Understanding the universe is a never ending quest, and each discovery raises new questions. To acquire the data that will answer these questions, NASA is deploying increasingly complex scientific and environmental observation spacecraft. These platforms have, however, placed a growing burden on NASA's downlink assets, ground based systems, and operating costs. Communications bandwidth and processing throughput already constrain scientific data gathering in both volume and rate. This limitation forces scientists to make hard choices between data collection priorities on one hand and bandwidth, processing, and archiving priorities on the other. The article presents an example of the complex phenomena about which NASA gathers data. Over the past few decades, advances in ground based processing and space-to-Earth links have fallen further behind NASA's requirements for handling observation data. Thus NASA's ability to observe and capture Earth phenomena of theoretical and practical interest far outstrips its ability to transfer, process, or store such data. Increasing the onboard computing power of spacecraft is one solution that may allow both space and ground based systems to address these limitations.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Extending NASA's data processing to spacecraft


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Computer, Long Beach ; 32 , 6 ; 115-119


    Publication date :

    1999


    Size :

    5 Seiten



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    Nasa's spacecraft data system

    Cudmore, A. / Flanegan, M. / Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993


    NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative "CLARK" Spacecraft

    Hayduk, R. J. / Sebestyen, G. / International Academy of Astronautics | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996



    Nasa's Spacecraft Battery Evaluation Program

    Apelt, A. O. / Stroup, E. R. | NTRS | 1965