The strategy and logic used in a space shuttle on-orbit rendezvous targeting program are described. The program generates ascent targeting conditions for boost to insertion into an intermediate parking orbit, and generates on-orbit targeting and timeline bases for each maneuver to effect rendezvous with a space station. Time of launch is determined so as to eliminate any plane change, and all work was performed for a near-circular space station orbit.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), CIRCULAR ORBITS, EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, SPACE SHUTTLES,...
The results are presented of a study initiated to evaluate the star tracker axis-to-sunlit earth horizon angle constraint with respect to limitations imposed on the passive target rendezvous capability. The data presented include considerations for dispersions and sensor pointing capabilities and generalizations with respect to the uncertainties associated with the angle constraint available in practice.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, RENDEZVOUS GUIDANCE, STAR TRACKERS,...
The motions of co-orbiting satellites is examined with reference to a free flying satellite requiring periodic servicing and an orbiting service base. The problems of differential orbit decay and nodal regression are emphasized.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, ORBIT CALCULATION, ORBITAL...
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235
Jul 12, 2010
07/10
by
Wentz, W. H., Jr.; Fiscko, K. A
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Force and surface pressure distributions were measured for the 21% LS(1)-0421 modified airfoil fitted with 20% aileron, 25% slotted flap and 10% slot lip spoiler. All tests were conducted at a Reynolds number of 2.2 x 10 to the 6th power and a Mach number of 0.13. The lift, drag, pitching moments, control surface normal force and hinge moments, and surface pressure distributions are included in the results. Incremental performance of flap and aileron are discussed and compared to the GA(W)-2...
Topics: APOLLO SOYUZ TEST PROJECT, OCEANOGRAPHY, EARTH OBSERVATIONS (FROM SPACE), SATELLITE-BORNE...
Investigations were made of a configuration for a spaceborne laser radar (ladar) to meet the requirements for rendezvous and docking with a cooperative object in synchronous orbit. An analysis was completed of laser phase locking techniques, while experimental verification was made of pulse repetition frequency and resonant scanning control loops. Data measurements on a satellite mock-up were also made. The investigation supports the original contention that a rendezvous and docking ladar can...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, OPTICAL RADAR, SPACECRAFT DOCKING,...
The current planning process for space shuttle rendezvous with a second Earth-orbiting vehicle is time consuming and costly. It is a labor-intensive, manual process performed pre-mission with the aid of specialized maneuver processing tools. Real-time execution of a rendezvous plan must closely follow a predicted trajectory, and targeted solutions leading up to the terminal phase are computed on the ground. Despite over 25 years of Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and shuttle vehicle-to-vehicle...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION, EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, MISSION...
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169
Sep 20, 2010
09/10
by
Lindstrom, D. J.; Wentworth, S. J.; Martinez, R. R.; Mckay, D. S
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The Apollo 17 double drive tube 79001/2 (station 9, Van Serg Crater) is distinctive because of its extreme maturity, abundance, and variety of glass clasts. It contains mare glasses of both high Ti and very low Ti (VLT) compositions, and highland glasses of all compositions common in lunar regolith samples: highland basalt (feldspathic; Al2O3 greater than 23 wt percent), KREEP (Al2O3 less than 23 wt percent, K2O greater than 0.25 wt percent), and low-K Fra Mauro (LKFM; Al2O3 less than 23 wt...
Topics: EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, LUNAR LANDING, NATIONAL LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM, PAYLOAD INTEGRATION PLAN,...
Equations are derived by using branched trajectory optimization techniques and the maximum principle to maximize the payload capability of a reusable tug/expendable kickstage vehicle configuration for planetary missions. The two stages and the payload are launched into a low earth orbit by a single space shuttle. The analysis includes correction for precession of the orbit. This correction is done by the tug. The tug propels the payload and the kickstage to an energy beyond earth escape and...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, EARTH ORBITS, ORBIT CALCULATION,...
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169
May 23, 2011
05/11
by
Bailey, David H.; Barszcz, Eric; Dagum, Leonardo; Simon, Horst D
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The NAS Parallel Benchmarks have been developed at NASA Ames Research Center to study the performance of parallel supercomputers. They represent a novel approach to benchmarking in that the eight benchmark problems are specified in a 'pencil and paper' fashion. In other words, the complete details of the problem to be solved are given in a technical document, and except for a few restrictions, benchmarkers are free to select the language constructs and implementation techniques best suited for...
