SPHERES interact—Human–machine interaction aboard the International Space Station

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

The deployment of space robots for servicing and maintenance operations that are teleoperated from the ground is a valuable addition to existing autonomous systems, because it will provide flexibility and robustness in mission operations. In this connection, not only robotic manipulators are of great use, but also free-flying inspector satellites supporting the operations through additional feedback to the ground operator. The manual control of such an inspector satellite at a remote location is challenging, because navigation in three-dimensional space is unfamiliar and large time delays can occur in the communication channel. This paper shows a series of robotic experiments, in which free flyers are controlled by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) were utilized to study several aspects of a remotely controlled inspector satellite. The focus in this case study is investigating different approaches to human–spacecraft interaction with varying levels of autonomy under zero-gravity conditions.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rob.21419

Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris impact Damage Recording System

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

Damage from Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) impacts poses a substantial risk for the loss of crew for the currently planned CEV missions to the International Space Station (ISS). The Columbia Space Shuttle accident in 2003 spurred an investigation that led to the requirement of an active impact monitoring system on the Shuttle Orbiter. The MMOD impact Damage Recording System (DRS) presents a reliable, mass- and power-efficient Thermal Protection System (TPS) impact detection system that can be readily integrated with manned and robotic spacecraft. Thus, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is considering inclusion of active MMOD detection systems for monitoring damage to the backshell TPS. MMOD impact detection systems have been developed and flown on satellites and probes dating back to the 1960s. These technologies were designed primarily to understand and characterize the MMOD environment found in low earth orbit (LEO). The only impact monitoring system qualified for use on manned spacecraft is the wing leading edge impact detection system (WLE IDS). During Shuttle ascent, the WLE IDS monitors impacts due to insulating foam shed from the external fuel tank onto the WLE. The WLE is particularly vulnerable due to the high heating environment experienced during reentry. Ever-increasing accumulation of man-made debris is magnifying this threat to shuttle and other spacecrafts operating in LEO. Therefore, the development of on-orbit impact monitoring systems that aid in the mitigation of the threat to manned spacecraft is needed. This paper describes the development and testing of the DRS, a massand power-efficient wireless MMOD impact detection system designed for potential incorporation into the backshell of the CEV. The DRS utilizes wireless data acquisition via custom designed wireless nodes. The DRS wireless nodes determine MMOD impact damage by employing an Embedded Damage Recorder (EDR) sensor. A variety of EDR sensor designs were considered based upon d- – ifferent damage detection and TPS integration requirements. The DRS system design was recently tested at the University of Dayton Research Institute's hypervelocity impact range. During this test series, seven hypervelocity impacts were conducted using aluminum and nylon projectiles to simulate MMOD impacts to representative models of the CEV backshell TPS. The TPS models were fabricated in a flight-like configuration integrating the EDR sensor at the bondline. The DRS accurately indicated damage to the TPS models on all seven hypervelocity impact tests. These results have confirmed the feasibility of the DRS employing the EDR sensor as a viable MMOD impact sensing solution. Vehicle integration and further space environment testing remain critical steps in maturing this technology to flight qualification.

Related URLs:

SPHERES Reconfigurable Control Allocation for Autonomous Assembly

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

Current research on control allocation emphasizes reconfiguration for adapting to thruster failures. However, in the application of autonomous assembly, the reconfiguration is necessitated by changing physical properties. For the scenario of an assembler tug constructing a large space structure, every docking and undocking maneuver used for the tug to move an individual payload causes a large shift in the dynamics of the tug. Not only do the mass properties change, but so does the thruster configuration. Changes in the center of mass, mass, and inertia of the tug-payload system, causes changes in the equivalent force exerted by each thruster. This paper explores reconfigurable control allocation to adapt to changes in the mass properties. Specifically considered are changes to the center of mass and thruster configuration (number, location, and active thrusters). Results are presented from the implementation of a reconfigurable control allocation algorithm on the SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites) testbed aboard the International Space Station. Results demonstrate controllability for configurations with large center of mass shifts, varying number of thrusters, as well as maintaining performance from the baseline non-reconfigurable control allocation algorithm on SPHERES.

