Electronics & Software

A development effort under way at the time of reporting the information for this article is directed toward producing a version of the LabVIEW data-acquisition software that would be suitable for use as flight software that could be executed in the VxWorks real-time operating system. The...

The latest version of the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) computer program, denoted PVM 3.4.3, incorporates a massively-parallel-processor (MPP) software port that enables a user working on a computer outside a Beowulf system (a cluster of personal computers that run the Linux operating system) to...

The Iterative Plan Optimization computer program automatically optimizes plans with respect to preferences expressed by human planners. This program incorporates a generalization of commonly occurring plan-quality metrics to provide a language for expression of preferences. The program implements a...

The AMM Automated Mission Planner computer program was developed to save time and money by automating much of the planning of the Second RADARSAT Antarctic Mapping Mission (AMM), which was scheduled to take place at the time of writing this article. The planning problem for this and other...

A report describes the NASA Spacecraft Transponding Modem (STM) — a spacecraft transponder now under development for planned use on deep-space missions scheduled for launch in the year 2003. In comparison with a traditional deep-space transponder, the STM will be smaller and less power hungry; the reductions...

The design of a highly reliable controller for a digital data bus incorporates improvements, in both hardware and software, over the basic design of a low-speed, low-power, serial bus known in the industry as "I2C." ("I2C" signifies "inter integrated circuit bus" — a bus developed by Philips...

Five papers address interrelated topics in parallel computing and the use of adaptive, unstructured computational grids. The titles of the papers and their general subject matters are the following:

COSIM is a computer program that numerically simulates oxidation and diffusion in a metallic coating layer on substrates made of nickel-base alloys. COSIM is primarily useful for analyzing the gradual deterioration and predicting the lifetimes of the protective coating on turbine blades and...

Enigma version 4.4 is an integrated three-dimensional (3D)-graphics application program that includes multiple cost- and time-saving features. Enigma provides capabilities for building geometric models, key-frame animation, and video recording, and provides graphical front ends for use by...

The term "coherent phase line enhancer" (CPLE) refers to a dual-transform method of spectral analysis that enhances the detection of periodic and quasi-periodic signals buried in wide-band noise. The CPLE is particularly useful for increasing the signal-to-noise ratios of spectral peaks...

MECS is a computer program for the automated, secure, rapid, and efficient transfer of data between a central source and users at multiple distant locations. "MECS" signifies "Multi-mission Encrypted Communication System." MECS enables many users to collaborate securely on a shared plan or set of data.

Real-Time Net Transfer (RTNT) software allows for efficient and reliable transport of raw, GPS (Global Positioning System) observables over the open Internet. Efficiency is achieved by editing and compressing the GPS observables at the remote site, and by using User Datagram...

The Common Database Interface and Report Generator is a computer program that serves as both (1) a single common interface for data-base application programs to gain access to local or remote data bases by use of Structured Query Language (SQL) operators and (2) a report generator.

The DataSlate computer program is being developed to help educators and students gain access to, view, manipulate, and otherwise interact with sets of planetary and other scientific data via the Internet or via local data-storage facilities. DataSlate will be especially useful for displaying...

An Airfield Wind Advisory System (AWAS) includes a self-contained weather station, located at an airfield, that measures speed and direction of the wind, the temperature, the barometric pressure, and the humidity. This ground station digitizes these measurements and transmits the measurement data...

A computer program performs a unified analysis of the radiation exposure, the temperatures, and the power generation and distribution for predicting the performance of the TOPEX satellite on orbit and during maneuvers. The unified analysis is needed because all aspects are...

Parameter Identification in Thermal Networks (PITN) is a computer program developed to satisfy a need to update parameters in mathematical models of thermal systems in order to make the temperatures computed by the models equal to the temperatures measured in tests of the corresponding real...

Solid State Recorder Pointer Tracker (SSRPT) is a computer program developed specifically to aid ground-based monitoring and control of two redundant solid-state recorders (SSRs) aboard the Cassini Spacecraft. The SSRs store telemetry data until downlink times, which are limited to a...

The Platform Independent Software Components for the Exploration of Space (PISCES) software library provides for web-based, collaborative development of computer programs for planning trajectories and other trajectory-related aspects of spacecraft-mission design. The PISCES library...