Current outreach efforts for KSC’s Beach Corrosion Test Site require all experimentation and data collection be conducted by onsite personnel on a real-time basis. This restricts the amount of work conducted at the site because of personnel constraints. A Remote-Access, Internet-Based Data Acquisition System will establish a basis for the Corrosion Technology Testbed to allow personnel and customers to conduct their experiments from remote locations using the Internet.

This state-of-the-art pathfinder acquisition system could be utilized as a model for other NASA and KSC laboratories to directly develop their capabilities without the resulting impact to personnel and travel expenses. In addition, successful development and continued optimization of this system will produce great interest in NASA/KSC for corrosion research, corrosion exposure contracts, and industry partnerships. The benefits of this project include:

• Showcasing NASA/KSC’s outreach efforts through interactivity and state-of-the-art innovative technologies.
• Establishing a Corrosion Technology Testbed for use by other NASA laboratories.
• Allowing direct outreach of the KSC Beach Corrosion Test Site to customers around the country and around the world.
• Allowing customers to conduct corrosion research without the travel requirements to the exposure site.
• Allowing business expansion at the site without the direct need for additional personnel.
• Developing network solutions to allow remote operation of experiment and data collection systems.
• Developing software with security features that allow outside customers to have data access at a KSC site.
• Testing the resulting systems to prove feasibility and optimize user interface and expansion capabilities.

This interactive system will have significant commercial applications for outreach to corrosion research laboratories, the corrosion control industry, Government laboratories, paints and coatings industries, and the marine technology industry.

Key accomplishments:

• Developed and approved a detailed security plan for this project for use at KSC.
• Completed fiber-optic network upgrades at the Beach Exposure Test Site that provide the level of network service required for this project. Installed a network rack to consolidate equipment and save space in the trailer.
• Installed indoor and outdoor webcams for use by corrosion site customers. These systems can be controlled remotely via a Web browser and include pan-tilt-zoom features. The webcams are currently accessible offsite by Corrosion Testbed customers from Government and industry. Access to these cameras is password-protected and allows customers to remotely view the current condition of their atmospheric exposure samples.
• Installed a 50-data-channel network from the exterior exposure site to the interior of the KSC Beach Corrosion Test Site for monitoring remoteaccess corrosion experiments.
• Created a Web site to interact with the KSC Beach Corrosion Test Site experiments.
• Integrated software and hardware to provide a secure and reliable system to monitor and control data acquisition computers.
• Developed data acquisition software to interface with the Internet.
• Collected data from 15 re-mote experiments proving the concept.
• Developed a prototype client application that will provide access to data acquisition systems from outside KSC. This application will have built-in security features that allow the customer to control a research experiment without presenting a significant computer security risk to KSC.

Contacts: L.G. MacDowell (Louis.MacDowell-1@ksc.nasa.gov), YA-C2-T, (321) 867-4550; and W.L. Dearing, YA-D6, (321) 867-3280
Participating Organization: Dynacs Inc. (J.B. Crisafulli and J.J. Curran)