Ada (trademark) projects at NASA. Runtime environment issues and recommendations

Ada practitioners should use this document to discuss and establish common short term requirements for Ada runtime environments. The major current Ada runtime environment issues are identified through the analysis of some of the Ada efforts at NASA and other research centers. The runtime environment characteristics of major compilers are compared while alternate runtime implementations are reviewed. Modifications and extensions to the Ada Language Reference Manual to address some of these runtime issues are proposed. Three classes of projects focusing on the most critical runtime features of Ada are recommended, including a range of immediately feasible full scale Ada development projects. Also, a list of runtime features and procurement issues is proposed for consideration by the vendors, contractors and the government

Management: A bibliography for NASA managers

This bibliography lists 630 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System in 1991. Items are selected and grouped according to their usefulness to the manager as manager. Citations are grouped into ten subject categories: human factors and personnel issues; management theory and techniques; industrial management and manufacturing; robotics and expert systems; computers and information management; research and development; economics, costs and markets; logistics and operations management; reliability and quality control; and legality, legislation, and policy

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures

Fault injection testing of software implemented fault tolerance mechanisms of distributed systems

PhD ThesisOne way of gaining confidence in the adequacy of fault tolerance mechanisms of a system is to test the system by injecting faults and see how the system performs under faulty conditions. This thesis investigates the issues of testing software-implemented fault tolerance mechanisms of distributed systems through fault injection. A fault injection method has been developed. The method requires that the target software system be structured as a collection of objects interacting via messages. This enables easy insertion of fault injection objects into the target system to emulate incorrect behaviour of faulty processors by manipulating messages. This approach allows one to inject specific classes of faults while not requiring any significant changes to the target system. The method differs from the previous work in that it exploits an object oriented approach of software implementation to support the injection of specific classes of faults at the system level. The proposed fault injection method has been applied to test software-implemented reliable node systems: a TMR (triple modular redundant) node and a fail-silent node. The nodes have integrated fault tolerance mechanisms and are expected to exhibit certain behaviour in the presence of a failure. The thesis describes how various such mechanisms (for example, clock synchronisation protocol, and atomic broadcast protocol) were tested. The testing revealed flaws in implementation that had not been discovered before, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of the method. Application of the approach to other distributed systems is also described in the thesis.CEC ESPRIT programme, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Space station systems: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 9)

This bibliography lists 1,313 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between January 1, 1989 and June 30, 1989. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to researchers, designers and managers engaged in Space Station technology development and mission design. Coverage includes documents that define major systems and subsystems related to structures and dynamic control, electronics and power supplies, propulsion, and payload integration. In addition, orbital construction methods, servicing and support requirements, procedures and operations, and missions for the current and future Space Station are included

Project Cerberus: Flyby Mission to Pluto

The goal of the Cerberus Project was to design a feasible and cost-effective unmanned flyby mission to Pluto. The requirements in the request for proposal for an unmanned probe to Pluto are presented and were met. The design stresses proven technology that will avoid show stoppers which could halt mission progress. Cerberus also utilizes the latest advances in the spacecraft industry to meet the stringent demands of the mission. The topics covered include: (1) mission management, planning, and costing; (2) structures; (3) power and propulsion; (4) attitude, articulation, and control; (5) command, control, and communication; and (6) scientific instrumentation

RICIS Symposium 1992: Mission and Safety Critical Systems Research and Applications

This conference deals with computer systems which control systems whose failure to operate correctly could produce the loss of life and or property, mission and safety critical systems. Topics covered are: the work of standards groups, computer systems design and architecture, software reliability, process control systems, knowledge based expert systems, and computer and telecommunication protocols

Large space structures and systems in the space station era: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 04)

Bibliographies and abstracts are listed for 1211 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between 1 Jul. and 30 Dec. 1991. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher, manager, and designer in technology development and mission design according to system, interactive analysis and design, structural concepts and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, propulsion, and solar power satellite systems

Proceedings of the Air Transportation Management Workshop

The Air Transportation Management (ATM) Workshop was held 31 Jan. - 1 Feb. 1995 at NASA Ames Research Center. The purpose of the workshop was to develop an initial understanding of user concerns and requirements for future ATM capabilities and to initiate discussions of alternative means and technologies for achieving more effective ATM capabilities. The topics for the sessions were as follows: viewpoints of future ATM capabilities, user requirements, lessons learned, and technologies for ATM. In addition, two panel sessions discussed priorities for ATM, and potential contributions of NASA to ATM. The proceedings contain transcriptions of all sessions