Origins of NASA names

Names are selected for NASA spaceflight projects and programs from various sources. Some have their foundations in mythology and astrology or legend and folklore. Some have historic connotations; others are based on a description of their mission, often resulting in an acronym. Included are names of launch vehicles, spacecraft, manned spaceflight programs, sounding rockets, and NASA field installations. This study is limited to names of approved projects through 1974; it does not include names of numerous projects which have been or are being studied or projects that were canceled or postponed before reaching actual flight

Data-driven modeling of systemic delay propagation under severe meteorological conditions

The upsetting consequences of weather conditions are well known to any person involved in air transportation. Still the quantification of how these disturbances affect delay propagation and the effectiveness of managers and pilots interventions to prevent possible large-scale system failures needs further attention. In this work, we employ an agent-based data-driven model developed using real flight performance registers for the entire US airport network and focus on the events occurring on October 27 2010 in the United States. A major storm complex that was later called the 2010 Superstorm took place that day. Our model correctly reproduces the evolution of the delay-spreading dynamics. By considering different intervention measures, we can even improve the model predictions getting closer to the real delay data. Our model can thus be of help to managers as a tool to assess different intervention measures in order to diminish the impact of disruptive conditions in the air transport system.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. Tenth USA/Europe Air Traffic Management Research and Development Seminar (ATM2013

Improved measurement linearity and precision for AMCW time-of-flight range imaging cameras

Time-of-flight range imaging systems utilizing the amplitude modulated continuous wave (AMCW) technique often suffer from measurement nonlinearity due to the presence of aliased harmonics within the amplitude modulation signals. Typically a calibration is performed to correct these errors. We demonstrate an alternative phase encoding approach that attenuates the harmonics during the sampling process, thereby improving measurement linearity in the raw measurements. This mitigates the need to measure the system’s response or calibrate for environmental changes. In conjunction with improved linearity, we demonstrate that measurement precision can also be increased by reducing the duty cycle of the amplitude modulated illumination source (while maintaining overall illumination power)

Piloted simulation of an air-ground profile negotiation process in a time-based Air Traffic Control environment

Historically, development of airborne flight management systems (FMS) and ground-based air traffic control (ATC) systems has tended to focus on different objectives with little consideration for operational integration. A joint program, between NASA's Ames Research Center (Ames) and Langley Research Center (Langley), is underway to investigate the issues of, and develop systems for, the integration of ATC and airborne automation systems. A simulation study was conducted to evaluate a profile negotiation process (PNP) between the Center/TRACON Automation System (CTAS) and an aircraft equipped with a four-dimensional flight management system (4D FMS). Prototype procedures were developed to support the functional implementation of this process. The PNP was designed to provide an arrival trajectory solution which satisfies the separation requirements of ATC while remaining as close as possible to the aircraft's preferred trajectory. Results from the experiment indicate the potential for successful incorporation of aircraft-preferred arrival trajectories in the CTAS automation environment. Fuel savings on the order of 2 percent to 8 percent, compared to fuel required for the baseline CTAS arrival speed strategy, were achieved in the test scenarios. The data link procedures and clearances developed for this experiment, while providing the necessary functionality, were found to be operationally unacceptable to the pilots. In particular, additional pilot control and understanding of the proposed aircraft-preferred trajectory, and a simplified clearance procedure were cited as necessary for operational implementation of the concept

Spartan Daily, September 14, 2001

Volume 117, Issue 11https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9716/thumbnail.jp

ALSEP termination report

The Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) final report was prepared when support operations were terminated September 30, 1977, and NASA discontinued the receiving and processing of scientific data transmitted from equipment deployed on the lunar surface. The ALSEP experiments (Apollo 11 to Apollo 17) are described and pertinent operational history is given for each experiment. The ALSEP data processing and distribution are described together with an extensive discussion on archiving. Engineering closeout tests and results are given, and the status and configuration of the experiments at termination are documented. Significant science findings are summarized by selected investigators. Significant operational data and recommendations are also included

Effects and Solutions on the Human Body After Long-Duration Space Flights

During the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy made it a mission for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to accomplish a lunar landing and return to Earth. The final lunar landing and the last time humans left Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was in December, 1972. However, 47 years have passed and the fascination with traveling into deep space remains alive and flourishing. A major problem with future human missions to Mars is the effects of microgravity and Mars’ 0.38g environment. Unfortunately, space medicine is limited and little is known about the effects of microgravity on the human body after one year in space. Is it possible for astronauts to survive long spaceflight missions to Mars? To help address this question, my research focuses on the effects of microgravity on astronauts in order to find solutions for long-duration space flights to Mars. Bone and muscle loss are factors that could lead to severe, unknown consequences on an astronaut’s health. My methods included doing an analytical interpretation of historical and contemporary research on long-distance spaceflight. In the future, longer missions are going to require more permanent solutions for humans to be an interplanetary species. The current solutions being used in the International Space Station (ISS) are only to treat individual symptoms separately. Only theoretical permanent solutions were found, such as artificial gravity; therefore, further research is needed. Centripetal acceleration has shown great promise to eliminate microgravity effects but more research is needed to understand the health consequences and the limitations of rotation that humans can sustain

Determination of ∣Vcb∣|V_{cb}| from the polarization of vector meson in the semileptonic decay of BB and BcB_c meson

Since the degree of polarization of the vector particle in semileptonic decay strongly influences the decay width of the particles, it can be used as a measure of CKM matrix elements. We show that |V_{cb}| can be determined from the measurement of polarization of vector meson in B,B_c --> V l nu decay, where $V$ is vector meson.Comment: 11 pages, RevTe

Spartan Daily, February 18, 2003

Volume 120, Issue 18https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/9814/thumbnail.jp