Electronics & Software

The Electronic Portable Information Collection (EPIC) computer program is a computer system that processes work authorization documents (WADs). The EPIC System, which is also known as the Portable Data Collection System, comprises a central data server and portable data terminals. The central data server acts as...

A high-speed observer (HSO) system comprising a high-frame-rate digital video camera and a high-speed computer that processes the camera output has been developed for use in monitoring the exhaust plume of the space shuttle main engine (SSME) during tests. The HSO system is designed to analyze...

Root Cause Analysis (RoCA) is a computer program that assists analysts in understanding the root causes of process anomalies. As used here, “process anomalies” includes incidents that have caused, or that can potentially cause, injuries to personnel, damage to facilities, abnormal costs,...

“Ex” is the name of a library of software modules from which one can rapidly develop prototype or production versions of efficient numerical-computation application programs in the Native Oberon programming environment. Mathematical constructs that can be represented and processed by...

In a proposed communication scheme, quantum entanglement and quantum nonlocality would be utilized to effect instantaneous transmission of randomly chosen messages to remote locations. Although the messages would not convey any information, they might nevertheless be of some value under...

A report discusses the concept of goal-based fault tolerance as implemented in NASA’s Mission Data System (MDS), which is a developmental architecture for unified flight, test, and ground software that is intended to be adaptable to a variety of next-generation deep-space missions. In goal-based...

A report describes two radiation-hard application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) that constitute a mixed-signal chip set that performs all the control functions for a power-converter module (PCM) in a spacecraft power-supply system. One of these ASICs serves mainly as a pulse-width modulation...

A report presents updated information about the Remote Agent — a reusable artificial-intelligence software system that was described in “A Remote Agent Prototype for Spacecraft Autonomy” (NPO-19992), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 21, No. 3 (March 1997), page 106. This system was conceived to...

A computer program coordinates operations of multiple cooperating rovers (small exploratory robotic vehicles deployed from a lander spacecraft), each of which is equipped with computer hardware and software that schedule the tasks assigned to it. The program implements a contract net protocol...

A simple, inexpensive device has been conceived for shifting the phase of a signal in a feed line of a scanning-beam microstrip antenna in order to change the direction of the beam. Heretofore, phase shifters used for this purpose have been relatively bulky and expensive.

Nickel-hydrogen electrochemical cells with capacities of 350 ampere-hours have been developed. These cells are intended primarily for use in government and commercial satellites; they have been fully qualified to satisfy performance requirements for operation in geosynchronous satellites for as long as 15 years....

A report presents some results of continuing efforts to develop advanced thermoelectric devices and, more particularly, thermoelectric unicouples for generating electric power from diverse thermal sources, including automotive exhausts and other waste-heat sources. The basic principles of...

External Data and Attribute Hyperlink are computer programs that can be added to Promis•e®, which is a commercial software system that automates routine tasks in the design (including drawing schematic diagrams) of electrical control systems. The programs were developed under the...

A computer program solves the differential equations of three-dimensional (3D) thermal convection of an incompressible fluid by use of a parallel-processing, finite volume numerical scheme. The equations of conservation of momentum, and energy are integrated over macroscopic control...

RBK4 is a computer program for testing electronic components for susceptibility to single-event upsets (SEUs). RBK4 controls the computer on which it is executed to communicate with both the board holding the device under test (DUT), a power supply, and other laboratory instruments including custom...

Compressed symbology is a product-identification method that was pioneered by NASA for tracking space-shuttle parts and is now being used to mark everything from groceries to automobile parts. Based on a system of two-dimensional marks applied to parts, compressed symbology was developed at NASA's...

A report discusses the potential application of artificial intelligence (AI) to planning, scheduling, and control of the optical configuration and other aspects of the operations of a large astronomical interferometer. Scientific demand and technical requirements necessitate...