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The aircraft asset life cycle processes are rapidly being digitalized. Many novel technologies enabled processes of recording these electronic transactions are being emerged. One such technology for recording electronic transactions securely is Blockchain, defined as distributed ledger technologies which includes enterprise blockchain. Blockchain is not widely used in the aerospace industry due to lack of technical understanding and questions about its benefits. Assessment and establishment of business case for implementing blockchain based solution is needed. The aerospace industry is very conservative when it comes to technology adoption and hence it is difficult to change legacy processes. Additionally, the industry is very fragmented. The technology is advancing at a faster rate and applies across geographies under various regulatory oversight which makes blockchain based solution implementation challenging.

The aerospace ecosystem is a complex system of systems comprising of many stakeholders in exchanging technical, design, development, certification, operational, and maintenance data across the different lifecycle stages of an aircraft from concept, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance to its disposal. Many standards have been developed to standardize and improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and security of the data transfer processes in the aerospace ecosystem. There are still challenges in data transfer due to the lack of standards in certain areas and lack of awareness and implementation of some standards. G-31 standards committee of SAE International has conducted a study on the available digital data standards in aircraft asset life cycle to understand the current and future landscapes of the needed digital data standards and identify gaps. This technical paper presents the study conducted by the G-31 technical committee.

Topology of liner finish is critical to the performance of internal combustion engines. Proper liner finish simulation processes lead to efficient engine design and research. Fourier methods have been well studied to numerically generate liner topology. However, three major issues wait to be addressed to make the generation processes feasible and reliable. First, in order to simulate real plateau honed liners, approaches should be developed to calculate accurate liner geometric parameters. These parameters are served as the input of the generation algorithm. Material ratio curve, the common geometry calculation method, should be modified so that accurate root mean square of plateau height distribution could be obtained. Second, the set of geometric parameters used in generating liner finish (ISO 13565-2) is different from the set of parameters used in manufacturing industry (ISO 13565-3). Quantitative relations between these two sets should be studied.

The fuel energy consumption of subsonic air transportation is examined. The focus is on identification and quantification of fundamental engineering design tradeoffs which drive the design of subsonic tube and wing transport aircraft. The sensitivities of energy efficiency to recent and forecast technology developments are also examined.

The desire to operate rotorcraft in icing conditions has renewed the interest in developing high-fidelity analysis methods to predict ice accumulation and the ensuing rotor performance degradation. A subset of providing solutions for rotorcraft icing problems is predicting two-dimensional ice accumulation on rotor airfoils. While much has been done to predict ice for fixed-wing airfoil sections, the rotorcraft problem has two additional challenges: first, rotor airfoils tend to experience flows in higher Mach number regimes, often creating glaze ice which is harder to predict; second, rotor airfoils oscillate in pitch to produce balance across the rotor disk. A methodology and validation test cases are presented to solve the rotor airfoil problem as an important step to solving the larger rotorcraft icing problem. The process couples Navier-Stokes CFD analysis with the ice accretion analysis code, LEWICE3D.

This paper will describe the Efficient Assembly Integration and Test (EAIT) system level project operated as a partnership among Boeing business units, universities, and suppliers. The focus is on the successful implementation and sharing of technology solutions to develop a model based, multi-product pulsed line factory of the future. The EAIT philosophy presented in this paper focuses on a collaborative environment that is tightly woven with the Lean Initiatives at Boeing's satellite development center. The prototype is comprised of a platform that includes a wireless instrumentation system, rapid bonding materials and virtual test of guidance hardware there are examples of collaborative development in collaboration with suppliers. Wireless tools and information systems are also being developed across the Boeing Company. Virtual reality development will include university partners in the US and India.

After launch and activation activities, the Columbus module started its operational life on February 2008 providing resources to the internal and external experiments. In March 2008 two US Payloads were successfully installed into Columbus Module: Microgravity Sciences Glovebox (MSG) and a US payload of the Express rack family, Express Rack 3, carrying the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) experiment. They were delivered to the European laboratory from the US laboratory and followed few months later by similar racks; Human Research Facility 1 (HRF1) and HRF2. The following paper provides an overview of US Payloads, giving their main features and experiments run inside Columbus on year 2008. Flight issues, mainly on the hydraulic side are also discussed. Engineering evaluations released to the flight control team, telemetry data, and relevant mathematical models predictions are described providing a background material for the adopted work-around solutions.

