Jet Propulsion Laboratory UNIVERSE - Pasadena, California 
Vol. 26, No. 11 - May 31, 1996
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JPL technology helps Navy locate and detonate underwater mines

By Jim Doyle
   JPL scientists have turned over to the U.S. Navy the first phase of a 
data analysis program designed to find unexploded ordnance and mines in 
bays and harbors once used as gunnery ranges and test areas.
   Space program technology and computer applications are being adapted by 
JPL to help identify underwater mines and ordnance in data from existing 
Navy sonar, laser and magnetic instruments. JPL is also providing a 
chemical detector that will sniff out small traces of explosives in the 
water.
   The purpose of the program, called Mobile Underwater Debris Survey 
System, or MUDSS, is to demonstrate various technologies that can be used 
to survey former defense sites for unexploded waste, said Dr. Robert 
Somoano, MUDSS program manager at JPL.   
   Some of the explosive debris in various bays and harbors has been in 
place since long before World War II, Somoano said. "The Navy is getting 
into it because the country is concerned about cleaning up those underwater 
sites.  The government is closing bases in several areas and they have to 
be cleared of all unexploded ordnance before they can be turned over to 
civilian authorities."
   Now half way through the three-year effort, MUDSS is being conduct by 
JPL under contract to the Department of Defense, with funding provided by 
the department's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. 
The work is being done in partnership with the Naval Coastal System 
Station, Naval Surface Warfare Center in Florida.
   Once the Navy finds the debris, the problem is turned over to the U.S. 
Army, which has the responsibility for disposing of all unexploded military 
waste. The Army has its own program under way to clean up land bases.
   The first year's feasibility demonstration site for MUDSS technologies 
has been at St. Andrews Bay in Panama City on the Florida panhandle, 
location of the Navy's Coastal Systems Station's test site. Most of the 
hardware tested in the demonstration was developed at the Naval Surface 
Warfare Center.
   The first year (phase one) of the three-year JPL program provided the 
database that will be used during phase two, which will last through 1997 
and end in an underwater technology demonstration at an existing defense 
site yet to be determined.
   During the test at St. Andrews Bay, several different kinds of targets 
were planted about 30 feet (9 meters) beneath the water's surface. They 
included small 60-millimeter mortar shells and 175-millimeter and 203-
millimeter howitzer shells, 55-gallon oil drums.and larger bombs of up to 
.9 metric tons (2,000 pounds).
   Two target areas were planted, one with the shells and debris in a line 
and one that included several targets clumped in a 72-foot (22-meter) 
diameter area. The purpose of the clumped field, said Dr. Tien Hsin Chao, 
task manager of the program, was to provide a high density of targets for 
efficient data collection by the sonar instruments and the electro-optical 
sensors.
   The linear target area was planted because the gradiometer, a mine-
detector that operates through magnetism, cannot distinguish targets that 
are close together.  In the linear field the targets were distributed in a 
line 492-feet (150 meters) long and 59-feet (18 meters) wide. 
   The instruments include the superconducting magnetic gradiometer, which 
can locate and magnetically classify iron-bearing targets without help from 
the sonar. It can even locate targets buried too deeply to be detected by 
sonar.
   Other instruments include two side-scanning sonars; the low frequency 
sonar and the high frequency sonar. The low frequency sonar can penetrate 
the bottom to detect shallow buried targets. The high frequency sonar 
operates with a narrow vertical beam to produce strong shadows of unburied 
targets. It also rejects false targets.
   The electro-optic sensor is a laser linescanner that produces high-
quality optical images.  It can determine details as small as 6 mm by 6 mm 
(a quarter of an inch square) and provides identification of unburied or 
partially buried targets.
   Another type of sonar used is the Sea Bat, a commercial, off-the-shelf 
forward-looking sonar that uses 60 one-and-one-half degree beams covering a 
90-degree field of view. It provides coverage directly in front of the 
boat.
   A separate JPL-developed instrument towed beneath the surface and behind 
the boat on a second cable is a chemical sensor that samples the water to 
detect the presence of explosives. 
   The five instruments are towed beneath the surface of the water on 
cables strung from a catamaran.  The researchers made about 150 runs over 
the targets with various combinations of sensors functioning. There were 30 
runs with all the sensors being used at once.
   During the next two years, the researchers will develop an advanced 
technology demonstration survey system prototype, build a real-time data 
analysis and display system that can be used at sea, and end with a 
technology demonstration of identifying unexploded ordnance at an existing 
site formerly used by the Department of Defense.
   JPL is providing expertise in Automated Target Recognition computer 
algorithms for automatically detecting ordnance in the sensor data. In 
addition, JPL provides data fusion techniques and algorithms for combining 
the data from all the sensors, data mining tools to extract information 
from the different sensor channels more effectively than from a single 
channel, and data visualization software to present the data to the 
operator.
   Somoano said potential users of the system include the Army 
Environmental Center, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Navy Explosive 
Ordnance Disposal Technology Division. There also are potential commercial 
users, he said, including underwater survey and cleanup, de-mining, 
archeological site survey and law enforcement search operations. ###
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Texas students take TOPEX calibrations in Galveston Bay

