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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of NASA ISRU Plans, Priorites, and Activities

Introduction:The National Aeronautics andSpace Administration (NASA) of the United States ofAmerica (US) has initiated the Artemis Moon to Marsprogram to send astronauts (the first woman andperson of color) back to the lunar surface, create asustainable human lunar exploration program, andlead the first human exploration mission to the Marssurface in the 2030’s [1]. A major objective of thisprogram is to characterize the resources that exist onthe Moon and Mars, and learn how to utilize them forsustained and affordable exploration. Commonlyknown as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), thesearch for, acquisition, and processing of resources inspace has the potential to greatly reduce thedependency on transporting mission consumables andinfrastructure from Earth, thereby reducing missioncosts, risks, and dependency on Earth.ISRU is Enabling: Through the extraction andprocessing of resources into mission commoditiessuch as rocket propellants, life support consumables,and fuel cell reactants, ISRU enhances and evolvesthe cis-lunar, lander, and surface transportationsystems required for human exploration; expandingand enhancing HOW humans can explore and returnfrom the Moon. Through the extraction andprocessing of resources into metals, silicon, and othermanufacturing and construction feedstock, ISRUenhances and allows for the expansion of criticalinfrastructure using in situ manufacturing andconstruction capabilities that influence WHAT humanscan do on the Moon and in cis-lunar space. Becauseof this, ISRU supports and enables commercialinvolvement beyond NASA and governmentalagencies by both lowering the cost of sustainedtransportation to/from/on the Moon as well assupporting the market required for needing thesetransportation systems. Strategic Framework:To achieve this vision,NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate(STMD) ensures the coordinated development ofISRU and other critical space and surfaceinfrastructure elements such as propulsion, power,manufacturing, construction, and robotics through theStrategic Technology Architecture Roundtable(STAR) process. Through STAR, an integratedframework and process has been created allowing forcapabilities and technologies to be linked andassessed, gaps to be identified, specifications andmetrics to be established, and provide a means toprioritize and implement technology development andmissions. A critical part of the STAR effort has beenthe establishment of the Strategic Framework thatorganizes all work under four major Thrusts (Go,Land, Live, and Explore) and identifies the drivingOutcomes for each of these Thrusts. From the Thrustsand Outcomes, all work can be categorized and linkedbetween Capability Areas, and Technology Gaps canbe identified and addressed (Figure 1.)Figure 1. Strategic Framework and STAR FrameworkISRU Envisioned Future: To drive thedevelopment of technologies and capabilities, theSTAR process starts with establishing a ‘grand vision’of where each Outcome and Capability is aiming tobe considered complete. For ISRU, the EnvisionedFuture is “Scalable ISRU production/utilizationcapabilities including sustainable commodities on thelunar and Mars Surface”. This involves starting with10’s of metric tons of products, but evolves into 100’sto 1000’s of metric tons of water, oxygen, propellants,construction and manufacturing feedstock, andcommodities for habitat and food production andoperations. For ISRU, the ‘Prospect to Product’philosophy starts with Destination Reconnaissance &Resource Assessment, followed by ResourceAcquisition, Isolation, and Preparation, leading intoResource Processing (which is further subdivided intomission consumables and feedstocks for constructionand manufacturing). The ISRU Envisioned Futurealso considers what resources are available andattempts to address what and when these resourceswill be