... space systems. (e) NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Quality (Code Q) will act as the...

14 CFR 1214.505 - Program implementation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 1214.505 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission... each NASA Installation will designate mission critical space systems areas. (b) NASA installations will... space systems. (e) NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Quality (Code Q) will act as the...

14 CFR 1214.505 - Program implementation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 1214.505 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission... each NASA Installation will designate mission critical space systems areas. (b) NASA installations will... space systems. (e) NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Quality (Code Q) will act as the...

14 CFR 1214.505 - Program implementation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 1214.505 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission... each NASA Installation will designate mission critical space systems areas. (b) NASA installations will... space systems. (e) NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Quality (Code Q) will act as the...

Flight tests with a data link used for air traffic control information exchange

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knox, Charles E.; Scanlon, Charles H.

1991-01-01

Previous studies showed that air traffic control (ATC) message exchange with a data link offers the potential benefits of increased airspace system safety and efficiency. To accomplish these benefits, data link can be used to reduce communication errors and relieve overloaded ATC voice radio frequencies, which hamper efficient message exchange during peak traffic periods. Flight tests with commercial airline pilots as test subjects were conducted in the NASA Transport Systems Research Vehicle Boeing 737 airplane to contrast flight operations that used current voice communications with flight operations that used data link to transmit both strategic and tactical ATC clearances during a typical commercial airflight from takeoff to landing. The results of these tests that used data link as the primary communication source with ATC showed flight crew acceptance, a perceived reduction in crew work load, and a reduction in crew communication errors.

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...

Verification and Validation Challenges for Adaptive Flight Control of Complex Autonomous Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Nhan T.

2018-01-01

Autonomy of aerospace systems requires the ability for flight control systems to be able to adapt to complex uncertain dynamic environment. In spite of the five decades of research in adaptive control, the fact still remains that currently no adaptive control system has ever been deployed on any safety-critical or human-rated production systems such as passenger transport aircraft. The problem lies in the difficulty with the certification of adaptive control systems since existing certification methods cannot readily be used for nonlinear adaptive control systems. Research to address the notion of metrics for adaptive control began to appear in the recent years. These metrics, if accepted, could pave a path towards certification that would potentially lead to the adoption of adaptive control as a future control technology for safety-critical and human-rated production systems. Development of certifiable adaptive control systems represents a major challenge to overcome. Adaptive control systems with learning algorithms will never become part of the future unless it can be proven that they are highly safe and reliable. Rigorous methods for adaptive control software verification and validation must therefore be developed to ensure that adaptive control system software failures will not occur, to verify that the adaptive control system functions as required, to eliminate unintended functionality, and to demonstrate that certification requirements imposed by regulatory bodies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can be satisfied. This presentation will discuss some of the technical issues with adaptive flight control and related V&V challenges.

76 FR 52231 - Restrictions on Operators Employing Former Flight Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspectors

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-22

... Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspectors AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION... responsible for the oversight of, a Flight Standards Service Aviation Safety Inspector, and had direct... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Authority for This Rulemaking The FAA's authority to issue rules on aviation safety...

Concept of Operations for Commercial and Business Aircraft Synthetic Vision Systems. 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams Daniel M.; Waller, Marvin C.; Koelling, John H.; Burdette, Daniel W.; Capron, William R.; Barry, John S.; Gifford, Richard B.; Doyle, Thomas M.

2001-01-01

A concept of operations (CONOPS) for the Commercial and Business (CaB) aircraft synthetic vision systems (SVS) is described. The CaB SVS is expected to provide increased safety and operational benefits in normal and low visibility conditions. Providing operational benefits will promote SVS implementation in the Net, improve aviation safety, and assist in meeting the national aviation safety goal. SVS will enhance safety and enable consistent gate-to-gate aircraft operations in normal and low visibility conditions. The goal for developing SVS is to support operational minima as low as Category 3b in a variety of environments. For departure and ground operations, the SVS goal is to enable operations with a runway visual range of 300 feet. The system is an integrated display concept that provides a virtual visual environment. The SVS virtual visual environment is composed of three components: an enhanced intuitive view of the flight environment, hazard and obstacle defection and display, and precision navigation guidance. The virtual visual environment will support enhanced operations procedures during all phases of flight - ground operations, departure, en route, and arrival. The applications selected for emphasis in this document include low visibility departures and arrivals including parallel runway operations, and low visibility airport surface operations. These particular applications were selected because of significant potential benefits afforded by SVS.

A hazard control system for robot manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carter, Ruth Chiang; Rad, Adrian

1991-01-01

A robot for space applications will be required to complete a variety of tasks in an uncertain, harsh environment. This fact presents unusual and highly difficult challenges to ensuring the safety of astronauts and keeping the equipment they depend on from becoming damaged. The systematic approach being taken to control hazards that could result from introducing robotics technology in the space environment is described. First, system safety management and engineering principles, techniques, and requirements are discussed as they relate to Shuttle payload design and operation in general. The concepts of hazard, hazard category, and hazard control, as defined by the Shuttle payload safety requirements, is explained. Next, it is shown how these general safety management and engineering principles are being implemented on an actual project. An example is presented of a hazard control system for controlling one of the hazards identified for the Development Test Flight (DTF-1) of NASA's Flight Telerobotic Servicer, a teleoperated space robot. How these schemes can be applied to terrestrial robots is discussed as well. The same software monitoring and control approach will insure the safe operation of a slave manipulator under teleoperated or autonomous control in undersea, nuclear, or manufacturing applications where the manipulator is working in the vicinity of humans or critical hardware.

Achievements and challenges of Space Station Freedom's safety review process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, David W.

1993-01-01

The most complex space vehicle in history, Space Station Freedom, is well underway to completion, and System Safety is a vital part of the program. The purpose is to summarize and illustrate the progress that over one-hundred System Safety engineers have made in identifying, documenting, and controlling the hazards inherent in the space station. To date, Space Station Freedom has been reviewed by NASA's safety panels through the first six assembly flights, when Freedom achieves a configuration known as Man Tended Capability. During the eight weeks of safety reviews spread out over a year and a half, over 200 preliminary hazard reports were presented. Along the way NASA and its contractors faced many challenges, made much progress, and even learned a few lessons.

Achievements and challenges of Space Station Freedom's safety review process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, David W.

1993-07-01

The most complex space vehicle in history, Space Station Freedom, is well underway to completion, and System Safety is a vital part of the program. The purpose is to summarize and illustrate the progress that over one-hundred System Safety engineers have made in identifying, documenting, and controlling the hazards inherent in the space station. To date, Space Station Freedom has been reviewed by NASA's safety panels through the first six assembly flights, when Freedom achieves a configuration known as Man Tended Capability. During the eight weeks of safety reviews spread out over a year and a half, over 200 preliminary hazard reports were presented. Along the way NASA and its contractors faced many challenges, made much progress, and even learned a few lessons.

An overview of the V&V of Flight-Critical Systems effort at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brat, Guillaume P.

2011-01-01

As the US is getting ready for the Next Generation (NextGen) of Air Traffic System, there is a growing concern that the current techniques for verification and validation will not be adequate for the changes to come. The JPDO (in charge of implementing NextGen) has given NASA a mandate to address the problem and it resulted in the formulation of the V&V of Flight-Critical Systems effort. This research effort is divided into four themes: argument-based safety assurance, distributed systems, authority and autonomy, and, software intensive systems. This paper presents an overview of the technologies that will address the problem.

14 CFR 417.207 - Trajectory analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... any stage that has the potential to impact the Earth and does not burn to propellant depletion before a programmed thrust termination. (3) For launch vehicles flown with a flight safety system, a...

14 CFR 417.207 - Trajectory analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... any stage that has the potential to impact the Earth and does not burn to propellant depletion before a programmed thrust termination. (3) For launch vehicles flown with a flight safety system, a...