By MARY HARDIN
   Teams of high school and junior high students launched buoys into 
Galveston Bay, Texas, earlier this month to verify altimeter  measurements 
from the JPL-managed TOPEX/ Poseidon satellite. The students' "float off" 
experiment will help oceanographers better  understand ocean dynamics and 
calculate global sea level rise.
   "What we are doing in Galveston Bay is a demonstration project to make 
students familiar with how we go about calibrating the  TOPEX/Poseidon 
satellite," said Amy Neuenschwander of the University of Texas Center for 
Space Research, who coordinated the group's efforts with JPL's 
TOPEX/Poseidon outreach office. 
   Each team of students designed and built their own buoy, which was 
equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that helped the 
students precisely track its location. The buoys recorded sea level and 
wave height measurements along a track on the water as TOPEX/Poseidon flew 
overhead. This information will be used in conjunction with data from 
several tide gauges in the area to validate the satellite's performance.   
   The GPS is an array of 24 satellites that was originally developed by 
the U.S. Department of Defense. By measuring signals from these satellites, 
users can pinpoint their precise location almost anywhere on Earth.
   "We are trying to get students interested in science early," 
Neuenschwander said. "When they can get a 'hands-on' project and see how it 
ties into real life and what real science and building something is all 
about, it really gets them turned on to science."
   The idea seemed to be working. "This is probably the most funbringing 
the buoy down here and testing it and seeing it work with the satellite," 
said eighth-grader Rob Sawyer from Seabrook Intermediate School, Seabrook, 
Tex. "That's what I like the most."
   "This is what I want to do later on in my life. Today, I'm  getting a 
head start on learning how to use the equipment and what it is all about," 
said David Hull, an 11th grader at Boulder High School in Colorado.
   In addition to the fun parts, the students' experiment is providing 
valuable data to the science team. "It's crucial that we have continuing 
calibration of the satellite's altimeter height measurements to help us 
determine if the global sea level is rising," said Dr. George Born, a 
TOPEX/Poseidon science team member at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 
"Locally, verifying the measurements of the sea level in Galveston Bay will 
prove useful in improving tide models by providing a reality check."
   "Galveston Bay is an ideal site for us to conduct this experiment," 
Neuenschwander said. "As the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite passed directly over 
the center of the bay, there were numerous tide gauges to further verify 
the measurements and relatively low waves." 
   "This bay is Texas' most important coastal environment, containing 
natural resources which are self-renewing as long as the bay remains 
healthy and productive."
   "Improved tide and circulation models will improve the ability to track 
pollutants such as oil spills in the bay as well as improving biological 
models," Born added. "Hence, the experiment has the long-term potential of 
contributing to the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem in the bay."
   The "float-off" is part of an ongoing educational outreach program 
between JPL, the University of Texas Center for Space Research and the 
Texas Space Grant Consortium, in conjunction with the Colorado Center for 
Astrodynamics Research and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium. The Texas 
students are from two Houston-area high schools, Friendswood and Pearland, 
and one middle school, Seabrook Intermediate. The Colorado students are 
from Boulder High School and the University of Colorado. ###
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Open house coming next weekend

   The month of June will get off to a rousing start as JPL's annual 
American Heritage Week festivities get under way on Monday, June 3 and 
continue through June 6. The ensuing weekend, June 89, will feature 
another annual event, the Laboratory's open house, showcasing JPL's myriad 
projects and programs.
   "Celebrate Our Differences" is the theme of this year's Heritage Week,  
which will feature entertainment acts from 12 ethnic groups representing 
JPL employees. Various forms of instrumental music, songs and dances will 
be offered each day. All events will take place on the mall.
   Two new events will highlight this year's Heritage Week. The Cultural 
Achievements Museum and Wheel of Knowledge will be displayed within booths 
during International Cuisine Night on Thursday, June 6, starting at 4:45 
p.m.; the Cultural Games Demonstration will be offered on June 5 at noon 
and 1 p.m.
   JPL Deputy Director Larry Dumas will kick off the celebration when he 
delivers opening remarks June 3 at 11:35 a.m. 
   Free ice cream will be available to JPLers on opening day as well as on 
June 5.
   For an events schedule or further information, call Heritage Week 
Planning Committee chair Carmen Nunez at ext. 4-0955 or co-chair Nerissa 
Parmalee at ext. 4-6352. ###
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Ethics Office debuts Web site, newsletter

   JPL's Ethics Office has taken several steps to ensure that employees are 
up to date on and make the right decisions about ethics issues.
   The office has created a World Wide Web site, will soon distribute a 
Lab-wide monthly newsletter and has initiated a training program that will 
eventually be available to all employees.
   These developments follow the recent distribution to employees of an 
ethics handbook, which outlines the Lab's ethics program, sources of help 
and various types of situations where employees need to be sensitive to 
possible ethical considerations.
   "Many people ask, 'Why should I be interested in ethics; I've got my job 
to do?'" said ethics advisor Doug Sanders. "JPL's reputation as an ethical 
organization is just as important as its reputation for excellence in 
science and engineering."
   The office, which has been in existence since 1991, stresses a program 
that is driven by values, rather than rules, according to manager Roy 
Harris.
   "We operate under the assumption that all of the employees who work here 
do have good values and want to do the right thing," Harris said. 
   "Our primary purpose is to be here as a resource to answer questions and 
give guidance to people on how to deal with certain situations," he added.
   The office handled 613 calls about alleged ethics issues in 1995. Of 
that number, 80 calls involved allegations of ethical violations that 
resulted in investigations.
   "We are not cops," Harris stressed, however. "We would much rather 
someone call us ahead of time and check something out than have someone 
call us after the fact."
   The majority of the calls received by the office are, in fact, for 
guidance, rather than allegations of wrongdoing.
   "Most people call us when they have an uneasy feeling about something 
they're about to do, and they want to make sure there's a right way to do 
it," said ethics advisor Tom West.
   There is a wide variety of categories under which ethics violations may 
occurfrom false statements and conflict of interest to research fraud and 
inappropriate outside business activity. Other examples include misuse of 
JPL resources and equipment (telephones, fax machines, etc.), cost 
mischarging and acceptance of gratuities.
   Although 26 JPL employees have been terminated as a result of ethics 
violations since 1991, Harris stressed that decisions made in good faith
but turn out to be errors in judgmentwill not be held against employees.
   He also noted the importance of confidentiality for those who report 
ethics allegations.
   The ethics hotline (ext. 4-9999) is a plain telephone without a readout 
to indicate who is calling. Also, all of the documents that contain names 
and are used by the ethics staff are shredded to protect the identities of 
those making allegations as well as the accused.
   "While some employees have questioned why we would accept an allegation 
from someone who does not disclose their name and wants to remain 
anonymous," said West, "our experience shows us that most of the anonymous 
calls we receive do not involve spiteful troublemakers, but are genuine 
concerns."
   Since 1991, he added, the office has received 63 anonymous calls that 
resulted in investigations. The investigations involved 89 people and 
resulted in 39 disciplinary actions.
   "Most of the individuals involved in investigations where no action was 
taken were in situations that were perceived as unethical," West said. 
"Upon discovery of all the facts, our investigation found that these 
individuals were found to have done nothing wrong."
   Harris said that in addition to containing the full text of the ethics 
handbook, the Web site (http://ethics-www/JPL/ethics) includes all of the 
Personnel Instructions (PIs) regarding ethics, definitions and examples of 
all ethics categories, and information on ethics issues.
   The training program, begun with the Executive Council in early May, 
will expand to reach all employees in regularly scheduled staff meetings. 
   Sanders said the first issue of the newsletter, Ethics Briefs, will be 
distributed to employees June 3. ###
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Quality improvement presentations by JPL teams receive high marks

By MARK WHALEN
   Two presentations on the successful application of JPL's advanced 
engineering tools and continuous improvement processes, delivered at a 
recent NASA conference, received high marks from industry and NASA center 
representatives in attendance, including the agency's administrator, Daniel 
Goldin.
   JPL representatives at NASA's Continual Improvement and Reinvention 
Conference on Quality Management, held in mid-April in Alexandria, Va., 
included teams led by Garry Burdick, manager of the Avionic Systems and 
Technology Division, and Brian McGlinchey, manager of the Mechanical 
Systems Engineering and Research Division.
   Burdick discussed Taguchi's Robust Design method, which allows products 
and processes to be optimized through carefully controlled experiments, 
while McGlinchey described Fast-Track Design and Fabricationalso known as 
Art-to-Part, where a set of integrated computer-aided tools are used 
concurrently in the development of spacecraft hardware.
   The pair illustrated how both methods have been applied to real-life JPL 
projectsthe Taguchi method to battery life on the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite 
and Art-to-Part for Mars Pathfinder's cruise stage development.
   In all, four technology areas were targeted for application with the 
Taguchi method, according to Burdick:  Nickel-cadmium battery operations 
management (which involved TOPEX/Poseidon), lithium-ion battery research 
and development (applied to the New Millennium Program and other advanced 
spacecraft), methanol fuel-cell research and development, and 
micromachining research and development using lithography and 
electroplating.
   Burdick described to conference attendees how JPL teams worked with 
partners from industry and NASA to achieve improvements in time, cost and 
quality. Using the Taguchi method, time saved in the four technology 
applications ranged from 67 to 75 percent, while cost savings ranged from 
71 to 80 percent. Overall, performance improved between 15 and 96 percent, 
he said, the latter improvement resulting from  reductions in voltage 
divergence on the TOPEX/Poseidon nickel cadmium experiments.
   To expedite the achievement of customer requirements, a technique  known 
as an orthogonal array was used. This technique allowed the  replacement of 
1,024 tests of parameter combinations with only 17 tests.  NASA's Goddard 
Space Flight Center in Maryland was JPL's partner in the venture.
   "The insight we've gained in nickel-cadmium batteries will allow the 
extension of operational life not only for TOPEX/Poseidon, but also for the 
Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite and many other low Earth-orbiting 
satellites," Burdick said. "This could potentially save millions of dollars 
by postponing the need for replacement satellites."
   According to Fast-Track Design and Fabrication Team Leader Art Franzon, 
Art-to-Part techniques applied to Mars Pathfinder's cruise-stage 
development targeted improvements in the following factors: analysis, 
design, numerically controlled machining programming and 
fabrication/inspection. 
   One goal that was achieved was the virtual elimination of paper drawings 
instead of the traditional blueprints used in spacecraft design.The 
improved process utilized the best practices used in industry for 
integrated computer-aided engineering, design and manufacturing tools, 
Franzon noted.
   The results, he added, included in a 50 percent reduction in cycle time, 
a 20 percent reduction in cost (for a $500,000 savings) and a 20 percent 
reduction in mass.
   "What made this process work is teamwork," Franzon said. "As the 
workload fluctuates, we may have to rely on outside sources to help us do 
this type of work, and we have to get partners involved who are willing to 
use the databases we've created to do it."
   He added that other current applications for Art-to-Part techniques 
include Cassini's main engine assembly cover and the New Millennium's 
Project's Deep Space 1's propulsion and launch vehicle adapter plate. ###
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Stone to receive museum's International von Krmn Wings award June 17 at 
Caltech

   In honor of his lifetime achievements in the space field, JPL Director 
Dr. Edward Stone has been named a recipient of the International von Krmn 
Wings award, presented by the California Museum of Science and Industry's 
Aerospace Historical Committee.
   Stone will be honored at a June 17, 6:30 p.m. banquet at Caltech's 
Athaneum.
   Past recipients of the award include former JPL Director Dr. William 
Pickering and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Deke Slayton.
   Tickets for the award ceremony and dinner are $70. For reservations and 
information, call Shirley Thomas at (213) 876-1412. ###
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Galileo operating on newly installed flight software

   The Galileo spacecraft on May 23 began operating on its newly-installed 
flight software, the operating system for its computers. It is now 
transmitting data in a new format at 32 bits per second.  
   In mid-May, the Galileo flight team loaded most of the new flight 
software into the Jupiter-orbiting spacecraft computers, which are in the 
attitude and articulation control and command and data subsystems.  About 
half the scientific instruments have also been reprogrammed.     
   The team reprogrammed several remaining instruments and completed the 
inevitable clean-up commanding. The process of specifying, writing and 
testing the new software and preparing it for installation in the 
spacecraft now orbiting Jupiter took more than three years and involved 
more than 100 members of the Galileo project team.
   This is the second time Galileo has been massively reprogrammed with new 
flight software. In February 1995 new software was installed for the 
approach and initial encounter at Jupiter and for the support of Galileo's 
atmospheric probe mission.  The new software goes a long way further, 
providing for data compression and other new facilities to maximize the 
science return from the orbital tour, using the tape recorder and the low-
gain antenna.
   Galileo is less than a month from its June 27 first encounter with the 
Jovian moon Ganymede. The largest of the Galilean satellites, Ganymede 
orbits at roughly 1 million kilometers (620,000 miles) from Jupiter and has 
a diameter of almost 5,300 kilometers (about 3,300 miles), larger than the 
planet Mercury.
   The spacecraft is now 11.6 million kilometers (7.2 million miles) from 
Jupiter and 658 million kilometers (409 million miles) from Earth. One-way 
communication time is now 37 minutes. Galileo's speed in orbit around 
Jupiter is 3 kilometers per second, almost 6,800 mph. ###
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Employee assistance counselors are always available for help

   Problemswhether personal or work-relatedhave solutions. For JPL 
employees, that first step could be talking to Medical Services' employee 
assistance counselors.
   "The Employee Assistance Program provides short-term counseling to 
employees and emergency services to contractor personnel," according to 
Employee Assistance Coordinator  Cynthia Cooper. "We believe that a healthy 
employee is a productive employee."
   Problems for which individuals seek help can be of a personal nature, 
such as family conflict, or alcohol or drug addiction, stress, or financial 
problems. They can also be job related, including conflict with co-workers 
or working with a boss.
   The program also provides consultation to managers on issues regarding 
employees' mental and emotional well-being.
   In addition to Cooper, the program is also staffed by Dr. Michael 
Stafford, an expert in organizational psychology.
   Individuals who need help begin by calling the office at ext. 4-3680. A 
counselor will usually make an appointment to help assess the nature of the 
problem and determine available options and resources. Sometimes 
individuals are assisted in utilizing their own health-care program or a 
wide variety of community  resources. 
   Cooper added that many health care insurers, such as CIGNA, Kaiser and 
Blue Cross, now offer stress reduction, stop-smoking and weight management 
programs.
   Patients' confidentiality is protected by counselor/patient privilege. 
"Information may not be released about a particular individual without the 
patient's written consent," she said.
   The program has been in effect for more than 10 years and helps sponsor 
on-Lab support groups, including Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeaters 
Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous, Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual support 
group, HIV support group and off-Lab Senior Caregiver Services.
   The program also has a lending library with audio and video tapes on 
pertinent topics, such as time management, stress reduction, substance 
abuse, grief, working with difficult people, conflict resolution and 
depression. ###
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Universe

Editor, Mark Whalen 
Photos, JPL Photo Lab

Universe is published every other Friday by the Public Affairs Office of 
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak 
Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.