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SYSTEMS ENGINEERING DIRECTORATE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
Directorate Brief Description:
The Systems Engineering Directorate provides aerospace research facilities, information systems
engineering, fabrication, and facility maintenance that enable Agency programs/ projects and Center
Competencies to meet commitments. The process for systems engineering includes deriving systems
requirements from program/project goals, creating design concepts, performing design studies,
selecting/implementing design, verifying design, validating design, integrating/testing/ activating
systems, and maintaining systems.
- Branch Brief Description:
The Electronic Systems Branch develops avionics and sensors to support aerospace missions and
developmental research. Both hardware and software efforts are incorporated in the overall system
development.
Project Description:
Background: The deployment of low-cost remotely piloted testbeds for advanced concept validation is
one of the goals under milestone SFW 2.09.04, "Enhance critical facility and testbed capabilities."
The benefit of remotely and autopiloted testbeds is that they provide an enormous advantage over
comparable piloted or optionally piloted vehicles in terms of size, speed, risk and cost.
Consequently, both advances in flight control technology and the development and implementation of
successive levels of autonomy could be pursued with limited procurement dollars. Several remotely and
autopiloted testbeds for that specific purpose are in various stages of development.
Research Objectives:
The critical technology to be developed is a combined autopilot and computational workhorse capable of
implementing numerically intensive adaptive flight controls as well as constructs of autonomy, i.e.,
dynamic mission replanning using a broad set of general guidelines rather than specific preprogrammed
instructions. Inter-vehicle communications and sensing to support multi-ship testbeds needs to be
developed or at least successfully integrated using existing technology.
Current efforts both within NASA, as well as externally, have used a mix of commercially available and
one-of-a-kind autopilots, each with their own software development systems, to implement various
levels of autonomy for both flight controls development tests, multi-ship operations, and dynamic
mission planning. Gaps resulting from the current approach are attributable to limited on-board
computational capability, communication bandwidth, and sensing technology.
Desired Major(s):
Aerospace, mechanical or electrical engineering with emphasis on controls, computer science
Key Words:
Digital control, autonomy, remotely piloted vehicles
Point of Contact Information:
Mark A. Motter, M.A.Motter@larc.nasa.gov, 757-864-6978
This project can be adapted for: (check all that are relevant)
[X] Post-Doc
[X] Faculty
[X] Graduate Students
[X] Undergraduate Students
[ ] High School Students
 Branch Brief Description:
The Remote Sensing Flight Systems Branch (RSFSB) conducts research in multiple science and engineering disciplines for the purpose of understanding, developing, and applying remote sensing technologies and techniques for use in ground, air and space-based measurement systems. RSFSB has pursued new applications to support the Agency’s vision in Exploration and supports projects in lunar landing and lunar navigation, Mars entry, descent, and landing (EDL), Shuttle inspection, leak detection on-board the International Space Station(ISS), and, in our traditional role, Earth Science.
ALHAT Project Description:
Background: As NASA plans to send humans back to the moon and develop a lunar outpost, technologies must be developed to place humans and cargo safely, precisely, repeatedly, and, for cargo only missions, autonomously on the lunar surface with the capability to avoid surface hazards. The Exploration Space Architecture Study requirements include the need for global lunar surface access with safe, precise landing without lighting constraints on terrain that may have landing hazards for human scale landers. The Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Project is developing the required technologies and sensor systems to enable safe, precise, and autonomous lunar landings.
Research Objectives:
Research and develop technologies needed to place humans and cargo safely, precisely, repeatedly and for cargo only missions, autonomously, on the lunar surface with the capability to avoid surface hazards. Perform system trade studies and system analyses to determine the most-suitable sensing system for a lunar landing application. Support integration of a flash-lidar system onto a helicopter platform and support field tests of sensor system.
INFLAME Project Description:
Background: The net radiative flux within the atmosphere of the Earth is a crucial component to the equations that govern atmospheric heating rates. Accurate measurements of the net flux, as a function of altitude above the Earth’s surface, will improve the accuracy of existing models that predict the climate in the atmosphere. Furthermore, the direct measurement of the net radiative flux will provide key insights into the impact of clouds, aerosols and greenhouse gases on atmospheric heating rates. To date, the large uncertainty in the measurement of the net flux prohibits reliable calculations of the atmospheric heating rates from existing models.
Research Objectives:
Design, develop, and test the INFLAME Fourier Transform Spectrometer. The INFLAME instrument is a novel spectrometer that directly measures the net radiative flux in the atmosphere of the Earth on an aircraft platform. The instrument involves integration of optical, mechanical and electronic components to precise levels.
CLARREO Project Description:
Background: The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) will provide a benchmark climate record that is global, accurate in perpetuity, tested against independent strategies that reveal systematic errors, and pinned to international standards. Development of climate forecasts that are tested and trusted requires a chain of strategic decisions to establish fundamentally improved climate observations that are suitable for the direct testing and systematic improvement of long-term forecast performance. This strategy sets the foundation for the CLARREO mission.
Research Objectives:
Perform system trade studies to support the CLARREO mission. Identify candidate instrument designs to support the required measurements for the mission. Develop a radiometric model of candidate instrument designs that meet the required radiometric accuracy.
Desired Major(s):
Electrical engineering, Physics, Atmospheric Science, Aerospace with focus on instrumentation
Key Words:
electro-optics, remote sensing, sensors, lasers
Point of Contact Information:
Michael J. Gazarik, Ph.D. Michael.J.Gazarik@nasa.gov, 757-864-1243
This project can be adapted for: (check all that are relevant)
[X] Post-Doc
[X] Faculty
[X] Graduate Students
[X] Undergraduate Students
[ ] High School Students
- Branch Brief Description:
The Structural and Thermal Systems Branch (STSB) of the Systems Engineering Directorate is responsible for the structural and thermal analysis and test support of advanced aerospace flight vehicles and the test articles used to evaluate and qualify these vehicles. The analyses and tests range from manned and unmanned aircraft and space vehicles to individual system components, to test articles, facilities, and testing arrangements supporting these vehicles and their subsystems. The branch utilizes high-fidelity structural and thermal analysis tools employing finite element modeling and analysis techniques, as well as simpler handbook computations to complete these tasks.
Ares I-X CM/LAS Bolted Joint Analysis Project Description:
Background: Ares I-X is a test flight for the Constellation Program within NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Ares I-X includes a 4-segment Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) first stage with a fifth segment spacer, an Upper Stage Simulator (USS) with ballast representing the fluid masses, and a Command Module and Launch Abort System (CM/LAS) simulator. The objectives of the test flight are to verify control system design and to demonstrate recovery of the spent RSRM. The Ares I-X mission is due to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in April 2009. NASA LaRC has the responsibility to deliver the CM/LAS simulator for the Ares I-X vehicle.
Research Objectives:
The objectives of this work assignment are to reassess all of the bolted joints in the Ares I-X CM/LAS flight hardware. The student would be expected to learn to use available bolted-joint analysis software and re-analyze the CM/LAS bolted joints to confirm the established margins of safety that exist in the hardware.
Desired Major(s):
Mechanical Engineering or students in other majors with an emphasis on structures.
Key Words:
Bolted Joints, structural analysis, flight hardware
Point of Contact Information:
Richard Pappa
Richard.S.Pappa@nasa.gov, 757-864-4321 (ph), 757-864-8540 (F)
This project can be adapted for: (check all that are relevant)
[ ] Post-Doc
[ ] Faculty
[ ] Graduate Students
[X] Undergraduate Students
[ ] High School Students
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