14 CFR 417.207 - Trajectory analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... any stage that has the potential to impact the Earth and does not burn to propellant depletion before a programmed thrust termination. (3) For launch vehicles flown with a flight safety system, a...

The influence of total flight time, recent flight time and age on pilot accident rates

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1983-06-30

This paper presents initial finding from a research effort conducted for the Safety Analysis Dvision, Office of Aviation Safety, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The analysis considers the influence of recent pilot flight time, total pilot flig...

Design Validation Methodology Development for an Aircraft Sensor Deployment System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wowczuk, Zenovy S.

The OCULUS 1.0 Sensor Deployment concept design, was developed in 2004 at West Virginia University (WVU), outlined the general concept of a deployment system to be used on a C-130 aircraft. As a sequel, a new system, OCULUS 1.1, has been developed and designed. The new system transfers the concept system design to a safety of flight design, and also enhanced to a pre-production system to be used as the test bed to gain full military certification approval. The OCULUS 1.1 system has an implemented standard deployment system/procedure to go along with a design suited for military certification and implementation. This design process included analysis of the system's critical components and the generation of a critical component holistic model to be used as an analysis tool for future payload modification made to the system. Following the completion of the OCULUS 1.1 design, preparations and procedures for obtaining military airworthiness certification are described. The airworthiness process includes working with the agency overseeing all modifications to the normal operating procedures made to military C-130 aircraft and preparing the system for an experimental flight test. The critical steps in his process include developing a complete documentation package that details the analysis performed on the OCULUS 1.1 system and also the design of experiment flight test plan to analyze the system. Following the approval of the documentation and design of experiment an experimental flight test of the OCULUS 1.1 system was performed to verify the safety and airworthiness of the system. This test proved successfully that the OCULUS 1.1 system design was airworthy and approved for military use. The OCULUS 1.1 deployment system offers an open architecture design that is ideal for use as a sensor testing platform for developmental airborne sensors. The system's patented deployment methodology presents a simplistic approach to reaching the systems final operating position which offers the most robust field of view area of rear ramp deployment systems.

X-40A Free Flight #5

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

X-40A Free Flight #5. The unpowered X-40A, an 85 percent scale risk reduction version of the proposed X-37, proved the capability of an autonomous flight control and landing system in a series of glide flights at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the X-37 project. At Dryden, the X-40A underwent a series of ground and air tests to reduce possible risks to the larger X-37, including drop tests from a helicopter to check guidance and navigation systems planned for use in the X-37. The X-37 is designed to demonstrate technologies in the orbital and reentry environments for next-generation reusable launch vehicles that will increase both safety and reliability, while reducing launch costs from $10,000 per pound to $1,000 per pound. The X-37, carried into orbit by the Space Shuttle, is planned to fly two orbital missions to test reusable launch vehicle technologies.

Managing External Relations: The Lifeblood of Mission Success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dumbacher, Daniel L.

2007-01-01

The slide presentation examines the role of customer and stakeholder relations in the success of space missions. Topics include agency transformation; an overview of project and program experience with a discussion of positions, technical accomplishments, and management lessons learned; and approaches to project success with emphasis on communication. Projects and programs discussed include the Space Shuttle Main Engine System, DC-XA Flight Demonstrator, X-33 Flight Demonstrator, Space Launch Initiative/2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle, X-37 Flight Demonstrator, Constellation (pre Dr. Griffin), Safety and Mission Assurance, and Exploration Launch Projects.

A flight research program to develop airborne systems for improved terminal area operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reeder, J. P.

1974-01-01

The research program considered is concerned with the solution of operational problems for the approximate time period from 1980 to 2000. The problems are related to safety, weather effects, congestion, energy conservation, noise, atmospheric pollution, and the loss in productivity caused by delays, diversions, and schedule stretchouts. The terminal configured vehicle (TCV) program is to develop advanced flight-control capability. The various aspects of the TCV program are discussed, giving attention to avionics equipment, the piloted simulator, terminal-area environment simulation, the Wallops research facility, flight procedures, displays and human factors, flight activities, and questions of vortex-wake reduction and tracking.

Latency Requirements for Head-Worn Display S/EVS Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, Randall E.; Trey Arthur, J. J., III; Williams, Steven P.

2004-01-01

NASA s Aviation Safety Program, Synthetic Vision Systems Project is conducting research in advanced flight deck concepts, such as Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS), for commercial and business aircraft. An emerging thrust in this activity is the development of spatially-integrated, large field-of-regard information display systems. Head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems are being proposed as one method in which to meet this objective. System delays or latencies inherent to spatially-integrated, head-worn displays critically influence the display utility, usability, and acceptability. Research results from three different, yet similar technical areas flight control, flight simulation, and virtual reality are collectively assembled in this paper to create a global perspective of delay or latency effects in head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems. Consistent definitions and measurement techniques are proposed herein for universal application and latency requirements for Head-Worn Display S/EVS applications are drafted. Future research areas are defined.

Flight evaluation results from the general-aviation advanced avionics system program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callas, G. P.; Denery, D. G.; Hardy, G. H.; Nedell, B. F.

1983-01-01

A demonstration advanced avionics system (DAAS) for general-aviation aircraft was tested at NASA Ames Research Center to provide information required for the design of reliable, low-cost, advanced avionics systems which would make general-aviation operations safer and more practicable. Guest pilots flew a DAAS-equipped NASA Cessna 402-B aircraft to evaluate the usefulness of data busing, distributed microprocessors, and shared electronic displays, and to provide data on the DAAS pilot/system interface for the design of future integrated avionics systems. Evaluation results indicate that the DAAS hardware and functional capability meet the program objective. Most pilots felt that the DAAS representative of the way avionics systems would evolve and felt the added capability would improve the safety and practicability of general-aviation operations. Flight-evaluation results compiled from questionnaires are presented, the results of the debriefings are summarized. General conclusions of the flight evaluation are included.

Latency requirements for head-worn display S/EVS applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bailey, Randall E.; Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Williams, Steven P.

2004-08-01

NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Synthetic Vision Systems Project is conducting research in advanced flight deck concepts, such as Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems (S/EVS), for commercial and business aircraft. An emerging thrust in this activity is the development of spatially-integrated, large field-of-regard information display systems. Head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems are being proposed as one method in which to meet this objective. System delays or latencies inherent to spatially-integrated, head-worn displays critically influence the display utility, usability, and acceptability. Research results from three different, yet similar technical areas - flight control, flight simulation, and virtual reality - are collectively assembled in this paper to create a global perspective of delay or latency effects in head-worn or helmet-mounted display systems. Consistent definitions and measurement techniques are proposed herein for universal application and latency requirements for Head-Worn Display S/EVS applications are drafted. Future research areas are defined.

An Intelligent Propulsion Control Architecture to Enable More Autonomous Vehicle Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litt, Jonathan S.; Sowers, T. Shane; Simon, Donald L.; Owen, A. Karl; Rinehart, Aidan W.; Chicatelli, Amy K.; Acheson, Michael J.; Hueschen, Richard M.; Spiers, Christopher W.

2018-01-01

This paper describes an intelligent propulsion control architecture that coordinates with the flight control to reduce the amount of pilot intervention required to operate the vehicle. Objectives of the architecture include the ability to: automatically recognize the aircraft operating state and flight phase; configure engine control to optimize performance with knowledge of engine condition and capability; enhance aircraft performance by coordinating propulsion control with flight control; and recognize off-nominal propulsion situations and to respond to them autonomously. The hierarchical intelligent propulsion system control can be decomposed into a propulsion system level and an individual engine level. The architecture is designed to be flexible to accommodate evolving requirements, adapt to technology improvements, and maintain safety.

GN and C Design Overview and Flight Test Results from NASA's Max Launch Abort System (MLAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dennehy, Cornelius J.; Lanzi, Ryamond J.; Ward, Philip R.