evaluated and harnessed, as well asconsidering which products/commodities can beobtained for early use and which ones require moretime and/or users of refined products.It Takes an Architecture: ISRU does not existon its own. By definition, it requires customers/users SHORT TITLE HERE: A. B. Author and C. D. Authorto use the products/commodities produced by ISRUsystems. Also, for an ISRU capability to exist, itmust obtain products and services from other systemsand infrastructure. An important aspect of the STARprocess and the ISRU Envisioned Futures Prioritiesstrategy is to identify and link all of these systems andcapabilities to achieve the desired end state (Figure2).Figure 2. ISRU as Part of a Larger ArchitectureISRU Capability Drivers: The guidingprinciples for NASA’s Space TechnologyDevelopment for Artemis are to develop criticaltechnologies and capabilities that enable (i) asustainable Lunar surface presence, (ii) the future goalof sending humans to Mars, and (iii) promotingcritical technologies to enable future science andcommercial missions. It is a major goal of theArtemis campaign to establish some sort of base campat the lunar South Pole by approximately the end ofthe decade. The ISRU Envisioned Futures Prioritiesstrategy is aligned with the Artemis campaign todevelop and demonstrate ISRU capabilities in thistimeframe that could lead to sustained surfaceoperations, infrastructure growth, and commercialoperations in the next decade (Figure 3).Figure 3. ISRU Dual Path to Full Implementation and CommercializationState of the Art and Gaps: To achieve theenvisioned future, an extensive effort was performedto understand the State of the Art (SOA) for ISRUgoing back decades, and to assess the SOA against thenear and long-term goals and objectives of the ISRUStrategic Outcome objectives. While the releasedISRU Envisioned Futures Priorities only includes atop-level definition of both the SOA and Gaps, furtherinformation on these for ISRU can be found in theISRU Gap Assessment Study performed for theInternational Space Exploration Coordination Group(ISECG) [2]. To provide further guidance to industryand academia, a top level assessment was performedand provide that divides critical areas of ISRUcapabilities and technologies into 3 categories:Significant Funding, Partially Covered/MoreRequired, and Limited/No Funded Activities.Envisioned Future Priorities- Next Steps forISRU: While a significant amount of work over abroad range of technology areas has been performedover the last several years for lunar ISRU, to reach theenvisioned future for ISRU, a lot more work isrequired at the technology level leading to bothsystems and technology demonstrations in the nearfuture. To guide investments within NASA, industry,and academia, 5 specific areas of high priority wereidentified. These are:1.Complete development of the Water and Oxygen Mining Paths and close technology gaps, with emphasis on oxygen extraction from Highland regolith and parallel paths for polar water mining.2.Expand development of metal extraction and feedstock for manufacturing and construction, with emphasis on aluminum and initial/easy to obtain/make construction feedstocks leading to more refined metals and other regolith resources. Also, evaluate biologically inspired/derived technologies in bio-mining, bio-plastic, and other feedstock commodities.3.Ensure the resource assessment needed for future ISRU commercial operations is coordinated with both near/long-term science objectives as well as Artemis mission locations of interest.4.Initiate NASA and industry-led system-level analyses, integration, and testing activities for ISRU capabilities. While significant work has been performed at the technology and subsystemlevel, it is now important to understand how these technology investments can be leveraged and utilized in actual systems and applications5.Initiate lunar ISRU technology flight demonstrations leading to initial ‘Pilot Plant’ end-to-end production capability demonstrations, led by industry

