Enhanced Feasibility Assessment of Payload Adapters for NASAs Space Launch System

The first flight of NASAs new exploration-classlaunch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), will test amyriad of systems designed to enable the next generation of deepspace human spaceflight, and launch from Kennedy SpaceCenter no earlier than December 2019. The initial Block 1configuration for EM-1 will be capable of lofting at least 70metric tons (t) of payload and send the Orion crew vehicle intoa distant retrograde lunar orbit, paving the way for future crewmissions to cislunar space and eventually Mars. A Block 1Bversion of SLS will lift at least 34 t to trans-lunar injection (TLI)in its crew configuration and at least 37 t to TLI in its cargoconfiguration no earlier than 2024. For Mars-class payloads,larger fairings and payload adapters for the Block 2 cargovehicle are under consideration. For missions beyond the Earth-Moon system, SLS offers greater characteristic energy (C3)than any other launch vehicle, enabling shorter transit times orheavier payloads with more robust science packages formissions to the outer solar system. Indeed, the unmatchedcombination of thrust, payload volume and departure energythat SLS provides opens new opportunities for human androbotic exploration of deep space

Service flow modelling in the telecom cloud

In telecom cloud infrastructures, a wide variety of network elements can be monitored to retrieve for many purposes, such as improving network performance and end user experience. Such wide and intense monitoring entails collecting huge volumes of data that needs to be transferred and stored, as well as being analyzed and fast processed to achieve near real-time performance. Therefore, Big Data techniques for data collection, pre-processing, and analysis and visualization have been recently proposed to provide a fully Big Data-backed ecosystem for telecom operators. This project tackles the problem of service traffic flow modelling in the telecom cloud. A simulation and modelling procedure targeting at obtaining predictive models for realistic service traffic flows is developed. Distinct data analytics approaches can be emulated with the objective of evaluating the performance of distributed and centralized monitoring and modelling deployments

Emulating software-defined disaggregated optical networks in a containerized framework

Telecom operators’ infrastructure is undergoing high pressure to keep the pace with the traffic demand generated by the societal need of remote communications, bandwidth-hungry applications, and the fulfilment of 5G requirements. Software-defined networking (SDN) entered in scene decoupling the data-plane forwarding actions from the control-plane decisions, hence boosting network programmability and innovation. Optical networks are also capitalizing on SDN benefits jointly with a disaggregation trend that holds the promise of overcoming traditional vendor-locked island limitations. In this work, we present our framework for disaggregated optical networks that leverages on SDN and container-based management for a realistic emulation of deployment scenarios. Our proposal relies on Kubernetes for the containers’ control and management, while employing the NETCONF protocol for the interaction with the light-weight software entities, i.e., agents, which govern the emulated optical devices. Remarkably, our agents’ structure relies on components that offer high versatility for accommodating the wide variety of components and systems in the optical domain. We showcase our proposal with the emulation of an 18-node European topology employing Cassini-compliant optical models, i.e., a state-of-the-art optical transponder proposed in the Telecom Infrastructure Project. The combination of our versatile framework based on containerized entities, the automatic creation of agents and the optical-layer characteristics represents a novel approach suitable for operationally complex carrier-grade transport infrastructure with SDN-based disaggregated optical systems.This research was funded Spanish Government: ONOFRE-2 project under Grant TEC2017-84423-C3-2-P (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE) and the Go2Edge project under Grant RED2018-102585-T; and by the European Commission: METRO-HAUL project (G.A. 761727)

A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING ARCHITECTURE AND SYSTEMS DESIGN

This work addresses the problem of finding an improved solution to Computer Integrated Manufacturing (ClM) Architecture and Systems Design. The current approaches are shown to be difficult to understand and use, over complex. In spite of their complexity of approach they lack comprehensiveness and omit many factors and dimensions considered essential for success in today's competitive and often global market place. A new approach to ClM Architecture and Systems Design is presented which offers a simpler, more flexible and more robust format for defining a particular ClM System within a general architectural framework. At the same time this new approach is designed to offer a comprehensive and holistic solution. The research work involved the investigation of current approaches and research and development initiatives focusing particularly on the CIM-OSA and GRAI Integrated methodologies in the field of ClM Architecture. The strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches are examined. Developments in other related fields including manufacturing systems, manufacturing management, information technology and systems generally have been investigated regarding their relevance and possible contribution to an improved solution. The author has built on his practical experience in creating, designing and managing the implementation of a global CIM system. The authors work on several publicly funded collaborative research and development projects relevant to the problem area is described. These include CIM-OSA, IMOCIM and TIQS projects. In the latter two projects the author was instrumental in developing the methodological approach based on a systems approach to business processes in connection with the design of quality and manufacturing systems. Both of these projects have contributed to this work. The author has also participated in the global IMS programme as a rapporteur for the European Commission and this helped to provide a global perspective on the problems of manufacturing companies as they attempt to compete in a world wide market place. The results of this work provide the basis for a radically improved approach to ClM Architecture and Systems Design based on the holistic view of an enterprise. The approach developed supports the business process view of an enterprise; addresses the people and organisational aspects; leads to ClM solutions focused on meeting enterprise goals; and is able to deal with a significantly increased scope and complexity compared with existing methods yet is easily understood and more simple to simple to apply than current approaches