Paper Session I-C - Commercial Use of KSC\u27s Cable Inspection Technologies and Potential Opportunities in the Near Future

NASA\u27s requirements for reliable cable inspection technologies for the complex wiring systems of the Space Shuttle led to the development of new technology that was successfully licensed and commercialized. Similar requirements in the aging aircraft community have led to the feasibility testing of this technology in commercial aircraft. Rapidly emerging advances in the field of electronics presents the opportunity to apply wiring inspection technologies to various problems in a cost-effective manner. This presentation will describe the pathway from technology development to commercialization taken with NASA\u27s cable inspection technology as well as offer a glimpse of future commercial opportunities. ASRC scientists and engineers, working in conjunction with with NASA engineers, are in the process of developing an advanced cable tester capable of detecting subtle defects in cables. The objective is to be able to proactively repair a cable before a short or an open condition develops. Early detection of an impending fault is critical to ensure safe flying conditions for the Space ShuttJe and for commercial and military aircraft

Nano Sensors for Gas Detection in Space and Ground Support Applications

Personnel living in a space environment as well as technicians and engineers preparing spacecraft for launch can potentially be exposed to small amounts of hazardous gases. It is therefore important to be able to detect, identify and quantify the presence of a gas especially when its presence could lead to a fatal situation. The use of small and sensitive sensors can allow for the placement of these devices over a large area, thus allowing for a more precise and timely determination of a gas leak. ASRC Aerospace and its research partners are developing nano sensors for detection of various gases, including but not limited to: H2, NH3, N2O4, hydrazine and others. Initial laboratory testing has demonstrated the capability to detect the gases in concentrations lower than parts per million. Testing and development is continuing to improve the response and recovery times, to increase the sensitivity of the devices. Different coatings and electrodes are currently being evaluated to determine the optimum configuration of a variety of gases. The small footprint of the Nano sensors allows for several devices, each responsive in a different way to different gases, to be placed into a single substrate. Multiple devices embedded into a single substrate results in increased reliability and in a decrease for periodic calibrations. The use of different coatings will result in a small electronic nose capable of distinguishing between different gases. A multi-channel signal conditioner amplifier built on a small multi chip module is used to process the output of the sensors and to deliver a signal that can be remotely monitored. All the data is digitized and transmitted over the same cable pair used to power the amplifier. Multiple outputs can be connected to a single cable pair in order to minimize the added weight and expense associated with cabling in a spacecraft. The sensors will be run through a qualification process to evaluate their suitability for space applications we are expecting to have fully functional sensors available for initial field deployment and testing by the end of the year 2006

Paper Session II-C - Low Cost Self-calibrating, Field Serviceable Signal Conditioning Amplifier

Multiple sensors are used to conduct measurements during every Space Shuttle flow. Often, these measurements have to be installed at locations where available space is minimal. Signal conditioners have a frequent need to be removed from service for calibration, typically, on an annual basis. The calibration must be performed in a shop with traceable test equipment, and can require several hours of manpower. A low cost miniaturized Signal Conditioning Amplifier (SCA), based on the use of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) and IEEE 1451-compliant, will reduce the manpower required to set up new measurements and to replace or calibrate existing ones. The SCA is connected to a transducer attached to a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS), which is read by the amplifier upon power up. The TEDS contains information required by the amplifier to configure itself to operate with a particular transducer. The signal conditioner is capable of performing continuous health checks and auto-calibration and significantly reduces operating and maintenance costs of a data acquisition system. The use of ASICs will also allow for the implementation of multichannel devices for additional reduction in space and power requirements

Next Generation Vehicle Sensors

No abstract availabl

Orbiter Lessons Learned

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Efficient Processing of Data for Locating Lightning Strikes

Two algorithms have been devised to increase the efficiency of processing of data in lightning detection and ranging (LDAR) systems so as to enable the accurate location of lightning strikes in real time. In LDAR, the location of a lightning strike is calculated by solving equations for the differences among the times of arrival (DTOAs) of the lightning signals at multiple antennas as functions of the locations of the antennas and the speed of light. The most difficult part of the problem is computing the DTOAs from digitized versions of the signals received by the various antennas. One way (a time-domain approach) to determine the DTOAs is to compute cross-correlations among variously differentially delayed replicas of the digitized signals and to select, as the DTOAs, those differential delays that yield the maximum correlations. Another way (a frequency-domain approach) to determine the DTOAs involves the computation of cross-correlations among Fourier transforms of variously differentially phased replicas of the digitized signals, along with utilization of the relationship among phase difference, time delay, and frequency

Non-Intrusive Cable Tester

A cable tester is described for low frequency testing of a cable for faults. The tester allows for testing a cable beyond a point where a signal conditioner is installed, minimizing the number of connections which have to be disconnected. A magnetic pickup coil is described for detecting a test signal injected into the cable. A narrow bandpass filter is described for increasing detection of the test signal. The bandpass filter reduces noise so that a high gain amplifier provided for detecting a test signal is not completely saturate by noise. To further increase the accuracy of the cable tester, processing gain is achieved by comparing the signal from the amplifier with at least one reference signal emulating the low frequency input signal injected into the cable. Different processing techniques are described evaluating a detected signal

Incorporation of Nanosensors into Aerospace Vehicles

Traditional sensors are too big and heavy for installation in space vehicles, including the Space Shuttle Orbiter as well as future manned and unmanned vehicles currently in the early design phase. Advances in nanotechnology have led to the availability of smaller and more accurate sensors. Multiple and redundant nanosensors can be used to conduct more accurate and comprehensive measurements in a space vehicle. Early planning can lead to the relatively easy incorporation of miniature sensors sharing power and communication lines, thus reducing the requirement for large amount of electrical and/or optical cabling

Characterization of vertical electric fields and associated voltages induced on a overhead power line from close artificially initiated lightning

Measurements were characterized of simultaneous vertical electric fields and voltages induced at both ends of a 448 m overhead power line by artificially initiated lightning return strokes. The lightning discharges struck ground about 20 m from one end of the line. The measured line voltages could be grouped into two categories: those in which multiple, similarly shaped, evenly spaced pulses were observed, which are called oscillatory; and those dominated by a principal pulse with subsidiary oscillations of much smaller amplitude, which are called impulsive. Voltage amplitudes range from tens of kilovolts for oscillatory voltages to hundreds of kilovolts for impulsive voltages

Universal signal conditioning amplifier

A state-of-the-art instrumentation amplifier capable of being used with most types of transducers has been developed at the Kennedy Space Center. This Universal Signal Conditioning Amplifier (USCA) can eliminate costly measurement setup item and troubleshooting, improve system reliability and provide more accurate data than conventional amplifiers. The USCA can configure itself for maximum resolution and accuracy based on information read from a RAM chip attached to each transducer. Excitation voltages or current are also automatically configured. The amplifier uses both analog and digital state-of-the-art technology with analog-to-digital conversion performed in the early stages in order to minimize errors introduced by offset and gain drifts in the analog components. A dynamic temperature compensation scheme has been designed to achieve and maintain 12-bit accuracy of the amplifier from 0 to 70 C. The digital signal processing section allows the implementation of digital filters up to 511th order. The amplifier can also perform real-time linearizations up to fourth order while processing data at a rate of 23.438 kS/s. Both digital and analog outputs are available from the amplifier