ISRU↗
NASA NTRS2021

Planetary and Lunar Environment Thermal Toolbox Elements (PALETTE) Project Year One Results

This paper summarizes the technology development progress made during year one of the three-year JPL PALETTE project, which is funded by the NASA STMD Game Changing Development (GCD) Program. The project goal is to ensure that a full “palette” of flight-ready (high TRL) thermal “toolbox” elements is available so that engineers can create passive, ultra-isolative thermal designs for science instruments on a variety of carriers in lunar/planetary extreme environments. PALETTE is structured to meet the need via four design/build/test tasks and four analysis/study tasks. This paper focuses on Tasks 1-4, the four design/build/test tasks. Task 1 involves the development of nested thermally-switched enclosures featuring a reverse-operation DTE thermal switch (ROD-TSW) in series with a propylene miniaturized loop heat pipe (mini-LHP). Task 2 involves the development of a parabolic reflector radiator (PRR) for low latitude lunar sites. Task 3 involves the development of a low effective emissivity (e*) multilayer insulation (MLI) known as “spacerless” MLI. Finally, Task 4 involves the development of low conductance (G) thermal isolators. Available test results for all four tasks will be summarized in the paper, as will the plans for the remainder of the PALETTE project.

Britton, Shawn R↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

PACE-2 and Beyond

• Payload Accelerator for CubeSat Endeavors (PACE) goals are to mature Payloads through the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Small Spacecraft Technology Program (SSTP) and Flight Opportunities Program (FOP) • The PACE series of projects will support flight demonstrations of new technologies, capabilities and applications for small spacecraft and reduces the cost, risk, complexity and/or time required to advance the state -of-the-art utilizing both suborbital and orbital launches

CubeSat Technology Demonstration↗
NASA NTRS2022

NASAs Succeeds in Testing of Advanced Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine for New US Space Flight Capability

June-August 2022, NASA engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville Alabama have successfully fired two regeneratively cooled advanced rotating detonation rocket engines (RDRE’s). The engines have accumulated 17 starts at over 600 seconds of total duration. Multiple firings were achieved of greater than 110 seconds each with detonation modes. A single full throttle test produced over 4000 lbf for 15 seconds with detonation modes. The mean pressure at a single point on the injector face was 620 psia. These tests completed the project’s main objective: demonstrating that additive GRCop-alloy hardware could survive long durations while subjected to the detonative events. 4-5 co-rotating detonations were observed during most tests with a single test showing 2-3 waves. Several other milestones were also achieved including successful demonstration of active throttling with detonation modes, successful ignition without a predetonator, and the use of novel additive manufacturing techniques. The primary collaborator was IN Space, LLC (West Lafayette, IN) through an STMD announcement for collaborative opportunity (ACO). Hot fire testing was conducted at Marshall Space Flight Centers heritage east test area at Test Stand 115 in collaboration with Marshall ET10.

Thomas Teasley↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Envisioned Future Priorities for In Situ Resource Utilization

A major objective of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Artemis program is to create a sustainable human lunar exploration program through the establishment of lunar infrastructure and commercial space operations. A key aspect in achieving this objective is characterizing the resources that exist on the Moon and Mars, and learning how to utilize them to create products for crew, power, transportation, and infrastructure growth. Commonly known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), the ability to make products from local materials instead of bringing everything from Earth has the potential to significantly reduce mission costs, mass, risks, and dependency on Earth. To achieve this vision, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) established a strategic framework, called the Strategic Technology Architecture Roundtable (STAR) process, to coordinate development of critical capabilities around four major Thrusts (Go, Land, Live, and Explore). To guide and drive the development of critical mission capabilities, the STAR process involves establishing a ‘grand vision’ known as an Envisioned Future for each of these capabilities. For ISRU, the Envisioned Future is “Scalable ISRU production/utilization capabilities including sustainable commodities on the lunar and Mars Surface”. This paper will discuss the STAR process, and the strategic plan and near-term priorities for achieving the ISRU Envisioned Future.

In Situ Resources Utilization↗
NASA NTRS2022

Regolith Simulant Preparation and Geotechnical Characterization for Plume Surface Interaction Testing

Descent engine plumes interact with the lunar surface and accelerate regolith particles to potentially high velocities. These ejecta create risks to surface assets that have yet to be fully assessed. To better understand these risks, plume surface interactions can be simulated on the ground by firing a test engine plume into a bin of lunar regolith simulant under vacuum conditions. The dynamics of the resultant ejecta can then be recorded. In this technical memorandum we discuss the processes used in preparing a 150 kg bin of lunar regolith simulant for plume surface interaction ground tests under vacuum conditions for the NASA STMD Plume Surface Interaction project. We present our approach to mitigating regolith simulant eruptions during pump-down, the methods used to fill and reset the regolith simulant bin for each test, and the techniques used to characterize the consistency of regolith simulant geotechnical properties before each new firing. The challenges of preparing a regolith simulant test bin below an ambient pressure of one atmosphere, particularly on the large scale, could largely be overcome with a system that could fill the test bin with simulant inside the chamber and under vacuum conditions.

