Research priorities and plans for the International Space Station-results of the 'REMAP' Task Force

Recent events in the International Space Station (ISS) Program have resulted in the necessity to re-examine the research priorities and research plans for future years. Due to both technical and fiscal resource constraints expected on the International Space Station, it is imperative that research priorities be carefully reviewed and clearly articulated. In consultation with OSTP and the Office of Management and budget (OMB), NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR) assembled an ad-hoc external advisory committee, the Biological and Physical Research Maximization and Prioritization (REMAP) Task Force. This paper describes the outcome of the Task Force and how it is being used to define a roadmap for near and long-term Biological and Physical Research objectives that supports NASA's Vision and Mission. Additionally, the paper discusses further prioritizations that were necessitated by budget and ISS resource constraints in order to maximize utilization of the International Space Station. Finally, a process has been developed to integrate the requirements for this prioritized research with other agency requirements to develop an integrated ISS assembly and utilization plan that maximizes scientific output.     

The Primordial Helium-4 Abundance from Observations of a Large Sample of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies

We use a sample of 45 low-metallicity H II regions in blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies to determine the primordial helium abundance YP with a precision better than 5%. We have carefully investigated the physical effects which may make the He I line intensities deviate from their recombination values such as collisional and fluorescent enhancements, underlying He I stellar absorption and absorption by Galactic interstellar Na I. By extrapolating the Y vs. O/H and Y vs. N/H linear regressions to O/H = N/H = 0, we obtain YP = 0.244±0.002 and 0.245±0.001, respectively, higher than previous determinations (YP = 0.230 - 0.234). Part of the difference comes from the fact that previous investigators have not taken into account underlying He I stellar absorption, especially in the NW component of the BCD I Zw 18 which, because of its extremely low metallicity plays a key role in the determination of YP. We derive a slope dY/dZ = 2.3±1.0, considerably smaller than those derived before. With this smaller slope and taking into account the errors, chemical evolution models with an outflow of well-mixed material can be built for star-forming dwarf galaxies which satisfy all the observational constraints. Our YP gives _bh ₅₀ ² = 0.058±0.007,f consistent with the lower limit set by dynamical measurements and X-ray observations of clusters of galaxies. It is also consistent, within the framework of standard big bang nucleosynthesis theory, with measurements of primordial 7Li in galactic halo stars and with the D/H abundance measured in absorption systems toward quasars by Burles and Tytler (1997).     

Physical sciences research plans for the International Space Station

The restructuring of the research capabilities of the International Space Station has forced a reassessment of the Physical Sciences research plans and a re-targeting of the major scientific thrusts. The combination of already selected peer-reviewed flight investigations with the initiation of new research and technology programs will allow the maximization of the ISS scientific and technological potential. Fundamental and applied research will use a combination of ISS-based facilities, ground-based activities, and other experimental platforms to address issues impacting fundamental knowledge, industrial and medical applications on Earth, and the technology required for human space exploration. The current flight investigation research plan shows a large number of principal investigators selected to use the remaining planned research facilities.     

The primordial Helium-4 abundance determination: systematic effects

By extrapolating to O/H = N/H = 0 the empirical correlations Y–O/H and Y–N/H defined by a relatively large sample of 45 Blue Compact Dwarfs (BCDs), we have obtained a primordial ⁴Helium mass fraction Y _p=0.2443±0.0015 with dY/dZ=2.4±1.0. This result is in excellent agreement with the average Y _p=0.2452±0.0015 determined in the two most metal-deficient BCDs known, I Zw 18 (Z /50) and SBS 0335–052 (Z /41), where the correction for He production is smallest. The quoted error (1) of 1% is statistical and does not include systematic effects. We examine various systematic effects including collisional excitation of hydrogen lines, ionization structure and temperature fluctuation effects, and underlying stellar Hei absorption, and conclude that combining all systematic effects, our Y _p may be underestimated by 2–4%. Taken at face value, our Y _p implies a baryon-to-photon number ratio =(4.7^+1.0 _–0.8)×10^–10 and a baryon mass fraction _b h ² ₁₀₀=0.017±0.005 (2), consistent with the values obtained from deuterium and Cosmic Microwave Background measurements. Correcting Y _p upward by 2–4% would make the agreement even better.     

Improvement of the real time total electron content based on the International Reference Ionosphere model

One of the methods to adapt the International Reference Ionosphere model to real time conditions is to use instantaneous values of the critical frequency of the ionosphere foF2. It is shown that there can be large discrepancies between model and experimental values of the total electron content TEC after this adaptation. Improvement can be provided by the use of an empirical model of the ionospheric slab thickness τ. This conclusion is based on analysis of contributions of various correction factors connected with foF2 and τ into discrepancies between model and experimental values of TEC.     

An Anthropocentric Approach for Solving the Problem of Optimal Automatic Landing Flare

In this paper, the algorithm of automatic landing flare is designed based on the maximum coordination between the trajectories, which are convenient for the pilot to operate in manual mode and the one attained by the auto-landing system according to the algorithm of optimal flight control.