2010-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) designed, developed and flew the alternative Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) as risk mitigation for the baseline Orion spacecraft launch abort system (LAS) already in development. The NESC was tasked with both formulating a conceptual objective system (OS) design of this alternative MLAS as well as demonstrating this concept with a simulated pad abort flight test. The goal was to obtain sufficient flight test data to assess performance, validate models/tools, and to reduce the design and development risks for a MLAS OS. Less than 2 years after Project start the MLAS simulated pad abort flight test was successfully conducted from Wallops Island on July 8, 2009. The entire flight test duration was 88 seconds during which time multiple staging events were performed and nine separate critically timed parachute deployments occurred as scheduled. Overall, the as-flown flight performance was as predicted prior to launch. This paper provides an overview of the guidance navigation and control (GN&C) technical approaches employed on this rapid prototyping activity. This paper describes the methodology used to design the MLAS flight test vehicle (FTV). Lessons that were learned during this rapid prototyping project are also summarized.

Vortex Advisory System Safety Analysis : Volume 1. Analytical Model

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-09-01

The Vortex Advisory System (VAS) is based on wind criterion--when the wind near the runway end is outside of the criterion, all interarrival Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft separations can be set at 3 nautical miles. Five years of wind data ha...

14 CFR § 1214.505 - Program implementation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... § 1214.505 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission... each NASA Installation will designate mission critical space systems areas. (b) NASA installations will... space systems. (e) NASA Headquarters Office of Safety and Mission Quality (Code Q) will act as the...

77 FR 45240 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Quakertown, PA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-31

... at Quakertown, PA, to accommodate the new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Quakertown Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. [[Page 45241...

77 FR 45241 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Apopka, FL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-31

... at Apopka, FL, to accommodate the new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Orlando Apopka Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. DATES: Effective...

77 FR 45240 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Arcadia, FL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-31

... at Arcadia, FL, to accommodate the new Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Arcadia Municipal Airport. This action enhances the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. DATES...

14 CFR 1214.501 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Applicability. 1214.501 Section 1214.501 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission Critical Space System... the safety and success of mission critical space systems. (b) The provisions of this regulation apply...

14 CFR 1214.501 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applicability. 1214.501 Section 1214.501 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission Critical Space System... the safety and success of mission critical space systems. (b) The provisions of this regulation apply...

14 CFR 1214.501 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Applicability. 1214.501 Section 1214.501 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission Critical Space System... the safety and success of mission critical space systems. (b) The provisions of this regulation apply...

14 CFR 1214.501 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Applicability. 1214.501 Section 1214.501 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION SPACE FLIGHT Mission Critical Space System... the safety and success of mission critical space systems. (b) The provisions of this regulation apply...

Aeroelastic Control of a Segmented Trailing Edge Using Fiber Optic Strain Sensing Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graham, Corbin Jay; Martins, Benjamin; Suppanade, Nathan

2014-01-01

Currently, design of aircraft structures incorporate a safety factor which is essentially an over design to mitigate the risk of structure failure during operation. Typically this safety factor is to design the structure to withstand loads much greater than what is expected to be experienced during flight. NASA Dryden Flight Research Centers has developed a Fiber Optic Strain Sensing (FOSS) system which can measure strain values in real-time. The Aeroelastics Lab at the AERO Institute is developing a segmented trailing edged wing with multiple control surfaces that can utilize the data from the FOSS system, in conjunction with an adaptive controller to redistribute the lift across a wing. This redistribution can decrease the amount of strain experienced by the wing as well as be used to dampen vibration and reduce flutter.

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

14 CFR 417.213 - Flight safety limits analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Flight safety limits analysis. 417.213 Section 417.213 Aeronautics and Space COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... launch vehicle's flight to prevent the hazardous effects of the resulting debris impacts from reaching...

Advanced Control System Increases Helicopter Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

With support and funding from a Phase II NASA SBIR project from Ames Research Center, Hoh Aeronautics Inc. (HAI), of Lomita, California, produced HeliSAS, a low-cost, lightweight, attitude-command-attitude-hold stability augmentation system (SAS) for civil helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. HeliSAS proved itself in over 160 hours of flight testing and demonstrations in a Robinson R44 Raven helicopter, a commercial helicopter popular with news broadcasting and police operations. Chelton Flight Systems, of Boise, Idaho, negotiated with HAI to develop, market, and manufacture HeliSAS, now available as the Chelton HeliSAS Digital Helicopter Autopilot.

A Program in Air Transportation Technology (Joint University Program)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stengel, Robert F.

1996-01-01

The Joint University Program on Air Transportation Technology was conducted at Princeton University from 1971 to 1995. Our vision was to further understanding of the design and operation of transport aircraft, of the effects of atmospheric environment on aircraft flight, and of the development and utilization of the National Airspace System. As an adjunct, the program emphasized the independent research of both graduate and undergraduate students. Recent principal goals were to develop and verify new methods for design and analysis of intelligent flight control systems, aircraft guidance logic for recovery from wake vortex encounter, and robust flight control systems. Our research scope subsumed problems associated with multidisciplinary aircraft design synthesis and analysis based on flight physics, providing a theoretical basis for developing innovative control concepts that enhance aircraft performance and safety. Our research focus was of direct interest not only to NASA but to manufacturers of aircraft and their associated systems. Our approach, metrics, and future directions described in the remainder of the report.

Development and evaluation of a prototype in-flight instrument flight rules (IFR) procedures trainer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aaron, J. B., Jr.; Morris, G. G.

1981-01-01

An in-flight instrument flight rules (IFR) procedures trainer capable of providing simulated indications of instrument flight in a typical general aviation aircraft independent of ground based navigation aids was developed. The IFR navaid related instruments and circuits from an ATC 610J table top simulator were installed in a Cessna 172 aircraft and connected to its electrical power and pitot static systems. The benefits expected from this hybridization concept include increased safety by reducing the number of general aviation aircraft conducting IFR training flights in congested terminal areas, and reduced fuel use and instruction costs by lessening the need to fly to and from navaid equipped airports and by increased efficiency of the required in-flight training. Technical feasibility was demonstrated and the operational feasibility of the concept was evaluated. Results indicated that the in-flight simulator is an effective training device for teaching IFR procedural skills.

The Naturalistic Flight Deck System: An Integrated System Concept for Improved Single-Pilot Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schutte, Paul C.; Goodrich, Kenneth H.; Cox, David E.; Jackson, Bruce; Palmer, Michael T.; Pope, Alan T.; Schlecht, Robin W.; Tedjojuwono, Ken K.; Trujillo, Anna C.; Williams, Ralph A.;

Importance Of Quality Control in Reducing System Risk, a Lesson Learned From The Shuttle and a Recommendation for Future Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Safie, Fayssal M.; Messer, Bradley P.

2006-01-01

This paper presents lessons learned from the Space Shuttle return to flight experience and the importance of these lessons learned in the development of new the NASA Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV). Specifically, the paper discusses the relationship between process control and system risk, and the importance of process control in improving space vehicle flight safety. It uses the External Tank (ET) Thermal Protection System (TPS) experience and lessons learned from the redesign and process enhancement activities performed in preparation for Return to Flight after the Columbia accident. The paper also, discusses in some details, the Probabilistic engineering physics based risk assessment performed by the Shuttle program to evaluate the impact of TPS failure on system risk and the application of the methodology to the CLV.