Related URLs:
http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/6.2008-7468

Advanced ISS Air Monitoring — The ANITA and ANITA2 Missions

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

After 11 months of successful operation onboard the ISS US laboratory Destiny, the air quality monitors ANITA (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air) was brought back to Earth on STS126 (ULF2). ANITA is a technology demonstrator flight experiment for continuous air quality monitoring inside the crewed cabin of the ISS with low detection limits and high time resolution. For the first time, the dynamics of the detected trace gas concentrations could be directly resolved by ANITA and correlated to gas events in the cabin. The system is the result of a long term ESA technology development programme initiated more than seventeen years ago. The ANITA mission was a cooperative project between ESA and NASA. ESA's responsibilities were the provision of the H/W, the data acquisition and the data evaluation. NASA was responsible for the launch, accommodation and operation onboard ISS, data download and the transportation of ANITA back to the Earth. ANITA was calibrated to detect and quantify 30 trace gases simultaneously with down to sub-ppm (parts per million) detection limits in addition to the always present background gases carbon dioxide and water vapour. The results of the mission are summarised in [ 1 ]. Further, with a specially developed gas bag hand pump system also gas analyses were performed on air samples from Node 1 of the Space Station. ANITA is a precursor for a permanent continuous trace gas monitoring system ANITA2 for ISS and future space vehicles. At the time of the conference the follow-on study on ANITA2 will have been initiated. This paper describes the measurement system, the lessons learned during the mission on ISS, and the planned follow-on activities. The work described has been performed under contract of the European Space Agency.

Related URLs:

ANITA Air Monitoring on the International Space Station Part 1: The Mission

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

After the launch to the International Space Station with The Space Shuttle flight STS 118 13A.1 on August 9th 2007 and the accommodation in the US lab Destiny, the air quality monitor ANITA (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air) has been successfully put into operation. ANITA is a technology demonstrator flight experiment being able to continuously monitor with high time resolution the air conditions within the crewed cabins of the ISS (International Space Station). The system has its origin in a long term ESA (European Space Agency) technology development program. The ANITA mission itself is an ESA-NASA cooperative project. ESA is responsible for the provision of the HW (Hardware), the data acquisition and data evaluation. NASA's responsibilities are launch, accommodation in the US Lab Destiny, operation and data download. The ANITA air analyser is designed to detect and quantify online and with high time resolution 30 trace gases simultaneously with down to sub-ppm (parts per million) detection limits in addition to the always present background gases carbon dioxide and water vapour. The air analyser thus monitors the trace gas dynamics of the spacecraft's atmosphere in providing continuous air monitoring as well as crew warning capability in case of malfunctions. Beside continuous measurements in the vicinity of the gas monitor, air samples from remote places in the International Space Station can be analyzed using gas bags and a hand pump. However, considering the experimental character of ANITA, the measurements are not on-line visible to the Crew. ANITA is an on-orbit test experiment and a precursor for a permanent continuous trace gas monitoring system on the ISS – ANITA II. It further represents a precursor system for future air monitoring in crewed vehicles being developed for the Human Space Exploration program. This is the first paper of two describing the measurement principle, the HW and the mission on the ISS. Finally, an outlook into the future highlights the potential of the ANITA technology for the Exploration program. The work described has been performed under contract of the European Space Agency.

Related URLs:

Change in skin physiological parameters in space–report on and results of the first study on man

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

Astronauts often show skin reactions in space. Systematic tests, e.g. with noninvasive skin physiological test methods, have not yet been done. In an interdisciplinary cooperation, a test series with skin physiological measurements was carried out before, during and after a long-term mission in the International Space Station. The hydration of the stratum corneum (Corneometer), transepidermal water loss (Tewameter), and the surface structure of the skin (SkinVisiometer) were measured. In order to record cutaneous states, the suction elasticity was measured (Cutometer), and an ultrasound measurement with 20 MHz (DermaScan) was also made. In addition, one measuring field of the two inner forearms was treated with a skin care emulsion. There were indications of a delayed epidermal proliferation of the cells, which would correspond to the clinical symptoms. Hydration and TEWL values are improved by respective skin care. On the cutaneous level, the elasticity measurements and the ultrasound picture showed results which correspond to a significant loss of elasticity of the skin. Further examinations are necessary to validate these preliminary results.

