NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

For more information about the International Space Station Software visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2007/07_55AR.html

Image Left: David L. Iverson of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., led development of computer software to monitor the condition of the gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station (ISS) properly oriented in space as the ISS orbits Earth. The gyroscopes are flywheels that control the station's attitude without the use of propellant fuel. NASA computer scientists designed the new software, the Inductive Monitoring System, to detect warning signs that precede a gyroscope's failure. According to NASA officials, engineers will add the new software tool to a group of existing tools to identify and track problems related to the gyroscopes in 2007. If the software detects warning signs, it will quickly warn the space station's mission control center. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart Click on the image for full-resolution.

Image Left: David L. Iverson of NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., (closest to lens) led development of computer software to monitor the condition of the gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station (ISS) properly oriented in space as the ISS orbits Earth. Also, Charles Lee, is pictured. During its development, researchers used the software to analyze archived gyroscope records. In these tests, users noticed problems with the gyroscopes long before the current system flagged glitches. Testers trained using several months of normal space station gyroscope data collected by the International Space Station Mission Control Center at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston. Promising tests results convinced officials to start using the software in 2007. Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center/Dominic Hart Click on the image for full-resolution.