The patented (US 7,277,811 B1) Position Bar provides precise measurement, machining and drilling data for large Engineering and Tooling structure. The Position Bar also supports end item verification seamlessly in the same machining control code. Position Bar measurements are fast, accurate, and repeatable. The true centerline of the machine tool's spindle bearings are being measured to within .002 in a 20 foot cubic volume (20×20×20). True “I”, “J”, & “K” machine tool spindle positions are also precisely measured. Any Gantry or Post Mill Tool can be converted to a Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) with this laser tracker controlled Position Bar. Determinant Assembly (D.A.) holes, for fuselage and wing structures are drilled and then measured to within .006 in X, Y, & Z, over a 40 foot distance. Average laser tracker measurement time, per hole, is 2 seconds.

The robust stability of an active flexible wing section with leading- and trailing-edge control surfaces is further investigated via the μ-method. Motivated by a more detailed servo control dynamics, the two controllers K1 and K2, which command the deflections of the trailing-edge flap and the leading-edge flap respectively, are modeled as two second-order shock absorbers in this study. The nominal and robust stability margins, modal properties, critical flutter airspeeds and frequencies are computed to predict the flutter of a nonlinear aeroelastic system and to investigate the aeroservoelastic stability in the μ-framework. The simulation results are compared with the previous study of which the controllers were modeled as the simplified (first-order) shock absorbers. The improved sensitivity to detect the control-structure coupling is observed by applying the second-order shock absorbers in the ASE model.

Future human space exploration includes returning to the Moon and continuing to Mars. Essential to these missions is each planetary extravehicular activity, or EVA, where astronauts and robotic agents will explore lunar and planetary surfaces. Real-time decision support systems will help these explorers in efficiently planning and re-planning under time pressure sorties. Information and functional requirements for such a system are recommended and are based on on-going human-computer collaboration research.

The nearly 77 million baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, can say that they are the automobile generation. Now turning 60 one every seven seconds, what are the new safety challenges and opportunities posed by the next generation of older adults? This paper presents a modified Haddon matrix to identify key product development, design and liability issues confronting the automobile industry and related stakeholders. The industry is now at a critical juncture to address the development of key technological innovations as well as the changing policy and liability environments being reshaped by an aging population.

The Boeing Company (Renton Division) had a requirement for a 30,000 RPM spindle to provide improved surface finish when milling 2034 ice box rivets in hydraulic wing riveters. Electroimpact supplied an electrical spindle which fit into the same cylinder block as the hydraulic spindle. This was reported in SAE Paper #2000-01-3017. Boeing Renton has also now put Electroimpact 20,000 RPM electric drilling spindles into five wing riveting machines so now both spindles in the machine are Electroimpact electric spindles. The electric drill spindle features an HSK 40C holder. Both spindles are powered by the same spindle drive which is alternately connected to the drill and then the shave spindle.

Future planetary extravehicular activities (EVAs) will go beyond what was experienced during Apollo. As mission duration becomes longer, inevitably, the astronauts on the surface of the Moon and Mars will actively plan and re-plan their own sorties. To design robust decision support aids for these activities, we have to first characterize all the different types of excursions that are possible. This paper describes a framework that organizes parameters and constraints that define a single planetary EVA. We arrived at this framework through case studies: by reviewing the EVA lessons learned during Apollo, conducting an observational study of excursions in a Mars-analog environment, and applying part of the framework to a prototype path planner for human planetary exploration.

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), established in 1997, is a twelve-university consortium dedicated to research that will impact mankind's next exploratory steps. The NSBRI's Education and Public Outreach Program (EPOP), is supporting NASA's education mission to, “Inspire the next generations…as only NASA can,” through a comprehensive Kindergarten through post-doctoral education program. The goals of the EPOP are to: communicate space exploration biology to schools; support undergraduate and graduate space-based courses and degrees; fund postdoctoral fellows to pursue space life sciences research; and engage national and international audiences to promote understanding of how space exploration benefits people on Earth. NSBRI EPOP presents its accomplishments as an educational strategy for supporting science education reform, workforce development, and public outreach.