lunar regolith↗
NASA NTRS2022

SpaceVPX Interoperability Assessment

The existing VMEbus (VersaModular Eurocard bus) International Trade Association (VITA)-78 industry standard, also known as SpaceVPX, is an avionics board- and chassis-level standard derived from the OpenVPX standard as defined in VITA-65. While VITA-65 defines backplane and board-level profiles from COTS vendors to ensure interoperability of products used in developing systems and subsystems, the VITA-78 standard defines SpaceVPX to incorporate fault tolerance features that are required by many spaceflight systems. However, VITA-78 allows so much flexibility that interoperability between modules cannot be assured. This assessment provides guidelines on the use of, and extensions to, the VITA-78 standard to enable avionics interoperability for future NASA missions. The assessment team was comprised of subject matter experts (SMEs) from Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Johnson Space Center (JSC), and Langley Research Center (LaRC). The team included valuable external consulting support from a SME who was a key participant in the development of the VITA-78 standard. The team had extensive collaboration with the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) High Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) project, specifically in the development of SpaceVPX interconnect findings, observations, and NESC recommendations. To provide an understanding of the breadth of implementations that SpaceVPX must accommodate, multiple NASA use cases were analyzed to assess the requirements for SpaceVPX implementations across a wide range of NASA missions (Appendix C). Applications included crewed missions, science missions, and orbital and surface robotic systems. Product surveys were conducted to assess the level of industry support for SpaceVPX, applications, and the variations in their implementations (Appendix D). In-depth analysis was conducted in the areas of: (a) power management and distribution, (b) form factors and daughtercards, (c) interconnect, and (d) fault tolerance. Leveraging the use cases, product surveys, and SMEs from multiple NASA Centers, these areas were analyzed to determine the range of implementations permitted by the VITA-78 standard and potential interoperability issues. Applicable findings and NESC recommendations were provided for each area. During this assessment, there were multiple opportunities to engage with other agencies to learn about their interest in SpaceVPX, their strategies for implementing SpaceVPX-based systems, and their internal development efforts. These engagements also generated findings and NESC recommendations. Based on this assessment analysis, NESC recommendations were made regarding the feature set and module profiles to support NASA SpaceVPX implementations. This feature set includes restrictions on features in VITA-78, and extensions to the standard. Key recommendations in this area include the use of 10 Gigabit Ethernet and Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) as high bandwidth interconnect on the backplane, the retention of SpaceWire interconnect for control functions, and support for 3U (unit) and 6U, form factors for NASA systems. Restrictions were proposed on the usage of user-defined signals to promote interoperability, and specific power managements and distribution schemes for 3U systems. Beyond the technical implementation of SpaceVPX, recommendations were made on areas that warrant further investigation. Primary among these is the recommendation for NASA to collaborate with other space-going agencies and industry to incorporate recommendations into a future ‘dot spec’ of VITA-78. This would ensure wide adoption and availability of the modules that comply with the specification. The assessment includes appendices with candidate module profiles that can be considered as a starting point for this activity, and example systems based on the recommendations. Follow-on studies are recommended for architectures beyond SpaceVPX to address potential enhancements including condensed set of interconnect, software required to implement protocol layers on the interconnect (and other features), alternative power architectures, and system-level testability.

SpaceVPX↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of Cryogenic Propellant Tank Self-Pressurization

NASA’s near-future long-term space missions necessitate advancements in cryogenic fluid management (CFM), which includes safe and reliable long-term propellant storage. Consequently, NASA STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate) has established the CFM Portfolio Project to improve CFM technologies for upcoming missions. As a part of CFM Modeling Portfolio, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) Fluid Dynamics branch within the Propulsion Systems Department is tasked with assessing and improving computational tools used to support flight projects such as Human Lander System and Commercial Lunar Payload Services. One of the challenging modeling problems is that of self-pressurization of propellant tank due to heat leakage over long time periods. Reduced order and nodal tools find it extremely difficult to accurately predict self-pressurization under transient conditions or where complex flow patterns or thermal gradients exist, and application of 3-D CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations is necessary to characterize these problems. Until recently, CFD simulations for these long-term processes (order of hours or days) have been too impractical to conduct due to prohibitive wall time and computational resource requirements. The requisite CFD tool need to be efficient, computationally scalable, modular with ability to incorporate various physics models, and robust enough to not accumulate conservation errors over several hours of simulated time. NASA MSFC’s Loci-Stream CFD tool along with the VOF module is a great candidate to fit this mold. In this paper, we validate Loci-Stream for predicting self-pressurization of a flight scale propellant tank so it can serve as a reliable design and analysis tool for NASA’s CFM application needs. Liquid hydrogen tank pressurization tests carried out at the K-site testing facility provide a reliable data set for this purpose. These tests were simulated using Loci-Stream solver with VOF module as well as a hybrid approach which uses a lumped model for the ullage gas domain and CFD simulation of the liquid propellant. Both are shown to have very good predictive capabilities over multiple K-site experiments.