Pilot Interactions in an Over-Constrained Conflict Scenario as Studied in a Piloted Simulation of Autonomous Aircraft Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wing, David J.; Barhydt, Richard; Barmore, Bryan; Krishnamurthy, Karthik

2003-01-01

Feasibility and safety of autonomous aircraft operations were studied in a multi-piloted simulation of overconstrained traffic conflicts to determine the need for, and utility of, priority flight rules to maintain safety in this extraordinary and potentially hazardous situation. An overconstrained traffic conflict is one in which the separation assurance objective is incompatible with other objectives. In addition, a proposed scheme for implementing priority flight rules by staggering the alerting time between the two aircraft in conflict was tested for effectiveness. The feasibility study was conducted through a simulation in the Air Traffic Operations Laboratory at the NASA Langley Research Center. This research activity is a continuation of the Distributed Air-Ground Traffic Management feasibility analysis reported in the 4th USA/Europe Air Traffic Management R&D Seminar in December 2001 (paper #48). The over-constrained conflict scenario studied here consisted of two piloted aircraft that were assigned an identical en-route waypoint arrival time and altitude crossing restriction. The simulation results indicated that the pilots safely resolved the conflict without the need for a priority flight rule system. Occurrences of unnecessary maneuvering near the common waypoint were traced to false conflict alerts, generated as the result of including waypoint constraint information in the broadcast data link message issued from each aircraft. This result suggests that, in the conservative interests of safety, broadcast intent information should be based on the commanded trajectory and not on the Flight Management System flight plan, to which the aircraft may not actually adhere. The use of priority flight rules had no effect on the percentage of the aircraft population meeting completely predictable which aircraft in a given pair would meet the constraints and which aircraft would make the first maneuver to yield right-of-way. Therefore, the proposed scheme for implementing priority flight rules through staggering the alerting time between the two aircraft was completely effective. The data and observations from this experiment, together with results from the previously reported study, support the feasibility of autonomous aircraft operations.

Health management and controls for earth to orbit propulsion systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bickford, R. L.

1992-01-01

Fault detection and isolation for advanced rocket engine controllers are discussed focusing on advanced sensing systems and software which significantly improve component failure detection for engine safety and health management. Aerojet's Space Transportation Main Engine controller for the National Launch System is the state of the art in fault tolerant engine avionics. Health management systems provide high levels of automated fault coverage and significantly improve vehicle delivered reliability and lower preflight operations costs. Key technologies, including the sensor data validation algorithms and flight capable spectrometers, have been demonstrated in ground applications and are found to be suitable for bridging programs into flight applications.

Multi-reactor power system configurations for multimegawatt nuclear electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, Jeffrey A.

1991-01-01

A modular, multi-reactor power system and vehicle configuration for piloted nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) missions to Mars is presented. Such a design could provide enhanced system and mission reliability, allowing a comfortable safety margin for early manned flights, and would allow a range of piloted and cargo missions to be performed with a single power system design. Early use of common power modules for cargo missions would also provide progressive flight experience and validation of standardized systems for use in later piloted applications. System and mission analysis are presented to compare single and multi-reactor configurations for piloted Mars missions. A conceptual design for the Hydra modular multi-reactor NEP vehicle is presented.

Development of a low risk augmentation system for an energy efficient transport having relaxed static stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sizlo, T. R.; Berg, R. A.; Gilles, D. L.

1979-01-01

An augmentation system for a 230 passenger, twin engine aircraft designed with a relaxation of conventional longitudinal static stability was developed. The design criteria are established and candidate augmentation system control laws and hardware architectures are formulated and evaluated with respect to reliability, flying qualities, and flight path tracking performance. The selected systems are shown to satisfy the interpreted regulatory safety and reliability requirements while maintaining the present DC 10 (study baseline) level of maintainability and reliability for the total flight control system. The impact of certification of the relaxed static stability augmentation concept is also estimated with regard to affected federal regulations, system validation plan, and typical development/installation costs.

X-43A Fluid and Environmental Systems: Ground and Flight Operation and Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vachon, Michael Jacob; Grindle, Thomas J.; St.John, Clinton W.; Dowdell, David B.

2005-01-01

The X-43A Hyper-X program demonstrated the first successful flights of an airframe integrated scramjet powered hypersonic vehicle. The X-43A vehicles established successive world records for jet-powered vehicles at speeds of Mach 7 and Mach 10. The X-43A vehicle is a subscale version of proposed hypersonic reconnaissance strike aircraft. Scaled down to a length of 12 ft (3.66 m), the lifting body design with high fineness ratio resulted in very small internal space available for fluid systems and their corresponding environmental conditioning systems. Safe testing and operation of the X-43A fluid and environmental systems was critical for mission success, not only for the safety of the flight crew in the NASA B-52B carrier aircraft, but also to maintain the reliability of vehicle systems while exposed to dynamics and hostile conditions encountered during the boost trajectory. The X-43A fluid and environmental systems successfully managed explosive, pyrophoric, inert, and very high pressure gases without incident. This report presents a summary of the checkout and flight validation of the X-43A fluid systems. The testing used for mission assurance is summarized. System performance during captive carry and launch flights is presented. The lessons learned are also discussed.

Aerospace safety advisory panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Data acquired on the actual flight experience with the various subsystems are assessed. These subsystems include: flight control and performance, structural integrity, orbiter landing gear, lithium batteries, EVA and prebreathing, and main engines. Improvements for routine operations are recommended. Policy issues for operations and flight safety for aircraft operations are discussed.

The role of flight planning in aircrew decision performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pepitone, Dave; King, Teresa; Murphy, Miles

1989-01-01

The role of flight planning in increasing the safety and decision-making performance of the air transport crews was investigated in a study that involved 48 rated airline crewmembers on a B720 simulator with a model-board-based visual scene and motion cues with three degrees of freedom. The safety performance of the crews was evaluated using videotaped replays of the flight. Based on these evaluations, the crews could be divided into high- and low-safety groups. It was found that, while collecting information before flights, the high-safety crews were more concerned with information about alternative airports, especially the fuel required to get there, and were characterized by making rapid and appropriate decisions during the emergency part of the flight scenario, allowing these crews to make an early diversion to other airports. These results suggest that contingency planning that takes into account alternative courses of action enhances rapid and accurate decision-making under time pressure.

Preliminary design features of the RASCAL - A NASA/Army rotorcraft in-flight simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aiken, Edwin W.; Jacobsen, Robert A.; Eshow, Michelle M.; Hindson, William S.; Doane, Douglas H.

1992-01-01

Salient design features of a new NASA/Army research rotorcraft - the Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) - are described. Using a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter as a baseline vehicle, the RASCAL will be a flying laboratory capable of supporting the research requirements of major NASA and Army guidance, control, and display research programs. The paper describes the research facility requirements of these programs together with other critical constraints on the design of the research system, including safety-of-flight. Research program schedules demand a phased development approach, wherein specific research capability milestones are met and flight research projects are flown throughout the complete development cycle of the RASCAL. This development approach is summarized, and selected features of the research system are described. The research system includes a full-authority, programmable, fault-tolerant/fail-safe, fly-by-wire flight control system and a real-time obstacle detection and avoidance system which will generate low-latitude guidance commands to the pilot on a wide field-of-view, color helmet-mounted display.

Preliminary design features of the RASCAL: A NASA /Army rotorcraft in-flight simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aiken, Edwin W.; Jacobsen, Robert A.; Eshow, Michelle M.; Hindson, William S.; Doane, Douglas H.

1993-01-01

Salient design features of a new NASA/Army research rotorcraft - the Rotorcraft-Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) - are described. Using a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter as a baseline vehicle, the RASCAL will be a flying laboratory capable of supporting the research requirements of major NASA and Army guidance, control, and display research programs. The paper describes the research facility requirements of these programs together with other critical constraints on the design of the research system, including safety-of-flight. Research program schedules demand a phased development approach, wherein specific research capability milestones are met and flight research projects are flown throughout the complete development cycle of the RASCAL. This development approach is summarized, and selected features of the research system are described. The research system includes a full-authority, programmable, fault-tolerant/fail-safe, fly-by-wire flight control system and a real-time obstacle detection and avoidance system which will generate low-altitude guidance commands to the pilot on a wide field-of-view, color helmet-mounted display.

