Software

This software fits trajectory ephemerides and thrust profiles with a Chebyshev polynomial representation, and stores this fit in data files suitable for upload to a spacecraft. In addition, a number of utility modules are provided to assist with inspection and diagnosis of issues with data...

Rapid adoption of mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablet computers has increased the range of applications and data on mobile devices. The use of these devices to communicate sensitive or confidential data requires, among other things, strong front-end user authentication procedures and/or protocols to...

Exhaust plumes emanating from smoke stacks at power plants or other industrial facilities can have adverse impacts on local aviation during periods of calm winds. Adverse impacts can be exacerbated if the temperature is low or the atmosphere is unstable. While low oxygen concentrations and elevated temperatures inside the...

A conflict resolution algorithm that can provide automated separation assurance for the next-generation air traffic control system has been developed. The algorithm generates resolution trajectories that can be sent to the aircraft from a ground-based system via a data...

An algorithm was developed that enables a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to communicate and work toward a common goal. The tool could be used to improve security or capture images simultaneously over a large area.

The Information Sharing Protocol (ISP) VCR (ISPVCR) is a software program written in Tcl/Tk that provides the capability to record and play back ISP data (telemetry, computations, ground system status, etc.) via Source Independent Telemetry Format (SITF) files. The ISPVCR provides a graphical user interface...

Positioning of wireless devices is centralized, depending on “anchors” with known locations such as cell towers or GPS satellites to communicate directly with each device. As the number of devices increases, anchors must be installed at higher density. Centralized positioning can...

Electrical interruptions, or “nuisance trips,” occur when a detector installed behind the wall trips an outlet's electrical circuit when it senses something that could be an arc-fault — a potentially dangerous spark in the electric line. The problem with today's arc-fault detectors is that they...

The nation's aging infrastructure requires massive investment. Imagine if engineers could build structures with materials that do not degrade over time. A simulation technique was developed that could help engineers do just that.

As part of the continued thermal support for the Space Launch System (SLS) program, MSFC is constantly developing or modifying software tools to aid in analytical efforts to solve thermal issues and problems posed by the project. In some cases, existing software used by previous heritage programs provides an excellent...

As the number of channels, or operative sites, increases in present and future ground special power (GSP) development efforts, the amount of hardware required to test development codes becomes substantially expensive. By simulating/emulating the hardware, code...

NASA has used two systems to train astronauts for weightlessness. The first is the Reduced Gravity Simulator that suspended the astronaut at an angle of 80.5 so that only 1/6th of his or her weight was supported by the ground, while the rest was supported by a pulley system. The other system, designed during...

The OFFSET video game was designed to teach children the basics of the carbon cycle in a fun and engaging way. The game play is a mix of Pong, Breakout, and RTS. The game has a retro-art style, and uses Game Center, so that players can compare scores with each other.

An orthonormal basis set is introduced for use in generating global solutions to nonlinear differential equations with shocks. By global, it is meant that a single series solution is generated that is valid over the entire domain, not a separate solution...

As documented by the Human Research Program, there is a need for tools to aid in assessing habitability in space vehicles/habitats. Currently, human factors and habitability feedback is collected during post-mission debriefs that may occur up to several months following the end of a mission....

NASA has a need to determine the distribution of dark matter around planets like Earth. Doing so necessitates the ability to repeatedly solve the geodesic equation in simulations of weakly interacting particles streaming through bodies described by a Schwarzschild metric. Geodesolver numerically solves the...