%0 Book %A National Research Council %T The Role of Small Satellites in NASA and NOAA Earth Observation Programs %@ 978-0-309-06982-3 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9819/the-role-of-small-satellites-in-nasa-and-noaa-earth-observation-programs %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9819/the-role-of-small-satellites-in-nasa-and-noaa-earth-observation-programs %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 104 %X Remote observations of Earth from space serve an extraordinarily broad range of purposes, resulting in extraordinary demands on those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and elsewhere who must decide how to execute them. In research, Earth observations promise large volumes of data to a variety of disciplines with differing needs for measurement type, simultaneity, continuity, and long-term instrument stability. Operational needs, such as weather forecasting, add a distinct set of requirements for continual and highly reliable monitoring of global conditions. The Role of Small Satellites in NASA and NOAA Earth Observation Programs confronts these diverse requirements and assesses how they might be met by small satellites. In the past, the preferred architecture for most NASA and NOAA missions was a single large spacecraft platform containing a sophisticated suite of instruments. But the recognition in other areas of space research that cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and robustness may be enhanced by using small spacecraft has raised questions about this philosophy of Earth observation. For example, NASA has already abandoned its original plan for a follow-on series of major platforms in its Earth Observing System. This study finds that small spacecraft can play an important role in Earth observation programs, providing to this field some of the expected benefits that are normally associated with such programs, such as rapid development and lower individual mission cost. It also identifies some of the programmatic and technical challenges associated with a mission composed of small spacecraft, as well as reasons why more traditional, larger platforms might still be preferred. The reasonable conclusion is that a systems-level examination is required to determine the optimum architecture for a given scientific and/or operational objective. The implied new challenge is for NASA and NOAA to find intra- and interagency planning mechanisms that can achieve the most appropriate and cost-effective balance among their various requirements. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Summary of the Workshop to Identify Gaps and Possible Directions for NASA's Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Programs %@ 978-0-309-21515-2 %D 2011 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13176/summary-of-the-workshop-to-identify-gaps-and-possible-directions-for-nasas-meteoroid-and-orbital-debris-programs %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13176/summary-of-the-workshop-to-identify-gaps-and-possible-directions-for-nasas-meteoroid-and-orbital-debris-programs %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 40 %X A Summary of the Workshop to Identify the Gaps and Possible Directions for NASA's Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Programs summarizes the two-day workshop held on March 9-10, 2011, where various stakeholders presented diverse perspectives on matters concerning NASA Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) programs, NASA mission operators, the role and relationships of NASA MMOD programs to other federal agencies, MMOD and the commercial industry, and orbital debris retrieval and removal. The report assesses NASA's existing efforts, policies, and organizations with regard to orbital debris and micrometeoroids by creating advisory dialogue on potential opportunities for program enhancement and maintenance practices. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Review of NASA's Biomedical Research Program %@ 978-0-309-07126-0 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9950/review-of-nasas-biomedical-research-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9950/review-of-nasas-biomedical-research-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 128 %X The 1998 Committee on Space Biology and Medicine (CSBM) report A Strategy for Research in Space Biology and Medicine in the New Century assessed the known and potential effects of spaceflight on biological systems in general and on human physiology, behavior, and performance in particular, and recommended directions for research sponsored over the next decade by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The present follow-up report reviews specifically the overall content of the biomedical research programs supported by NASA in order to assess the extent to which current programs are consistent with recommendations of the Strategy report for biomedical research activities. In general, NASA programs concerned with fundamental gravitational biology are not considered here. The committee also notes that this report does not include an evaluation of NASA's response to the Strategy report, which had only recently been released at the initiation of this study. Review of NASA's Biomedical Research Program summarizes the committee's findings from its review of (1) NASA's biomedical research and (2) programmatic issues described in the Strategy report that are relevant to NASA's ability to implement research recommendations. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Future Biotechnology Research on the International Space Station %@ 978-0-309-06975-5 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9785/future-biotechnology-research-on-the-international-space-station %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9785/future-biotechnology-research-on-the-international-space-station %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 88 %X Under current NASA plans, investigations in the area of biotechnology will be a significant component of the life sciences research to be conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). They encompass work on cell science and studies of the use of microgravity to grow high-quality protein crystals. Both these subdisciplines are advancing rapidly in terrestrial laboratories, fueled by federal and industrial research budgets that dwarf those of NASA's life science program. Forging strong and fruitful connections between the space investigations and laboratory-bench biologists, a continual challenge for NASA' s life sciences program, is thus of great importance to ensuring the excellence of ISS research. This report evaluates the plan for NASA's biotechnology facility on the ISS and the scientific context that surrounds it, and makes recommendations on how the facility can be made more effective. In addition to questions about optimizing the instrumentation, the report addresses strategies for enhancing the scientific impact and improving the outreach to mainstream terrestrial biology. No major redirection of effort is called for, but collectively the specific, targeted changes recommended by the task group would have a major effect on the conduct of biotechnology research in space. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Issues in the Integration of Research and Operational Satellite Systems for Climate Research: Part I. Science and Design %@ 978-0-309-06985-4 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9963/issues-in-the-integration-of-research-and-operational-satellite-systems-for-climate-research %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9963/issues-in-the-integration-of-research-and-operational-satellite-systems-for-climate-research %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Space and Aeronautics %P 152 %X Currently, the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Commerce (DOC) acquire and operate separate polarorbiting environmental satellite systems that collect data needed for military and civil weather forecasting. The National Performance Review (NPR) and subsequent Presidential Decision Directive (PDD), directed the DOD (Air Force) and the DOC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA) to establish a converged national weather satellite program that would meet U.S. civil and national security requirements and fulfill international obligations. NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), and potentially other NASA programs, were included in the converged program to provide new remote sensing and spacecraft technologies that could improve the operational capabilities of the converged system. The program that followed, called the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), combined the follow-on to the DOD's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the DOC's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) program. The tri-agency Integrated Program Office (IPO) for NPOESS was subsequently established to manage the acquisition and operations of the converged satellite. Issues in the Integration of Research and Operational Satellite Systems for Climate Research analyzes issues related to the integration of EOS and NPOESS, especially as they affect research and monitoring activities related to Earth's climate and whether it is changing. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities %@ 978-0-309-25538-7 %D 2012 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13384/recapturing-nasas-aeronautics-flight-research-capabilities %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13384/recapturing-nasas-aeronautics-flight-research-capabilities %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 104 %X In the five decades since NASA was created, the agency has sustained its legacy from the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) in playing a major role in U.S. aeronautics research and has contributed substantially to United States preeminence in civil and military aviation. This preeminence has contributed significantly to the overall economy and balance of trade of the United States through the sales of aircraft throughout the world. NASA's contributions have included advanced flight control systems, de-icing devices, thrust-vectoring systems, wing fuselage drag reduction configurations, aircraft noise reduction, advanced transonic airfoil and winglet designs, and flight systems. Each of these contributions was successfully demonstrated through NASA flight research programs. Equally important, the aircraft industry would not have adopted these and similar advances without NASA flight demonstration on full-scale aircraft flying in an environment identical to that which the aircraft are to operate-in other words, flight research. Flight research is a tool, not a conclusion. It often informs simulation and modeling and wind tunnel testing. Aeronautics research does not follow a linear path from simulation to wind tunnels to flying an aircraft. The loss of flight research capabilities at NASA has therefore hindered the agency's ability to make progress throughout its aeronautics program by removing a primary tool for research. Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities discusses the motivation for NASA to pursue flight research, addressing the aspects of the committee's task such as identifying the challenges where research program success can be achieved most effectively through flight research. The report contains three case studies chosen to illustrate the state of NASA ARMD. These include the ERA program and the Fundamental Research Program's hypersonics and supersonics projects. Following these case studies, the report describes issues with the NASA ARMD organization and management and offers solutions. In addition, the chapter discusses current impediments to progress, including demonstrating relevancy to stakeholders, leadership, and the lack of focus relative to available resources. Recapturing NASA's Aeronautics Flight Research Capabilities concludes that the type and sophistication of flight research currently being conducted by NASA today is relatively low and that the agency's overall progress in aeronautics is severely constrained by its inability to actually advance its research projects to the flight research stage, a step that is vital to bridging the confidence gap. NASA has spent much effort protecting existing research projects conducted at low levels, but it has not been able to pursue most of these projects to the point where they actually produce anything useful. Without the ability to actually take flight, NASA's aeronautics research cannot progress, cannot make new discoveries, and cannot contribute to U.S. aerospace preeminence. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Smith, Marcia %T Sharing the Adventure with the Public: The Value and Excitement of 'Grand Questions' of Space Science and Exploration: Summary of a Workshop %@ 978-0-309-22159-7 %D 2011 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13276/sharing-the-adventure-with-the-public-the-value-and-excitement %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13276/sharing-the-adventure-with-the-public-the-value-and-excitement %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 92 %X On November 8-10, 2010, the National Research Council's Space Studies Board (SSB) held a public workshop on how NASA and its associated science and exploration communities communicate with the public about major NASA activities and programs. The concept and planning of the workshop developed over a period of two years. In conjunction with the SSB, the workshop planning committee identified five "Grand Questions" in space science and exploration around which the event was organized. As outlined in the summary, the workshop concluded with sessions on communicating space research and exploration to the public. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Interim Assessment of Research and Data Analysis in NASA's Office of Space Science: Letter Report %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9980/interim-assessment-of-research-and-data-analysis-in-nasas-office-of-space-science %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9980/interim-assessment-of-research-and-data-analysis-in-nasas-office-of-space-science %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 23 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA's Implementation of the Decadal Survey %@ 978-0-309-25702-2 %D 2012 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13405/earth-science-and-applications-from-space-a-midterm-assessment-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/13405/earth-science-and-applications-from-space-a-midterm-assessment-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %K Earth Sciences %P 124 %X Understanding the effects of natural and human-induced changes on the global environment and their implications requires a foundation of integrated observations of land, sea, air and space, on which to build credible information products, forecast models, and other tools for making informed decisions. The 2007 National Research Council report on decadal survey called for a renewal of the national commitment to a program of Earth observations in which attention to securing practical benefits for humankind plays an equal role with the quest to acquire new knowledge about the Earth system. NASA responded favorably and aggressively to this survey, embracing its overall recommendations for Earth observations, missions, technology investments, and priorities for the underlying science. As a result, the science and applications communities have made significant progress over the past 5 years. However, the Committee on Assessment of NASA's Earth Science Program found that the survey vision is being realized at a far slower pace than was recommended, principally because the required budget was not achieved. Exacerbating the budget shortfalls, NASA Earth science programs experienced launch failures and delays and the cost of implementing missions increased substantially as a result of changes in mission scope, increases in launch vehicle costs and/or the lack of availability of a medium-class launch vehicle, under-estimation of costs by the decadal survey, and unfunded programmatic changes that were required by Congress and the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has made significant reductions in scope to its future Earth environmental observing satellites as it contends with budget shortfalls. Earth Science and Applications from Space: A Midterm Assessment of NASA's Implementation of the Decadal Survey recommends a number of steps to better manage existing programs and to implement future programs that will be recommended by the next decadal survey. The report also highlights the urgent need for the Executive Branch to develop and implement an overarching multiagency national strategy for Earth observations from space, a key recommendation of the 2007 decadal survey that remains unfulfilled. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Interim Report of NRC Review of NASA's Pioneering Revolutionary Technology Program %D 2003 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10605/interim-report-of-nrc-review-of-nasas-pioneering-revolutionary-technology-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10605/interim-report-of-nrc-review-of-nasas-pioneering-revolutionary-technology-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 18 %X This review is part of a project that will produce biennial assessments of the NASA Aerospace Technology Enterprise programs—the PRT program, the Aviation Program, and the Space Transportation Program. The PRT program is designed to develop and demonstrate revolutionary computing, information and communications technologies for aerospace systems. NASA requested a review of the technical quality of the program from the NRC. This letter report presents the initial assessment of the program. The details of the review will be presented in the final report. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Steps to Facilitate Principal-Investigator-Led Earth Science Missions %@ 978-0-309-09185-5 %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10949/steps-to-facilitate-principal-investigator-led-earth-science-missions %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10949/steps-to-facilitate-principal-investigator-led-earth-science-missions %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Space and Aeronautics %P 94 %X Principal-investigator (PI) Earth science missions are small, focused science projects involving relatively small spacecraft. The selected PI is responsible for the scientific and programmatic success of the entire project. A particular objective of PI-led missions has been to help develop university-based research capacity. Such missions, however, pose significant challenges that are beyond the capabilities of most universities to manage. To help NASA’s Office of Earth Science determine how best to address these, the NRC carried out an assessment of key issues relevant to the success of university-based PI-led Earth observation missions. This report presents the result of that study. In particular, the report provides an analysis of opportunities to enhance such missions and recommendations about whether and, if so, how they should be used to build university-based research capabilities. %0 Book %T Life Sciences in Space: Report of the Study to Review NASA Life Sciences Programs %D 1970 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20499/life-sciences-in-space-report-of-the-study-to-review %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/20499/life-sciences-in-space-report-of-the-study-to-review %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K %K Space and Aeronautics %P 63 %0 Book %T Space Studies Board Annual Report 2006 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12082/space-studies-board-annual-report-2006 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12082/space-studies-board-annual-report-2006 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 145 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Vehicle Systems Panel Report on the Status of NASA's Vehicles Systems Program: Letter Report %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10904/vehicle-systems-panel-report-on-the-status-of-nasas-vehicles-systems-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10904/vehicle-systems-panel-report-on-the-status-of-nasas-vehicles-systems-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 16 %X In November 2003, ASEB released a report, An Assessment of NASA’s Aeronautics Technology Programs. After the release, NASA requested the NRC to reconvene the Panel on Vehicle Systems Program, which had been established as part of the study infrastructure for the report. Specifically, NASA wanted an evaluation of the progress made by the Program in formulating and directing its activities over the past nine months (since March 2003). This letter report presents the findings of that review. In almost all cases, the recommendations contained in this letter report, amplify and reinforce those contained in the full report. %0 Book %T Life Sciences in Space: Report of the Study to Review NASA Life Sciences Programs %D 1970 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12392/life-sciences-in-space-report-of-the-study-to-review %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12392/life-sciences-in-space-report-of-the-study-to-review %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 61 %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Powering Science: NASA's Large Strategic Science Missions %@ 978-0-309-46383-6 %D 2017 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24857/powering-science-nasas-large-strategic-science-missions %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/24857/powering-science-nasas-large-strategic-science-missions %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 126 %X NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) currently operates over five dozen missions, with approximately two dozen additional missions in development. These missions span the scientific fields associated with SMD's four divisions—Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Sciences. Because a single mission can consist of multiple spacecraft, NASA-SMD is responsible for nearly 100 operational spacecraft. The most high profile of these are the large strategic missions, often referred to as "flagships." Large strategic missions are essential to maintaining the global leadership of the United States in space exploration and in science because only the United States has the budget, technology, and trained personnel in multiple scientific fields to conduct missions that attract a range of international partners. This report examines the role of large, strategic missions within a balanced program across NASA-SMD space and Earth sciences programs. It considers the role and scientific productivity of such missions in advancing science, technology and the long-term health of the field, and provides guidance that NASA can use to help set the priority of larger missions within a properly balanced program containing a range of mission classes. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessment of the NASA Applied Sciences Program %@ 978-0-309-11075-4 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11987/assessment-of-the-nasa-applied-sciences-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11987/assessment-of-the-nasa-applied-sciences-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %K Earth Sciences %P 160 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Revitalizing NASA's Suborbital Program: Advancing Science, Driving Innovation, and Developing Workforce %@ 978-0-309-15083-5 %D 2010 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12862/revitalizing-nasas-suborbital-program-advancing-science-driving-innovation-and-developing %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12862/revitalizing-nasas-suborbital-program-advancing-science-driving-innovation-and-developing %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 97 %X Suborbital flight activities, including the use of sounding rockets, aircraft, high-altitude balloons, and suborbital reusable launch vehicles, offer valuable opportunities to advance science, train the next generation of scientists and engineers, and provide opportunities for participants in the programs to acquire skills in systems engineering and systems integration that are critical to maintaining the nation's leadership in space programs. Furthermore, the NASA Authorization Act of 2008 finds it in the national interest to expand the size of NASA's suborbital research program and to consider increased funding. Revitalizing NASA's Suborbital Program is an assessment of the current state and potential of NASA's suborbital research programs and a review of NASA's capabilities in this area. The scope of this review includes: existing programs that make use of suborbital flights; the status, capability, and availability of suborbital platforms; the existing or planned launch facilities for suborbital missions (including the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy); and opportunities for scientific research, training, and educational collaboration in the conduct of suborbital missions by NASA. The findings illustrate that suborbital program elements-airborne, balloon, and sounding rockets-play vital and necessary strategic roles in NASA's research, innovation, education, employee development, and spaceflight mission success, thus providing the foundation for achievement of agency goals. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Building a Better NASA Workforce: Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration %@ 978-0-309-10764-8 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11916/building-a-better-nasa-workforce-meeting-the-workforce-needs-for %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11916/building-a-better-nasa-workforce-meeting-the-workforce-needs-for %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %K Education %P 80 %X The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) announced by President George W. Bush in 2004 sets NASA and the nation on a bold path to return to the Moon and one day put a human on Mars. The long-term endeavor represented by the VSE is, however, subject to the constraints imposed by annual funding. Given that the VSE may take tens of years to implement, a significant issue is whether NASA and the United States will have the workforce needed to achieve that vision. The issues range from short-term concerns about the current workforce's skills for overseeing the development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles for the VSE to long-term issues regarding the training, recruiting, and retaining of scientists and engineers in-house as well as in industry and academia. Asked to explore science and technology (S&T) workforce needs to achieve the nation's long-term space exploration, the Committee on Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration concluded that in the short term, NASA does not possess the requisite in-house personnel with the experience in human spaceflight systems development needed to implement the VSE. But the committee acknowledges that NASA is cognizant of this fact and has taken steps to correct it, primarily by seeking to recruit highly skilled personnel from outside NASA, including persons from industry and retirees. For the long term, NASA has to ask if it is attracting and developing the talent it will need to execute a mission to return to the Moon, and the agency must identify what it needs to do to attract and develop a world-class workforce to explore other worlds. A major challenge for NASA is reorienting its human spaceflight workforce from the operation of current vehicles to the development of new vehicles at least throughout the next decade, as well as starting operations with new rockets and new spacecraft. The committee emphasizes further that when evaluating its future workforce requirements, NASA has to consider not only programs for students, but also training opportunities for its current employees. NASA's training programs at the agency's various field centers, which are focused on NASA's civil service talent, require support to prevent the agency's internal skill base from withering. Furthermore, NASA faces the risk that, if it fails to nurture its own internal workforce, skilled personnel will be attracted to other government agencies and industry. Building a Better NASA Workforce: Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration explains the findings and recommendations of the committee. %0 Book %T On Peer Review in NASA Life Sciences Programs: Letter Report %D 1995 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12291/on-peer-review-in-nasa-life-sciences-programs-letter-report %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12291/on-peer-review-in-nasa-life-sciences-programs-letter-report %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Space and Aeronautics %P 6