NASA Archives - Intracom Systems

VCOM Matrix Intercom Application for NASA Deep Space Gateway Cislunar Program

by sbrand on January 18, 2018 No comments

NASA’s Cislunar Human Outpost

NASA is pressing ahead with plans for a cislunar “gateway” outpost for
future human missions to space. Concepts are being studied for
launching the first elements of the proposed outpost. The outpost will
be a collection of habitation, cargo and other modules that could
support crews working in lunar orbit or elsewhere in cislunar space
for extended periods. Orion spacecraft would ferry astronauts to and
from the outpost, where they could test technologies and perform other
work needed to support NASA’s long-term plans for human missions to
Mars in the 2030s.

VCOM-to-Deep Space Gateway

Intracom is working with NASA to implement a VCOM-to-VCOM SIP trunk
over a space-to-ground comm link based on Delay / Disruption Tolerant
Networking (DTN). According to NASA engineers, this capability has
potentially extensive use in the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) cislunar
program over the next decade.

A Lockheed Martin concept of a cislunar outpost that could support future human missions to the moon or elsewhere. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Aerospace Communications Applications Using VCOM Matrix Intercom (Part 4)

by Fred Urrutia on July 1, 2015 No comments

Another installment in a series about how VCOM is used for aerospace communications applications.

NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, July 2015)

NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project) sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in Aquarius, the world’s only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time. Aquarius is operated by Florida International University (FIU) and located 3.5 miles off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary where it is deployed next to deep coral reefs 62 feet below the surface. During NEEMO missions the aquanauts are able to simulate living on a spacecraft and test spacewalk techniques for future space missions.

The July 2015 mission will test time delays in communications using VCOM to simulate delays due to the distance of potential mission destinations.

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/533951main_neemo-shoveling-hires.jpg

A NEEMO 14 aquanaut practices shoveling underwater, just as an astronaut would shovel to collect soil samples on another planet; Photo credit: NASA; Source:

A NEEMO 14 aquanaut practices shoveling underwater, just as an astronaut would shovel to collect soil samples on another planet; Photo credit: NASA; Source: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/533951main_neemo-shoveling-hires.jpg

NEEMO 16 aquanauts Kimiya Yui and Tim Peake pose with their support diver and astronaut Mike Gernhardt in the DeepWorker single-person submarine; Photo credit: NASA; Source: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/15-138.jpg

Contact Intracom Systems to learn more about how VCOM can be used in your own aerospace applications.

Fred Urrutia +1 518-391-9023

furrutia@intracomsystems.com

Using VCOM in Aerospace Applications Today with SIP (part2)

by Fred Urrutia on May 20, 2015 No comments

Several NASA locations have been using VCOM for several years in communications applications. I will describe some of them and also mention some other VCOM users in this market.

NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group

NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group (“IRG”), located at AMES / Moffett Field, CA, uses VCOM locally and to interconnect projects and operations in conjunction with KSC, JSC and other NASA sites.

From the IRG website: “Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) explores extreme environments, remote locations, and uncharted worlds. We conduct applied research in computer vision, geospatial data systems, human-robot interaction, planetary mapping and robot software.” “IRG operates the “K10” series of planetary rovers…” […] “We conduct robotic field tests each year in planetary analog sites, such as Black Point Lava Flow and Haughton Crater.”

The Intelligent Robotics Group (IRG) conducted an engineering field test with the K-Rex rover during the first week of October 2012. The field test took place at the Basalt Hills quarry, California. Image credit: NASA; Source: https://ti.arc.nasa.gov/m/groups/intelligent-robotics/krex/BH2012_FrontView.jpg

During 2015, IRG is supporting ongoing field testing of the Resource Prospector Mission (RPM) for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division. Expected to be launched in 2018, RPM will be NASA’s first attempt to demonstrate in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) beyond Earth. The Moon happens to be an excellent location to use such technology to locate and determine viability of extracting hydrogen, oxygen (or even water) as a precursor to later missions to Mars and elsewhere that will depend on utilizing in-situ resources

Following the Summer 2015 Resource Prospector field mission, a Lead Engineer at Resource Prospector Ground Data Systems within the NASA Intelligent Systems Division related “…the Resource Prospector demo was a great success here. We remotely commanded the rover at JSC from Ames, with KSC commanding the payload. All three centers plus the folks in the “rock yard” at JSC used VCOM for all of our voice com, so you all were a big part of our success.”

Here is a link to an article about the Summer 2015 mission

Photo of the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) platform. Image credit: NASA, Source: https://www.nasa.gov/images/content/660260main_resolve-full.jpg

Other NASA Groups Using VCOM

Another group at NASA Ames also used VCOM for simulated communications during a study analyzing “behavior of humans in the loop” for a Next Generation ATC (highly computerized Air Traffic Control system) for an FAA evaluation study. They selected VCOM for its flexibility and ease of rapid re-configuration during testing loops.

Other NASA groups using VCOM include Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and also NASA Mission Operations Directorate.

Contact Intracom Systems to learn more about how VCOM can be used in your own aerospace applications.

Fred Urrutia +1 518-391-9023
furrutia@intracomsystems.com

Using VCOM Matrix Intercom in Aerospace / NASA Applications Today with SIP

by Fred Urrutia on May 13, 2015 3 comments

Using VCOM in Aerospace Applications (Part 1)
Several NASA locations are using VCOM for several years in communications applications. I will describe some of them and also mention some other VCOM users in this market.

NASA Desert Research and Technology Studies
NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies team (“Desert RATS”) use VCOM for IP communications by replacing some radio systems at desert and arctic testing sites for extraterrestrial excursion vehicles connecting via a 100 km by 100 km Wi-Fi mesh locally and to other NASA facilities using satellite backhaul from the desert test site.

Here is a description of their operations from the NASA Desert RATS webpage:
“The high-desert terrain and isolation of northern Arizona provides an ideal backdrop for the development and testing of spaceflight equipment and technology. NASA’s Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) are carried out at a series of experimental sites within a 75-mile radius of Flagstaff, with the area around Winslow, Arizona’s Meteor Crater site serving as a major research hub.”
“The arid climate, harsh winds, and rocky desert terrain of the region allow NASA to evaluate different conditions that will enable multiple destinations for future human exploration including high Earth orbit, Lagrange points, the Moon, near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), Mars moons, and ultimately the surface of Mars. Experiments and training conducted at the Desert RATS site focus on equipment and spacesuit tests, vehicular excursions and exploration, remote communication protocols, and astrogeology.”

NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, July 2015)

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