Hong Q. Yang↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Validation of Cryogenic Propellant Tank Self-Pressurization

NASA's near-future long-term space missions necessitate advancements in cryogenic fluid management (CFM), which includes safe and reliable long-term propellant storage. Consequently, NASA STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate) has established the CFM Portfolio Project to improve CFM technologies for upcoming missions. As a part of CFM Modeling Portfolio, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Fluid Dynamics branch within the Propulsion Systems Department is tasked with assessing and improving computational tools used to support flight projects such as Human Lander System and Commercial Lunar Payload Services. One of the challenging modeling problems is that of self-pressurization of propellant tank due to heat leakage over long time periods. Reduced order and nodal tools find it extremely difficult to accurately predict self-pressurization under transient conditions or where complex flow patterns or thermal gradients exist, and application of 3-D CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulations is necessary to characterize these problems. Until recently, CFD simulations for these long-term processes (order of hours or days) have been too impractical to conduct due to prohibitive wall time and computational resource requirements. The requisite CFD tool need to be efficient, computationally scalable, modular with ability to incorporate various physics models, and robust enough to not accumulate conservation errors over several hours of simulated time. NASA MSFC's Loci-Stream CFD tool along with the VOF module is a great candidate to fit this mold. In this paper, we validate Loci-Stream for predicting self-pressurization of a flight scale propellant tank so it can serve as a reliable design and analysis tool for NASA's CFM application needs. Liquid hydrogen tank pressurization tests carried out at the K-site testing facility provide a reliable data set for this purpose. These tests were simulated using Loci-Stream solver with VOF module as well as a hybrid approach which uses a lumped model for the ullage gas domain and CFD simulation of the liquid propellant. Both are shown to have very good predictive capabilities over multiple K-site experiments.

cryogenic fluid management↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enabling Planetary In-Situ and Sample Return Missions: NASA Developed 3-D Woven Thermal Protection / Heatshield Technology for Extreme Entry Environment

Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET) and 3-D Mid-Density Carbon-Phenolic (3MDCP) are two variants of 3-D Woven. TPS funded by STMD and SMD. HEEET was matured to TRL 6 in 2019, and SMD offered it as incentivized technology. Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System has baselined a seamless 3MDCP heatshield, and it will reach TRL 6 by 2025. HEEET and 3MDCP have been tested to withstand entry peak heat-flux ~ 4500 W/sq.cm, pressure ~ 6.5 atm, and shear ~ 4000 Pa. Bally Ribbon Mills and T.E.A.M. Inc developed looms and demonstrated their capability to weave HEEET and 3MDCP respectively. F.M.I. has demonstrated capability to form and resin infuse the preforms, and machine the TPS for final assembly. Expertise to integrate the parts reside at NASA, and NASA can transfer the knowhow to interested parties via technology transfer.

Ethiraj Venkatapathy↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Update On NASA ISRU Plans, Priorities, and Activities

Introduction: In 2022, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America (US) Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) released the In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Envisioned Future Priorities (EFP), along with other discipline EFPs, to the public in April for comment. The ISRU EFP is a ‘strategic’ level document to provide guidance to NASA, industry, academia, and international space agencies on the long-term vision for ISRU, as well as the goals, objectives, state of the art, gaps, and near-term priorities to achieve the vision. Since the release, a significant number of comments have been received through a Request for Information, and interactions at meetings and conferences. Based on comments received, as well as changes to the NASA budget, the release of the NASA Moon to Mars (M2M) Objectives at the International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris, and evolving plans for the Artemis program, an updated version of the ISRU EFP was created and released in March, 2023.

ISRU↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Payload Offloading Capabilities for Lunar Surface Operations