Topics: SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET ENGINES, SPACE MISSIONS, SPACEBORNE EXPERIMENTS, SPACE TRANSPORTATION...
The work performed under this grant supported the Dexterous Flight Experiment one STS-62 The project required developing hardware and software for automating a TRAC sensor on orbit. The hardware developed by for the flight has been documented through standard NASA channels since it has to pass safety, environmental, and other issues. The software has not been documented previously, therefore, this report provides a software manual for the TRAC code developed for the grant.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS (COMPUTERS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS,...
Active rendezvous of an unmanned spacecraft with the Space Transportation System (STS) Shuttle for refueling missions is investigated. The operational constraints facing both the maneuvering spacecraft and the Shuttle during a rendezvous sequence are presented. For example, the user spacecraft must arrive in the generic Shuttle control box at a specified time after Shuttle launch. In addition, the spacecraft must be able to initiate the transfer sequence from any point in its orbit. The...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, LAUNCH WINDOWS, REFUELING, SPACE...
The Earth Orbital Rendezvous (EOR) configuration for the piloted mission is composed of three propulsive elements in addition to the Crew Module (CM): Primary Trans-Lunar Injection (PTLI), Lunar Braking Module (LBM), and Earth Return Module (ERM). The precursor mission is also composed of three propulsive elements in addition to its surface payloads: PTLI, LBM and the Payload Landing Module (PLM). Refer to Volume 1, Section 5.1 and 5.2 for a break-up of the different stages into the four...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, LAUNCH VEHICLES, LUNAR EXPLORATION,...
Rendezvous and docking (R&D) sensors needed to support Earth orbital operations of vehicles were investigated to determine the form they should take. An R&D sensor must enable an interceptor vehicle to determine both the relative position and the relative attitude of a target vehicle. Relative position determination is fairly straightforward and places few constraints on the sensor. Relative attitude determination, however, is more difficult. The attitude is calculated based on relative...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ATTITUDE INDICATORS, EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, SPACECRAFT...
Visual observations of the earth are presented along with the corresponding photographs and maps for specific regions.
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), APOLLO SOYUZ TEST PROJECT, EARTH OBSERVATIONS (FROM SPACE),...
The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission consists of four identically instrumented, spin-stabilized observatories, elliptically orbiting the Earth in a tetrahedron formation. For the operational success of the mission, on-board systems must be able to deliver high-precision orbital adjustment maneuvers. On MMS, this is accomplished using feedback from on-board star sensors in tandem with accelerometers whose measurements are dynamically corrected for errors associated with a spinning...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), KALMAN FILTERS, ATTITUDE (INCLINATION), SPIN STABILIZATION,...
This technical history is intended to provide a technical audience with an introduction to the rendezvous and proximity operations history of the Space Shuttle Program. It details the programmatic constraints and technical challenges encountered during shuttle development in the 1970s and over thirty years of shuttle missions. An overview of rendezvous and proximity operations on many shuttle missions is provided, as well as how some shuttle rendezvous and proximity operations systems and...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), PROXIMITY, SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS, SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITERS,...
STS-79 was the fourth of nine planned missions to the Russian Mir Space Station. This report summarizes the activities such as rendezvous and docking and spaceborne experiment operations. The report also discusses the Orbiter, External Tank (ET), Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB), Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and the space shuttle main engine (SSME) systems performance during the flight. The primary objectives of this flight were to rendezvous and dock with the Mir Space Station and exchange a...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), SOLID PROPELLANT ROCKET ENGINES, SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM...
As a shuttle approaches the Space Station Freedom for a rendezvous, the shuttle's reaction control jet firings pose a risk of excessive plume impingement loads on Freedom solar arrays. The current solution to this problem, in which the arrays are locked in a feathered position prior to the approach, may be neither accurate nor robust, and is also expensive. An alternative solution is proposed here: the active control of Freedom's beta gimbals during the approach, positioning the arrays...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ACTIVE CONTROL, EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, JET IMPINGEMENT,...
