Apr 11 2013

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 13-093 - NASA, AIR FORCE SEEK NEXT GENERATION SPACE PROCESSOR PROGRAM --WASHINGTON -- NASA and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Albuquerque, N.M., are requesting research and development proposals to define the type of spacecraft computing needed for future missions. Through a broad agency announcement, the Air Force Next Generation Space Processor Analysis Program is seeking two to four companies to perform a yearlong evaluation of advanced space based applications that would use spaceflight processors for the 2020-2030 time frame. Computer processors and applications aboard spacecraft will need to transform dramatically to take advantage of computational leaps in technology and new mission needs, said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "NASA's Space Technology Program is teaming with the Air Force to develop the next generation spaceflight processor requirements and propose solutions to meet future high performance space computing needs in the upcoming decades." Processor applications could include autonomous pinpoint landing with hazard detection and avoidance during entry, descent and landing during moon or Mars missions; real-time segmented mirror control for large space-based telescopes; onboard real-time analysis of multi-megapixel-level hyperspectral image data; autonomous onboard situational analysis and real-time mission planning; and real-time mode-based spacecraft-level fault protection. The broad agency announcement will involve a competitive selection process. The NASA and Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate team plans to award a cost-reimbursement contract worth about $2 million to be shared by the selected companies during a period of one year. Studies done in the first three months will determine and define the required computing performance for these advanced applications and compare their findings with the government's preliminary requirements. Awardees then will have nine months to develop spaceflight processing architecture solutions to a set of NASA and Air Force requirements, based on progress and availability of funds. Based on the results of the study effort, a chosen team may develop the spaceflight processor during a follow-on effort. A contract award of about $20 million during a period as long as four years could be made based on availability of funds. The intent would be to develop a spaceflight microprocessor capable of providing high-performance space computing capabilities required for advanced space missions through 2030.

RELEASE: 13-101 - NASA IMAGING SENSOR PREPARES FOR WESTERN WILDFIRE SEASON --WASHINGTON – Airborne imaging technology developed at NASA and transferred to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service (USFS) in 2012 is being tested to prepare for this year's wildfire season in the western United States. The Autonomous Modular Sensor (AMS) is a scanning spectrometer designed to help detect hot-spots, active fires, and smoldering and post-fire conditions. Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and USFS engineers installed it on a Cessna Citation aircraft that belongs to the Forest Service. The USFS plans to use it in operational fire imaging and measurement. The western United States is expected to have continued droughts this year resulting in increased potential for fire outbreaks, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho. To help mitigate fire danger, NASA researchers and USFS firefighters are collaborating to improve fire management capabilities. NASA technologies in the fields of data communication, aircraft systems, advanced sensing systems and real-time information processing finally have coalesced into the operational use that supports national needs in wildfire management, said Vincent Ambrosia, principal investigator of the Wildfire Research and Applications Partnership project and a senior research scientist at Ames and California State University, Monterey Bay. Developed by NASA's Airborne Sciences Program, the Autonomous Modular Sensor acquires high-resolution imagery of the Earth's features from its vantage point aboard research aircraft. The sensor transmits nearly real-time data to ground disaster management investigators for analysis. The sensor has been modified to fly on various crewed and uncrewed platforms, including NASA's Ikhana remotely piloted aircraft, a Predator-B modified to conduct airborne research. Between 2006 and 2010 the AMS flew on the Ikhana and NASA's B-200 King Air to demonstrate sensor capabilities, support national and state emergency requests for wildfire data, and ensure its operational readiness. Data gathered during those flights was used to develop and test algorithms for scientific programs that monitor changes in environmental conditions, assess global change and respond to natural disasters. The Autonomous Modular Sensor will be operated daily over wildfires throughout the United States, providing an unprecedented amount of data to the fire research and applications communities. USFS also will use the sensor to support other agency objectives, such as vegetation inventory analysis and water and river mapping. I see tremendous opportunity for my agency and other land management agencies to benefit from the application of NASA-developed technology, said Everett Hinkley, national remote sensing program manager with USFS in Arlington, Va. "The AMS expands our current capabilities and offers efficiencies in a number of remote-sensing applications including fire, post-fire and forest health applications." NASA will continue to support the Forest Service's use of the Autonomous Modular Sensor. Researchers with NASA and other agencies will have access to the data and can request mission use through partnerships.

RELEASE: M13-061 - NASA INVITES MEDIA TO VIEW ORION, SPEAK WITH KENNEDY SPACE CENTER DIRECTOR --CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA is offering media representatives at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida an opportunity on Monday, April 15, to see Orion, the spacecraft that could take astronauts on a sample collection mission to an asteroid as early as 2021. The event, marking three years since President Obama set a goal of sending humans to an asteroid, will begin at noon EDT with a photo and interview availability with Robert Cabana, Kennedy's center director. Media should arrive at Kennedy's Press Site by 11:30 a.m. for transportation to the Operations and Checkout Building. . Other speakers include Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager, and Keith Hefner, Space Launch System Program planning and control manager. Cabana, Geyer and Hefner will discuss progress made on final assembly and integration of Orion for its uncrewed Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014. Before Orion's launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the production team will apply heat-shielding thermal protection systems, avionics and other hardware to the spacecraft. During the test, Orion will travel 3,600 miles from Earth, farther than any crewed spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years. The main objective is to test Orion's heat shield at the high speeds generated during a return from deep space.