Manned space flight nuclear system safety. Volume 3: Reactor system preliminary nuclear safety analysis. Part 1: Reference Design Document (RDD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The Reference Design Document, of the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR) - Reactor System provides the basic design and operations data used in the nuclear safety analysis of the Rector Power Module as applied to a Space Base program. A description of the power module systems, facilities, launch vehicle and mission operations, as defined in NASA Phase A Space Base studies is included. Each of two Zirconium Hydride Reactor Brayton power modules provides 50 kWe for the nominal 50 man Space Base. The INT-21 is the prime launch vehicle. Resupply to the 500 km orbit over the ten year mission is provided by the Space Shuttle. At the end of the power module lifetime (nominally five years), a reactor disposal system is deployed for boost into a 990 km high altitude (long decay time) earth orbit.

Space Shuttle Range Safety Command Destruct System Analysis and Verification. Phase 1. Destruct System Analysis and Verification

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-01

overcome the shortcomings of this system. A phase III study develops the breakup model of the Space Shuttle clus’ter at various times into flight. The...2-1 ROCKET MODEL ..................................................... 2-5 COMBUSTION CHAMBER OPERATION ................................... 2-5...2-19 RESULTS .......................................................... 2-22 ROCKET MODEL

Flight Set 360L006 STS-34 field joint protection system, thermal protection system, and systems tunnel components, volume 4

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkinson, J. P.

1990-01-01

The performance of the thermal protection system, field joint protection system, and systems tunnel components of Flight Set 360L006, are documented, as evaluated by postflight hardware inspection. The condition of both motors was similar to previous flights. Sixteen aft edge hits were noted on the ground environment instrumentation thermal protection system. Each hit left a clean substrate, indicating that the damage was caused by nozzle severance debris and/or water impact. No National Space and Transporation System debris criteria for missing thermal protection system were violated. One 5.0 by 1.0 in. unbond was observed on the left hand center field joint K5NA closeout and was elevated to an in-flight anomaly (STS-34-M-4) by the NASA Ice/Debris team. Aft edge damage to the K5NA and an associated black streak indicate that burning debris from the nozzle severance system was the likely cause of the damage. Minor divots caused by debris were seen on previous flights, but this is the first occurrence of a K5NA unbond. Since the unbond occurred after booster separation there is no impact on flight safety and no corrective actions was taken. The right hand center field joint primary heater failed the dielectric withstanding voltage test after joint closeout. The heater was then disabled by opening the circuit breaker, and the redundant heater was used. The redundant heater performed nominally during the launch countdown. A similar condition occurred on Flight 4 when a secondary joint heater failed the dielectric withstanding voltage test.

General Aviation Pilots' Perceived Usage and Valuation of Aviation Weather Information Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Latorella, Kara; Lane, Suzanne; Garland, Daniel

2002-01-01

Aviation suffers many accidents due to the lack of good weather information in flight. Existing aviation weather information is difficult to obtain when it is most needed and is not well formatted for in-flight use. Because it is generally presented aurally, aviation weather information is difficult to integrate with spatial flight information and retain for reference. Efforts, by NASA's Aviation Weather Information (AWIN) team and others, to improve weather information accessibility, usability and decision aiding will enhance General Aviation (GA) pilots' weather situation awareness and decision-making and therefore should improve the safety of GA flight. Consideration of pilots' economic concerns will ensure that in-flight weather information systems are financially accessible to GA pilots as well. The purpose of this survey was to describe how aviation operator communities gather and use weather information as well as how weather related decisions are made between flight crews and supporting personnel. Pilots of small GA aircraft experience the most weather-related accidents as well as the most fatal weather related accident. For this reason, the survey design and advertisement focused on encouraging participation from GA pilots. Perhaps as a result of this emphasis, most responses, 97 responses or 85% of the entire response set, were from GA pilots, This paper presents only analysis of these GA pilots' responses. The insights provided by this survey regarding GA pilots' perceived value and usage of current aviation weather information. services, and products provide a basis for technological approaches to improve GA safety. Results of this survey are discussed in the context of survey limitations and prior work, and serve as the foundation for a model of weather information value, guidance for the design of in-flight weather information systems, and definition of further research toward their development.

Testing Strategies and Methodologies for the Max Launch Abort System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaible, Dawn M.; Yuchnovicz, Daniel E.

2011-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) was tasked to develop an alternate, tower-less launch abort system (LAS) as risk mitigation for the Orion Project. The successful pad abort flight demonstration test in July 2009 of the "Max" launch abort system (MLAS) provided data critical to the design of future LASs, while demonstrating the Agency s ability to rapidly design, build and fly full-scale hardware at minimal cost in a "virtual" work environment. Limited funding and an aggressive schedule presented a challenge for testing of the complex MLAS system. The successful pad abort flight demonstration test was attributed to the project s systems engineering and integration process, which included: a concise definition of, and an adherence to, flight test objectives; a solid operational concept; well defined performance requirements, and a test program tailored to reducing the highest flight test risks. The testing ranged from wind tunnel validation of computational fluid dynamic simulations to component ground tests of the highest risk subsystems. This paper provides an overview of the testing/risk management approach and methodologies used to understand and reduce the areas of highest risk - resulting in a successful flight demonstration test.

A Data System for a Rapid Evaluation Class of Subscale Aerial Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hogge, Edward F.; Quach, Cuong C.; Vazquez, Sixto L.; Hill, Boyd L.

2011-01-01

A low cost, rapid evaluation, test aircraft is used to develop and test airframe damage diagnosis algorithms at Langley Research Center as part of NASA's Aviation Safety Program. The remotely operated subscale aircraft is instrumented with sensors to monitor structural response during flight. Data is collected for good and compromised airframe configurations to develop data driven models for diagnosing airframe state. This paper describes the data acquisition system (DAS) of the rapid evaluation test aircraft. A PC/104 form factor DAS was developed to allow use of Matlab, Simulink simulation code in Langley's existing subscale aircraft flight test infrastructure. The small scale of the test aircraft permitted laboratory testing of the actual flight article under controlled conditions. The low cost and modularity of the DAS permitted adaptation to various flight experiment requirements.

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Unmanned Aircraft System Service Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, Jeff

2007-01-01

Over 60 years of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) expertise at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center are being leveraged to provide capability and expertise to the international UAS community. The DFRC brings together technical experts, UAS, and an operational environment to provide government and industry a broad capability to conduct research, perform operations, and mature systems, sensors, and regulation. The cornerstone of this effort is the acquisition of both a Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, California) and Predator B (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, California) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In addition, a test range for small UAS will allow developers to conduct research and development flights without the need to obtain approval from civil authorities. Finally, experts are available to government and industry to provide safety assessments in support of operations in civil airspace. These services will allow developers to utilize limited resources to their maximum capability in a highly competitive environment.

Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) Flight System Integration at Its Best

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, T. David; Kanner, Howard S.; Freeland, Donna M.; Olson, Derek T.

2011-01-01

The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) element integrates all the subsystems needed for ascent flight, entry, and recovery of the combined Booster and Motor system. These include the structures, avionics, thrust vector control, pyrotechnic, range safety, deceleration, thermal protection, and retrieval systems. This represents the only human-rated, recoverable and refurbishable solid rocket ever developed and flown. Challenges included subsystem integration, thermal environments and severe loads (including water impact), sometimes resulting in hardware attrition. Several of the subsystems evolved during the program through design changes. These included the thermal protection system, range safety system, parachute/recovery system, and others. Because the system was recovered, the SRB was ideal for data and imagery acquisition, which proved essential for understanding loads, environments and system response. The three main parachutes that lower the SRBs to the ocean are the largest parachutes ever designed, and the SRBs are the largest structures ever to be lowered by parachutes. SRB recovery from the ocean was a unique process and represented a significant operational challenge; requiring personnel, facilities, transportation, and ground support equipment. The SRB element achieved reliability via extensive system testing and checkout, redundancy management, and a thorough postflight assessment process. However, the in-flight data and postflight assessment process revealed the hardware was affected much more strongly than originally anticipated. Assembly and integration of the booster subsystems required acceptance testing of reused hardware components for each build. Extensive testing was done to assure hardware functionality at each level of stage integration. Because the booster element is recoverable, subsystems were available for inspection and testing postflight, unique to the Shuttle launch vehicle. Problems were noted and corrective actions were implemented as needed. The postflight assessment process was quite detailed and a significant portion of flight operations. The SRBs provided fully redundant critical systems including thrust vector control, mission critical pyrotechnics, avionics, and parachute recovery system. The design intent was to lift off with full redundancy. On occasion, the redundancy management scheme was needed during flight operations. This paper describes some of the design challenges and technical issues, how the design evolved with time, and key areas where hardware reusability contributed to improved system level understanding.