ESA and NASA agencies agreed to run an interface compatibility test at the EADS facility between the Columbus flight module and a duplicate ground unit of a currently on-orbit US International Standard Payload Rack, the Human Research Facility (HRF) Flight Prototype Rack (FPR). The purpose of the test was to demonstrate the capability to run US payloads inside the European ISS module Columbus. One of the critical aspects to be verified to ensure suitable operations of the two systems was the combined performance of the hydraulic controls resident in the HRF and Columbus coolant loops. A hydraulic model of the HRF FPR was developed and combined with the Columbus Active Thermal Control System (ATCS) model. Several coupled thermal-hydraulic test cases were then performed, preceded by mathematical analysis, required to predict safe test conditions and to optimize the Columbus valve configurations.

A highly modified F/A-18 aircraft is being used to demonstrate that aeroelastic wing twist can be used to roll a high performance aircraft. A production F/A-18A/B/C/D aircraft uses a combination of aileron deflection, differential horizontal tail deflection and differential leading edge flap deflection to roll the aircraft at various Mach numbers and altitudes. The Active Aeroelastic Wing program is demonstrating that aeroelastic wing twist can be used in lieu of the horizontal tail to provide autonomous roll control at high dynamic pressures. Aerodynamic and loads data have been gathered from the Phase I AAW flight test program. Now control laws have been developed to exploit aeroelastic wing twist and provide autonomous flight control of the AAW aircraft during Phase II. Wing control surfaces are being deflected in non-standard ways to create aeroelastic wing twist and develop the required rolling moments without use of the horizontal tail.

An automated system drills the outer moldline holes on a military aircraft wing. Currently, the operator manually checks countersink diameter every ten holes as a process quality check. The manual method of countersink inspection (using a countersink gauge with a dial readout) is prone to errors both in measurement and transcription, and is time consuming since the operator must stop the automated equipment before measuring the hole. Machine vision provides a fast, non-contact method for measuring countersink diameter, however, data from machine vision systems is frequently corrupted by non-gaussian noise which causes traditional model fitting methods, such as least squares, to fail miserably. We present a solution for circle measurement using a statistically robust fitting technique that does an exceptional job of identifying the countersink even in the presence of large amounts of structured and non-structured noise such as tear-out, scratches, surface defects, salt-and-pepper, etc.

One of the key elements of increasing the affordability of major weapons systems is reducing costs associated with manufacturing. Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is a critical element of the manufacturing process and one that cannot be compromised. A key goal associated with NDE research and development is to help reduce the cost associated with quality assurance. In relation to composite structures, this is being approached from several directions, two of which will be discussed. The approach most frequently used for inspection of composite parts is to pull the parts out of the manufacturing cells and route them to a centralized quality assurance area for inspection. This approach leads to accumulation of non-recurring costs for tooling/fixturing to support the inspection and significant additions to production flow time. An alternative would be to develop nondestructive evaluation processes that can be performed in the manufacturing cells.

NASA has long recognized the advantages of providing improved information interfaces to EVA astronauts and has pursued this goal through a number of development programs over the past decade. None of these activities or parallel efforts in industry and academia has so far resulted in the development of an operational system to replace or augment the current extravehicular mobility unit (EMU) Display and Controls Module (DCM) display and cuff checklist. Recent advances in display, communications, and information processing technologies offer exciting new opportunities for EVA information interfaces that can better serve the needs of a variety of NASA missions. Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International (HSSSI) has been collaborating with Simon Fraser University and others on the NASA Haughton Mars Project and with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boeing, and Symbol Technologies in investigating these possibilities.

Three distinct food system paradigms have been envisioned for long-term space missions. The Skylab, Mir and ISS food systems were based on single-serving prepackaged foods, ready to rehydrate and heat. Bioregenerative food systems, derived from crops grown and processed at the planetary station, have been studied at JSC and KSC. The US Antarctic Program’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Base uses the third paradigm: bulk packaged food ingredients delivered once a year and used to prepare meals on the station. The packaged food ingredients are supplemented with limited amounts of fresh foods received occasionally during the Antarctic summer, trace amounts of herb and salad crops from the hydroponic garden, and some prepackaged ready to eat foods, so the Pole system is actually a hybrid system; however, it is worth studying as a bulk packaged food system because of the preponderance of bulk packaged food ingredients used.