Functional design for operational earth resources ground data processing

The author has identified the following significant results. Study emphasis was on developing a unified concept for the required ground system, capable of handling data from all viable acquisition platforms and sensor groupings envisaged as supporting operational earth survey programs. The platforms considered include both manned and unmanned spacecraft in near earth orbit, and continued use of low and high altitude aircraft. The sensor systems include both imaging and nonimaging devices, operated both passively and actively, from the ultraviolet to the microwave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum

Researcher's guide to the NASA Ames Flight Simulator for Advanced Aircraft (FSAA)

Performance, limitations, supporting software, and current checkout and operating procedures are presented for the flight simulator, in terms useful to the researcher who intends to use it. Suggestions to help the researcher prepare the experimental plan are also given. The FSAA's central computer, cockpit, and visual and motion systems are addressed individually but their interaction is considered as well. Data required, available options, user responsibilities, and occupancy procedures are given in a form that facilitates the initial communication required with the NASA operations' group

Functional requirements for the man-vehicle systems research facility

The NASA Ames Research Center proposed a man-vehicle systems research facility to support flight simulation studies which are needed for identifying and correcting the sources of human error associated with current and future air carrier operations. The organization of research facility is reviewed and functional requirements and related priorities for the facility are recommended based on a review of potentially critical operational scenarios. Requirements are included for the experimenter's simulation control and data acquisition functions, as well as for the visual field, motion, sound, computation, crew station, and intercommunications subsystems. The related issues of functional fidelity and level of simulation are addressed, and specific criteria for quantitative assessment of various aspects of fidelity are offered. Recommendations for facility integration, checkout, and staffing are included

Advanced Software Techniques for Data Management Systems. Volume 2: Space Shuttle Flight Executive System: Functional Design

A functional design of software executive system for the space shuttle avionics computer is presented. Three primary functions of the executive are emphasized in the design: task management, I/O management, and configuration management. The executive system organization is based on the applications software and configuration requirements established during the Phase B definition of the Space Shuttle program. Although the primary features of the executive system architecture were derived from Phase B requirements, it was specified for implementation with the IBM 4 Pi EP aerospace computer and is expected to be incorporated into a breadboard data management computer system at NASA Manned Spacecraft Center's Information system division. The executive system was structured for internal operation on the IBM 4 Pi EP system with its external configuration and applications software assumed to the characteristic of the centralized quad-redundant avionics systems defined in Phase B

Standard interface definition for avionics data bus systems

Data bus for avionics system of space shuttle, noting functions of interface unit, error detection and recovery, redundancy, and bus control philosoph

Advanced data management system analysis techniques study

The state of the art of system analysis is reviewed, emphasizing data management. Analytic, hardware, and software techniques are described

Index to 1986 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 11, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1986 Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

Fault diagnostic instrumentation design for environmental control and life support systems

As a development phase moves toward flight hardware, the system availability becomes an important design aspect which requires high reliability and maintainability. As part of continous development efforts, a program to evaluate, design, and demonstrate advanced instrumentation fault diagnostics was successfully completed. Fault tolerance designs for reliability and other instrumenation capabilities to increase maintainability were evaluated and studied