78 FR 25384 - Establishment of Class E Airspace; Immokalee, FL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-01

... management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations within the National Airspace System. DATES: Effective... at Immokalee, FL, to accommodate the Area Navigation (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard... Procedures developed for Big Cypress Airfield. This action is necessary for the safety and management of IFR...

76 FR 34196 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Forest, VA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-13

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures serving New London Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations...; Airspace Docket No. 11-AEA-11) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see...

78 FR 14473 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Sanibel, FL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-06

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) special Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) serving Sanibel Island Heliport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules...; Airspace Docket No. 12-ASO-18) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see...

76 FR 54155 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Danville, PA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-31

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Danville Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the... submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number...

78 FR 14475 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Cleveland, TN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-06

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Cleveland Regional Jetport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR...; Airspace Docket No. 12-ASO-47) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see...

76 FR 35370 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Copperhill, TN

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-17

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Martin Campbell Field Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR... submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES section for address and phone number...

Ares I-X Range Safety Trajectory Analyses Overview and Independent Validation and Verification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tarpley, Ashley F.; Starr, Brett R.; Tartabini, Paul V.; Craig, A. Scott; Merry, Carl M.; Brewer, Joan D.; Davis, Jerel G.; Dulski, Matthew B.; Gimenez, Adrian; Barron, M. Kyle

2011-01-01

All Flight Analysis data products were successfully generated and delivered to the 45SW in time to support the launch. The IV&V effort allowed data generators to work through issues early. Data consistency proved through the IV&V process provided confidence that the delivered data was of high quality. Flight plan approval was granted for the launch. The test flight was successful and had no safety related issues. The flight occurred within the predicted flight envelopes. Post flight reconstruction results verified the simulations accurately predicted the FTV trajectory.

Orion Launch Abort System Performance on Exploration Flight Test 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCauley, R.; Davidson, J.; Gonzalez, Guillermo

2015-01-01

This paper will present an overview of the flight test objectives and performance of the Orion Launch Abort System during Exploration Flight Test-1. Exploration Flight Test-1, the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft, was managed and led by the Orion prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, and launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. This flight test was a two-orbit, high-apogee, high-energy entry, low-inclination test mission used to validate and test systems critical to crew safety. This test included the first flight test of the Launch Abort System preforming Orion nominal flight mission critical objectives. NASA is currently designing and testing the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Orion will serve as NASA's new exploration vehicle to carry astronauts to deep space destinations and safely return them to earth. The Orion spacecraft is composed of four main elements: the Launch Abort System, the Crew Module, the Service Module, and the Spacecraft Adapter (Fig. 1). The Launch Abort System (LAS) provides two functions; during nominal launches, the LAS provides protection for the Crew Module from atmospheric loads and heating during first stage flight and during emergencies provides a reliable abort capability for aborts that occur within the atmosphere. The Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) consists of an Abort Motor to provide the abort separation from the Launch Vehicle, an Attitude Control Motor to provide attitude and rate control, and a Jettison Motor for crew module to LAS separation (Fig. 2). The jettison motor is used during a nominal launch to separate the LAS from the Launch Vehicle (LV) early in the flight of the second stage when it is no longer needed for aborts and at the end of an LAS abort sequence to enable deployment of the crew module's Landing Recovery System. The LAS also provides a Boost Protective Cover fairing that shields the crew module from debris and the aero-thermal environment during ascent. Although the Orion Program has tested a number of the critical systems of the Orion spacecraft on the ground, the launch environment cannot be replicated completely on Earth. A number of flight tests have been conducted and are planned to demonstrate the performance and enable certification of the Orion Spacecraft. Exploration Flight Test 1, the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft, was successfully flown on December 5, 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37. Orion's first flight was a two-orbit, high-apogee, high-energy entry, low-inclination test mission used to validate and test systems critical to crew safety, such as heat shield performance, separation events, avionics and software performance, attitude control and guidance, parachute deployment and recovery operations. One of the key separation events tested during this flight was the nominal jettison of the LAS. Data from this flight will be used to verify the function of the jettison motor to separate the Launch Abort System from the crew module so it can continue on with the mission. The LAS nominal jettison event on Exploration Flight Test 1 occurred at six minutes and twenty seconds after liftoff (See Fig. 3). The abort motor and attitude control motors were inert for Exploration Flight Test 1, since the mission did not require abort capabilities. A suite of developmental flight instrumentation was included on the flight test to provide data on spacecraft subsystems and separation events. This paper will focus on the flight test objectives and performance of the LAS during ascent and nominal jettison. Selected LAS subsystem flight test data will be presented and discussed in the paper. Exploration Flight Test -1 will provide critical data that will enable engineering to improve Orion's design and reduce risk for the astronauts it will protect as NASA continues to move forward on its human journey to Mars. The lessons learned from Exploration Flight Test 1 and the other Flight Test Vehicles will certainly contribute to the vehicle architecture of a human-rated space launch vehicle.

Flight Test Results on the Stability and Control of the F-15B Quiet Spike Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moua, Cheng; McWherter, Shaun H.; Cox, Timothy H.; Gera, Joseph

2007-01-01

The Quiet Spike (QS) flight research program was an aerodynamic and structural proof-of-concept of a telescoping sonic-boom suppressing nose boom on an F-15 B aircraft. The program goal was to collect flight data for model validation up to 1.8 Mach. The primary test philosophy was maintaining safety of flight. In the area of stability and controls the primary concerns were to assess the potential destabilizing effect of the spike on the stability, controllability, and handling qualities of the aircraft and to ensure adequate stability margins across the entire QS flight envelop. This paper reports on the stability and control methods used for flight envelope clearance and flight test results of the F-15B Quiet Spike. Also discussed are the flight test approach, the criteria to proceed to the next flight condition, brief pilot commentary on typical piloting tasks, approach and landing, and refueling task, and air data sensitivity to the flight control system.

Correlated Topics in a Scalable Multidimensional Text Cube: Algorithms and Aviation Safety Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhao, Bo; Lin, Cindy X.; Srivastava, Ashok N.; Oza, Nikunj C.; Han, Jiawei

2010-01-01

As world-wide air traffic continues to grow even at a modest pace, the overall complexity of the system will increase significantly. This increased complexity can lead to a larger number of fatalities per year even if the extremely low fatality rate that we currently enjoy is maintained. One important source of information about the safety of the aviation system is in Aviation Safety Text Reports which are written by members of the flight crew, air traffic controllers, and other parties involved with the aviation system. These anonymized narrative reports contain fixed-field contextual information about the flight but also contain free-form narratives that describe, in the author s own words, the nature of the safety incident and, in many cases, the contributing factors that led to the safety incident. Several thousand such reports are filed each month, each of which is read and analyzed by highly trained experts. However, it is possible that there are emerging safety issues due to the fact that they may be reported very infrequently and in different contexts with different descriptions. The goal of this research paper is to develop correlated topic models which uncover correlations in the subspaces defined by the intersection of numerous fixed fields and discovered correlated topics. This task requires the discovery of latent topics in the text reports and the creation of a topic cube. Furthermore, because the number of potential cells in the topic cube is very large, we discuss novel methods of pruning the search space in the topic cells, thereby making the analysis feasible. We demonstrate the new algorithms on an analysis of pilot fatigue and its contributing factors, as well as the safety incidents that are correlated with this phenomenon.

Traveler Trustworthy Autonomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skoog, Mark A.

2016-01-01

NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center has been engaged in the development of highly automatic safety systems for aviation since the mid 80s. For the past three years under Seedling and Center Innovation funding this work has moved toward the development of a software architecture applicable to autonomous safety. This work is now broadening and accelerating to address the airworthiness issues surrounding making a case for trustworthy autonomy. This software architecture is called the expandable variable-autonomy architecture (EVAA) and utilizes a run-time assurance approach to safety assurance.

14 CFR 417.231 - Collision avoidance analysis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Collision avoidance analysis. 417.231..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.231 Collision avoidance analysis. (a) General. A flight safety analysis must include a collision avoidance analysis that...

Reliability/safety analysis of a fly-by-wire system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brock, L. D.; Goddman, H. A.

1980-01-01

An analysis technique has been developed to estimate the reliability of a very complex, safety-critical system by constructing a diagram of the reliability equations for the total system. This diagram has many of the characteristics of a fault-tree or success-path diagram, but is much easier to construct for complex redundant systems. The diagram provides insight into system failure characteristics and identifies the most likely failure modes. A computer program aids in the construction of the diagram and the computation of reliability. Analysis of the NASA F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire Flight Control System is used to illustrate the technique.

Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transport project. ACT/Control/Guidance System study, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The active control technology (ACT) control/guidance system task of the integrated application of active controls (IAAC) technology project within the NASA energy efficient transport program was documented. The air traffic environment of navigation and air traffic control systems and procedures were extrapolated. An approach to listing flight functions which will be performed by systems and crew of an ACT configured airplane of the 1990s, and a determination of function criticalities to safety of flight, are the basis of candidate integrated ACT/Control/Guidance System architecture. The system mechanizes five active control functions: pitch augmented stability, angle of attack limiting, lateral/directional augmented stability, gust load alleviation, and maneuver load control. The scope and requirements of a program for simulating the integrated ACT avionics and flight deck system, with pilot in the loop, are defined, system and crew interface elements are simulated, and mechanization is recommended. Relationships between system design and crew roles and procedures are evaluated.

System Analysis and Performance Benefits of an Optimized Rotorcraft Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bruckner, Robert J.

2007-01-01

The propulsion system of rotorcraft vehicles is the most critical system to the vehicle in terms of safety and performance. The propulsion system must provide both vertical lift and forward flight propulsion during the entire mission. Whereas propulsion is a critical element for all flight vehicles, it is particularly critical for rotorcraft due to their limited safe, un-powered landing capability. This unparalleled reliability requirement has led rotorcraft power plants down a certain evolutionary path in which the system looks and performs quite similarly to those of the 1960 s. By and large the advancements in rotorcraft propulsion have come in terms of safety and reliability and not in terms of performance. The concept of the optimized propulsion system is a means by which both reliability and performance can be improved for rotorcraft vehicles. The optimized rotorcraft propulsion system which couples an oil-free turboshaft engine to a highly loaded gearbox that provides axial load support for the power turbine can be designed with current laboratory proven technology. Such a system can provide up to 60% weight reduction of the propulsion system of rotorcraft vehicles. Several technical challenges are apparent at the conceptual design level and should be addressed with current research.

UAS Integration in the NAS Project: Flight Test 3 Data Analysis of JADEM-Autoresolver Detect and Avoid System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gong, Chester; Wu, Minghong G.; Santiago, Confesor

2016-01-01

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System project, or UAS Integration in the NAS, aims to reduce technical barriers related to safety and operational challenges associated with enabling routine UAS access to the NAS. The UAS Integration in the NAS Project conducted a flight test activity, referred to as Flight Test 3 (FT3), involving several Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) research prototype systems between June 15, 2015 and August 12, 2015 at the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC). This report documents the flight testing and analysis results for the NASA Ames-developed JADEM-Autoresolver DAA system, referred to as 'Autoresolver' herein. Four flight test days (June 17, 18, 22, and July 22) were dedicated to Autoresolver testing. The objectives of this test were as follows: 1. Validate CPA prediction accuracy and detect-and-avoid (DAA, formerly known as self-separation) alerting logic in realistic flight conditions. 2. Validate DAA trajectory model including maneuvers. 3. Evaluate TCAS/DAA interoperability. 4. Inform final Minimum Operating Performance Standards (MOPS). Flight test scenarios were designed to collect data to directly address the objectives 1-3. Objective 4, inform final MOPS, was a general objective applicable to the UAS in the NAS project as a whole, of which flight test is a subset. This report presents analysis results completed in support of the UAS in the NAS project FT3 data review conducted on October 20, 2015. Due to time constraints and, to a lesser extent, TCAS data collection issues, objective 3 was not evaluated in this analysis.

Flight Test Comparison Between Enhanced Vision (FLIR) and Synthetic Vision Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.

2005-01-01

Limited visibility and reduced situational awareness have been cited as predominant causal factors for both Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) and runway incursion accidents. NASA s Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project is developing practical application technologies with the goal of eliminating low visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents while replicating the operational benefits of clear day flight operations, regardless of the actual outside visibility condition. A major thrust of the SVS project involves the development/demonstration of affordable, certifiable display configurations that provide intuitive out-the-window terrain and obstacle information with advanced pathway guidance. A flight test evaluation was conducted in the summer of 2004 by NASA Langley Research Center under NASA s Aviation Safety and Security, Synthetic Vision System - Commercial and Business program. A Gulfstream G-V aircraft, modified and operated under NASA contract by the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, was flown over a 3-week period at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport and an additional 3-week period at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility to evaluate integrated Synthetic Vision System concepts. Flight testing was conducted to evaluate the performance, usability, and acceptance of an integrated synthetic vision concept which included advanced Synthetic Vision display concepts for a transport aircraft flight deck, a Runway Incursion Prevention System, an Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS), and real-time Database Integrity Monitoring Equipment. This paper focuses on comparing qualitative and subjective results between EVS and SVS display concepts.

Probabilistic risk assessment of the Space Shuttle. Phase 3: A study of the potential of losing the vehicle during nominal operation, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fragola, Joseph R.; Maggio, Gaspare; Frank, Michael V.; Gerez, Luis; Mcfadden, Richard H.; Collins, Erin P.; Ballesio, Jorge; Appignani, Peter L.; Karns, James J.

1995-01-01

This document is the Executive Summary of a technical report on a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of the Space Shuttle vehicle performed under the sponsorship of the Office of Space Flight of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It briefly summarizes the methodology and results of the Shuttle PRA. The primary objective of this project was to support management and engineering decision-making with respect to the Shuttle program by producing (1) a quantitative probabilistic risk model of the Space Shuttle during flight, (2) a quantitative assessment of in-flight safety risk, (3) an identification and prioritization of the design and operations that principally contribute to in-flight safety risk, and (4) a mechanism for risk-based evaluation proposed modifications to the Shuttle System. Secondary objectives were to provide a vehicle for introducing and transferring PRA technology to the NASA community, and to demonstrate the value of PRA by applying it beneficially to a real program of great international importance.

14 CFR 417.205 - General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... one analysis must be compatible in form and content with the data input requirements of any other... TRANSPORTATION LICENSING LAUNCH SAFETY Flight Safety Analysis § 417.205 General. (a) Public risk management. A flight safety analysis must demonstrate that a launch operator will, for each launch, control the risk to...

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 355)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 147 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during October, 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

76 FR 11675 - IFR Altitudes; Miscellaneous Amendments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-03

... action is needed because of changes occurring in the National Airspace System. These changes are designed... matters of flight safety and operational efficiency in the National Airspace System, are related to... RIVER, AK NDB BARTER ISLAND, AK NDB... 2000 From To MEA MAA Sec. 95.3000 Low Altitude RNAV Routes Sec...

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 324)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 200 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 342)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 208 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during October 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 325)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 192 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during June, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 339)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 105 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during July 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 336)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 111 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during April 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 341)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 133 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 323)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 125 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during April, 1989. Subject coverage includes; aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 333)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 122 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during January, 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 326)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 108 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during July, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 347)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 166 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Feb. 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 351)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 255 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Jun. 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: a Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (supplement 330)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 156 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during November 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support system and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology. Suppl-329; A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 184 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during October 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: a Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (Supplement 328)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 104 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 344)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 125 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during January, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 343)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 125 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during January, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

77 FR 39652 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; La Belle, FL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-05

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at La Belle Municipal Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR...; Airspace Docket No. 12-ASO-29) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see...

76 FR 49390 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Palmyra, PA

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-10

...) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedures at Reigle Field. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) operations at the...; Airspace Docket No. 11-ASO-17) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see...

78 FR 52111 - Proposed Establishment of Class E Airspace; Aliceville, AL

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-22

... (RNAV) Global Positioning System (GPS) Standard Instrument Approach Procedure (SIAP) serving George Downer Airport. This action would enhance the safety and airspace management of Instrument Flight Rules...; Airspace Docket No. 13-ASO-7) and be submitted in triplicate to the Docket Management System (see ADDRESSES...

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 331)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 129 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during December, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 356)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 192 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during November 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 338)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 139 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during June 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 337)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This bibliography lists 400 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 327)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 127 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during August, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 354)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 225 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during September, 1991. Subject coverage includes aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 334)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 254 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during February, 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 346)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 134 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Jan. 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 349)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 149 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during April, 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

78 FR 22175 - Airworthiness Directives; Airbus Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-15

... loading system (CLS) fail under maximum loads and reports that installation has been applied only on one... wiring, or other equipment located in the forward and aft cargo compartments. This damage could adversely... system, electrical wiring, etc.), and therefore could have an impact on the safety of the flight. EASA AD...

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 352)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 147 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during July 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 340)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 157 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during August 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 350)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 152 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during May 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 320)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 125 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during January, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 335)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This bibliography lists 143 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during March, 1990. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 348)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This bibliography lists 154 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Mar. 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance.

NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Program: Generic Safety, Handling and Qualification Guidelines for Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries; Availability of Source Materials for Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries; Maintaining Technical Communications Related to Aerospace Batteries (NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop). Volume 1, Part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Manzo, Michelle A.; Brewer, Jeffrey C.; Bugga, Ratnakumar V.; Darcy, Eric C.; Jeevarajan, Judith A.; McKissock, Barbara I.; Schmitz, Paul C.

2010-01-01

This NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Working Group was chartered within the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC). The Battery Working Group was tasked to complete tasks and to propose proactive work to address battery related, agency-wide issues on an annual basis. In its first year of operation, this proactive program addressed various aspects of the validation and verification of aerospace battery systems for NASA missions. Studies were performed, issues were discussed and in many cases, test programs were executed to generate recommendations and guidelines to reduce risk associated with various aspects of implementing battery technology in the aerospace industry. This document contains Part 1 - Volume I: Generic Safety, Handling and Qualification Guidelines for Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries, Availability of Source Materials for Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries, and Maintaining Technical Communications Related to Aerospace Batteries (NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop).

Reliability analysis of the F-8 digital fly-by-wire system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brock, L. D.; Goodman, H. A.

1981-01-01

The F-8 Digital Fly-by-Wire (DFBW) flight test program intended to provide the technology for advanced control systems, giving aircraft enhanced performance and operational capability is addressed. A detailed analysis of the experimental system was performed to estimated the probabilities of two significant safety critical events: (1) loss of primary flight control function, causing reversion to the analog bypass system; and (2) loss of the aircraft due to failure of the electronic flight control system. The analysis covers appraisal of risks due to random equipment failure, generic faults in design of the system or its software, and induced failure due to external events. A unique diagrammatic technique was developed which details the combinatorial reliability equations for the entire system, promotes understanding of system failure characteristics, and identifies the most likely failure modes. The technique provides a systematic method of applying basic probability equations and is augmented by a computer program written in a modular fashion that duplicates the structure of these equations.

Telemetry Tracking and Control Through Commercial LEO Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Streich, Ronald C.; Morgan, Dwayne R.; Bull, Barton B.; Grant, Charles E.; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Personnel from the Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility (GSFC/WFF in Virginia have successfully tested commercial LEO communications satellites for sounding rocket, balloon and aircraft flight TT&C. The Flight Modern became a GSFC/WFF Advanced Range Technology Initiative (ARTI) in an effort to streamline TT&C capability to the user community at low cost. Ground tests of the Flight Modem verified duplex communications quality of service and measured transmission latencies. These tests were completed last year and results reported in the John Hopkins University (JHU) Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) 4th International Symposium on Reducing Spacecraft Costs for Ground Systems and Operations. The second phase of the Flight Modem baseline test program was a demonstration of the ruggedized version of the WFF Flight Modem flown on a sounding rocket launched it the Swedish rocket range (Esrangc) near Kiruna, Sweden, with results contained in this paper. Aircraft flight tests have been and continue to be conducted. Flights of opportunity are being actively pursued with other centers, ranges and users at universities. The WFF Flight Modem contains a CPS receiver to provide vehicle position for tracking and vehicle recovery. The system architecture, which integrates antennas, CPS receiver, commercial satellite packet data modem and a single board computer with custom software, is described. Small satellite use of the WFF Flight Modem is also being investigated, The Flight Modem provides an independent vehicle position source for Range Safety applications. The LEO communication system contains a coarse position location system, which is compared to GPS ace acy. This comparison allows users, to determine the need for a CPS receiver in addition to the satellite packet data modem for their application.

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.

Mass and Reliability System (MaRS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Sarah

2016-01-01

The Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate is responsible for mitigating risk, providing system safety, and lowering risk for space programs from ground to space. The S&MA is divided into 4 divisions: The Space Exploration Division (NC), the International Space Station Division (NE), the Safety & Test Operations Division (NS), and the Quality and Flight Equipment Division (NT). The interns, myself and Arun Aruljothi, will be working with the Risk & Reliability Analysis Branch under the NC Division's. The mission of this division is to identify, characterize, diminish, and communicate risk by implementing an efficient and effective assurance model. The team utilizes Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) and Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) to ensure decisions concerning risks are informed, vehicles are safe and reliable, and program/project requirements are realistic and realized. This project pertains to the Orion mission, so it is geared toward a long duration Human Space Flight Program(s). For space missions, payload is a critical concept; balancing what hardware can be replaced by components verse by Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) or subassemblies is key. For this effort a database was created that combines mass and reliability data, called Mass and Reliability System or MaRS. The U.S. International Space Station (ISS) components are used as reference parts in the MaRS database. Using ISS components as a platform is beneficial because of the historical context and the environment similarities to a space flight mission. MaRS uses a combination of systems: International Space Station PART for failure data, Vehicle Master Database (VMDB) for ORU & components, Maintenance & Analysis Data Set (MADS) for operation hours and other pertinent data, & Hardware History Retrieval System (HHRS) for unit weights. MaRS is populated using a Visual Basic Application. Once populated, the excel spreadsheet is comprised of information on ISS components including: operation hours, random/nonrandom failures, software/hardware failures, quantity, orbital replaceable units (ORU), date of placement, unit weight, frequency of part, etc. The motivation for creating such a database will be the development of a mass/reliability parametric model to estimate mass required for replacement parts. Once complete, engineers working on future space flight missions will have access a mean time to failures and on parts along with their mass, this will be used to make proper decisions for long duration space flight missions