This invention is a method and supporting apparatus for autonomously capturing, servicing and de-orbiting a free-flying spacecraft, such as a satellite, using robotics. The capture of the spacecraft includes the steps of optically seeking and ranging the satellite using LIDAR; and matching tumble rates, rendezvousing and berthing with the satellite. Servicing of the spacecraft may be done using supervised autonomy, which is allowing a robot to execute a sequence of instructions without...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), ROBOTICS, ROBOTS, SPACECRAFT MAINTENANCE, EARTH ORBITAL...
EURECA is a retrievable space platform which can perform multi-disciplinary scientific and technological experiments in a Low Earth Orbit for a typical mission duration of six to twelve months. It is deployed and retrieved by the NASA Space Shuttle and is designed to support up to five flights. The first mission started at the end of July 1992 and was successfully completed with the retrieval in June 1993. The operations concept and the ground segment for the first EURECA mission are briefly...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), DEPLOYMENT, EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, EURECA (ESA), FLIGHT...
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143
May 23, 2011
05/11
by
Chimento, Thomas C.; Doshay, David G.; Ross, Muriel D
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We cut serial sections through the medial part of the rat vestibular macula for Transmission Electron Microscopic (TEM) examination, computer-assisted three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction, and compartmental modeling. The ultrastructural research showed that many primary vestibular neurons have an unmyelinated segment, often branched, that extends between the heminode, putative site of the Spike Initiation Zone ( SIZ ), and the expanded terminal(s) (calyx, calyces). These segments, termed the...
Topics: AEROTHERMODYNAMICS, NAVIER-STOKES EQUATION, TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYER, LAMINAR BOUNDARY LAYER,...
Electric propulsion (EP) thruster technology, with efficient lightweight power systems can provide substantial reductions in propulsion system wet mass due to the high specific impulse (Isp) of the thrusters. Historically, the space power systems are too massive for many potential orbital missions. The objective of this paper is to show the impact of current power system technology on EP mission performance and determine what technology advancements are needed to make EP beneficial for earth...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), SPACECRAFT POWER SUPPLIES, ELECTRIC PROPULSION, EARTH ORBITAL...
The main perturbations at the Sun-Earth Lagrange points L1 and L2 are from solar radiation pressure (SRP), the Moon and the planets. Traditional approaches to trajectory design for Lagrange-point orbits use maneuvers every few months to correct for these perturbations. The gravitational effects of the Moon and the planets are small and periodic. However, they cannot be neglected because small perturbations in the direction of the unstable eigenvector are enough to cause exponential growth...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), SOLAR RADIATION, RADIATION PRESSURE, ATTITUDE CONTROL,...
A number of manned Mars mission types, propulsion systems, and operational techniques are compared. Conjunction and opposition class missions for cryogenic, hybrid (cryo/storable), and NERVA propulsion concepts are addressed. In addition, both Earth and Mars orbit aerobraking, direct entry of landers, hyperbolic rendezvous, and electric propulsion cases are examined. A common payload to Mars was used for all cases. The basic figure of merit used was weight in low Earth orbit (LEO) at mission...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, INTERPLANETARY FLIGHT, MANNED MARS...
Technologies including accelerated technology that are critical to performance and/or provide cost advantages for future space transportation systems are identified. Mission models are scoped and include priority missions, and cargo missions. Summary data, providing primary design concepts and features, are given for the SSTO, HLLV, POTV, and LCOTV vehicles. Significant system costs and total system costs in terms of life cycle costs in both discounted and undiscounted dollars are summarized...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBITS, LIFE CYCLE...
Many materials and techniques have been developed by the authors to sample the flux of particles in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), and through regular insitu sampling of the flux in LEO, the materials and techniques have produced data which complement the data now being amassed by the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) research activities. Recent flight experiments on STS-32, STS-44, STS-46, and STS-52 have been conducted to develop an understanding of the spatial density as a function of size...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), EARTH ORBITAL RENDEZVOUS, INTERPLANETARY DUST,...
Detailed heat-transfer rate distributions measured laterally over the windward surface of an orbiter-like configuration using thin-film resistance heat-transfer gauges and globally using the newly developed relative intensity, two-color thermographic phosphor technique are presented for Mach 6 and 10 in air. The angle of attack was varied from 0 to 40 deg, and the freestream Reynolds number based on the model length was varied from 4 x 10(exp 5) to 6 x 10(exp 6) at Mach 6, corresponding to...
Topics: NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS), AEROTHERMODYNAMICS, MACH NUMBER, WIND TUNNEL TESTS, ANGLE OF...