Related URLs:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18663342

Experimental evaluation of on-board, visual mapping of an object spinning in micro-gravity aboard the International Space Station

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

Spacecraft proximity operations near an unknown and uncooperative and spinning target object is a challenging problem. One of the key steps in ensuring safe operations is building a map of the target object. Additionally, it is useful to estimate the relative position, orientation, linear and angular velocities of the object as well as its center of mass, principal axes of inertia and ratios of inertia so that the object's pose can be accurately propagated forward in time. This paper reviews an approach for building a map of an unknown and spinning object, and presents experimental results of this algorithm when it was run onboard the Synchronized Position Hold Engage Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) and Visual Estimation for Relative Tracking and Inspection of Generic Objects (VERTIGO) Goggles that are operating within the International Space Station. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time a solution to a Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem has been run on a computer that is in space.

Related URLs:
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=6942878

Mold species in dust from the International Space Station identified and quantified by mold-specific quantitative PCR

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

Dust was collected over a period of several weeks in 2007 from HEPA filters in the U.S. Laboratory Module of the International Space Station (ISS). The dust was returned on the Space Shuttle Atlantis, mixed, sieved and the DNA was extracted. Using a DNA-based method called mold-specific quantitative PCR (MSQPCR), 39 molds were measured in the dust. Potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger and potential moderate toxin producers Penicillium chrysogenum and Penicillium brevicompactum were noteworthy. No cells of the potential opportunistic pathogens Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus terreus, Fusarium solani or Candida albicans were detected.

Related URLs:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923250808000892

Reentry Breakup Recorder: An innovative device for collecting data during breakup of reentering objects

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

More than 40 large, human-made, uncontrolled objects reenter the earth's atmosphere every year, and some fraction of the mass of each object survives to impact the ground or water. Some of these surviving objects are sizable and potentially hazardous. Recognizing this fact, space agencies are developing regulations and standards to limit ground hazards. Unfortunately, detailed information on how objects respond to the severe heating and loads environment is not available due to the difficulty in recording and broadcasting data during reentry and breakup. The Reentry Breakup Recorder (REBR) was developed using a different paradigm – rather than broadcasting data during the breakup event, record the data and broadcast it after the reentry has effectively ended, but before the data recorder actually impacts the Earth's surface. The paper describes how this approach minimizes the weight of the recording device and the overall cost of data recovery. The first flight tests of the REBR device were conducted in 2011; a REBR was inside the Japanese HTV2 and the European ATV-2 vehicles when they were deorbited into the Pacific Ocean. The paper presents a summary of the results of those tests and gives an overview of how future versions of REBR will revolutionize our understanding of reentry breakup and might be used to prototype "black box" systems for space transportation vehicles.

Related URLs:

Assessment and control of spcaecraft charging risks on the International Space Station

by on 9 June 2015in Technology Development & Demonstration No comment

The International Space Station (ISS) operates in the F2 region of Earth's ionosphere, orbiting at altitudes ranging from 350 to 450 km at an inclination of 51.6 degrees. The relatively dense, cool F2 ionospheric plasma suppresses surface charging processes much of the time, and the flux of relativistic electrons is low enough to preclude deep dielectric charging processes. The most important spacecraft charging processes in the ISS orbital environment are: 1) ISS electrical power system interactions with the F2 plasma, 2) magnetic induction processes resulting from flight through the geomagnetic field and, 3) charging processes that result from interaction with auroral electrons at high latitude. Recently, the continuing review and evaluation of putative ISS charging hazards required by the ISS Program Office revealed that ISS charging could produce an electrical shock hazard to the ISS crew during extravehicular activity (EVA). ISS charging risks are being evaluated in an ongoing measurement and analysis campaign. The results of ISS charging measurements are combined with a recently developed model of ISS charging (the Plasma Interaction Model) and an exhaustive analysis of historical ionospheric variability data (ISS Ionospheric Specification) to evaluate ISS charging risks using Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methods. The PRA combines estimates of the frequency of occurrence and severity of the charging hazards with estimates of the reliability of various hazard controls systems, as required by NASA s safety and risk management programs, to enable design and selection of a hazard control approach that minimizes overall programmatic and personnel risk. The PRA provides a quantitative methodology for incorporating the results of the ISS charging measurement and analysis campaigns into the necessary hazard reports, EVA procedures, and ISS flight rules required for operating ISS in a safe and productive manner.

Related URLs: