Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Gilbrech, Richard J..
The careful planning, optimized utilization, and responsive disposition of processes, personnel, resources, and real and personal property, focused upon leveraging existing Shuttle and ISS assets for Exploration programs safety and mission success.
CALIPSO is a joint science mission between the CNES, LaRC and GSFC. It was selected as an Earth System Science Pathfinder satellite mission in December 1998 to address the role of clouds and aerosols in the Earth's radiation budget. The spacecraft includes a NASA light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) instrument, a NASA wide-field camera and a CNES imaging infrared radiometer. The scope of this effort was a review of the Proteus propulsion bus design and an assessment of the potential for personnel exposure to hydrazine propellant.
The Space Shuttle Program (SSP) has a zero-fault-tolerant design related to an inadvertent firing of the primary reaction control jets on the Orbiter during mated operations with the International Space Station (ISS). Failure modes identified by the program as a wire-to-wire "smart" short or a Darlington transistor short resulting in a failed-on primary thruster during mated operations with ISS can drive forces that exceed the structural capabilities of the docked Shuttle/ISS structure. The assessment team delivered 17 observations, 6 findings and 15 recommendations to the Space Shuttle Program.
CALIPSO is a joint science mission between the CNES, LaRC and GSFC. It was selected as an Earth System Science Pathfinder satellite mission in December 1998 to address the role of clouds and aerosols in the Earth's radiation budget. The spacecraft includes a NASA light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) instrument, a NASA wide-field camera and a CNES imaging infrared radiometer. The scope of this effort was a review of the Proteus propulsion bus design and an assessment of the potential for personnel exposure to hydrazine propellant.
The testing and performance evaluation of a liquid hydrogen turbopump with the rotor supported by foil bearings is discussed. The objectives of the program were to demonstrate the long-life feature of a foil-bearing turbopump and to evaluate its operational characteristics. The demonstration has successfully shown the reliability, long life, and robust nature of foil-bearing turbopumps by operating for long periods of time, with many start and stop cycles and a wide speed range. It has also proven that foil-bearing turbopumps can start without total chilldown of the foil bearing, offering operational simplicity.
Ground testing of rocket engines and rocket engine components has played an essential role in the development of flight-rated propulsion systems. The government has built many unique facilities to perform this function. Outlined in this paper are the ground testing capabilities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), ranging from the component level to fully-integrated, multi-engine stage testing.
Results from experiments performed in a newly-constructed High Pressure Combustion Facility are presented. The experiments described here are designed to address Reynolds number effects on turbulent mixing and entrainment, and flame length in an axisymmetric, gas-phase turbulent reacting jet, in particular, over a large range of Reynolds numbers.