Introduction: The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative selected for funding by NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. LANDO is developing a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that will be validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface [Fig. 1], sized for a Commercial Lunar Pay-load Services (CLPS) mission). The autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous excavation and construction operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing national strategy. LSMS: The LSMS is a tension actuated robotic agent that is scalable (reach and lifting capacity in different gravity environments), versatile (types of surface operations), and reusable. Compared to serial arms, the LSMS provides significantly higher structural efficiency and mechanical advantage, enabling a greater payload lift capacity at a lower system mass. The LSMS is envisioned to be a crucial part of the excavation and construction portfolio, capable of supporting a variety of activities on the lunar surface. Autonomous payload handling is one of the first activities the LSMS can support that develops capabilities that are extensible to other surface operations. Payload handling is required to: remove payloads from a lander; place payloads on mobile agents for transport from a lander to construction site/assembly point; emplace payloads in their operational configuration, and aggregate components to create an asset. As an example of this critical gap, manifested CLPS missions do not currently have a ubiquitous payload offloading capability; payloads (excluding rovers) are designed to remain on the lander. Why Autonomy? Autonomous robotic systems capable of carrying out excavation and construction operations are a fundamental and critical capability required for realizing the NASA Artemis program vision to “emplace and build the infrastructure, systems, and robotic missions that can enable a sustained lunar surface presence.” While teleoperation is still feasible for lunar surface operations, increased latency at Mars will require validated supervised autonomous technologies capable of operating with minimal human involvement (human-on-the-loop) unless an unexpected event occurs requiring human intervention. Autonomy reduces operator burden, allows operations to continue during uncrewed periods, in-creases the safety of operations by automatically detecting and handling faults, and allows operating in high latency environments. Development Activities: LANDO is extending critical autonomous operations to the manipulation domain and creating an integrated system, based on reusable software modules, that is capable of planning and executing payload handling and autonomous surface operations without requiring hu-man intervention beyond a supervisory role. The priority features under development are 1) autonomously offload payloads from a tilted lander deck without buckling the LSMS; 2) sensing whether a payload is safe to lift and handle; and 3) integrate with Astrobotic’s CLPS lander. The poster presentation will highlight current development activities over the past year on LSMS-L35 prototype hard-ware design, and autonomy software.

in-space assembly↗
NASA NTRS2023

Analysis of the Solid Products from the OSCAR and the AOWG Trash Processing Systems

Two trash conversion systems that process space logistical trash for conversion into gases and liquids have minor solid product formation consisting of primarily high carbon ash, inorganic salts, and aluminum metal flakes. These solid products necessarily comprise part of the system output because the thermal degradation processes intentionally operate at temperatures below aluminum vaporization and do not convert all solid inorganics or carbon-based compounds into gaseous compounds (i.e., CO 2 or CH 4 ). The two systems included the Orbital Syngas/Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) combustion system funded by the NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and the Advanced Organic Waste Gasifier (AOWG) steam reforming system developed by Pioneer Astronautics in Lakewood, Colorado, and funded by the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD). OSCAR residual solids were collected from suborbital flight and ground-based laboratory testing, while all AOWG samples were collected from ground testing. This report discusses the solid product characterization, including elemental analyses performed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and a surface chemistry performed with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A particle size analysis was performed with sieves, followed by SEM analyses. These analyses were performed to elucidate what high value products can be extracted or utilized from the solid products for follow on infusion into chemical feedstocks, manufacturing additives, or in-situ construction-based material needs.

OSCAR↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High Performance Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine for Mars Interplanetary Transport

NASA has successfully evaluated the performances and survivability of two additively manufactured (AM) continuously rotating detonation cycle rocket engine (RDRE) thrust chambers. The AM hardware was subjected to long duration continuous detonative environments in excess of 100 seconds. Performance trends were directly compared to theory and similar scale constant pressure engines with identical propellants. The performance benefits of RDREs include higher combustion efficiency at a more compact design trade space, which allow advantages for future NASA missions. A major finding of this work is that the heat fluxes experienced are substantially higher than traditional liquid rocket engines at the same operating conditions. In addition, completion of combustion occurs rapidly in an annular geometry at ¼ that of the L* and L’ of an equivalent state-of-the-art thrust chamber. Finally, all hardware survived the extreme environments and achieved the major goal of the test project by demonstrating hot fire conditions with detonation modes up to 133 seconds in duration. Follow-on efforts funded by STMD Early Career Initiative (ECI) award are now focused on achieving higher performances than the previous designs and closing the remaining technology risks.

Thomas Teasley↗
NASA NTRS2023

Reactive Additive Manufacturing for Fourth Industrial Revolution Exploration Systems (Ramfire) Aluminum 6061-Ram2 Nozzle Testing

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has applied various forms of metallic additive manufacturing (AM) in liquid rocket engine component design, development, and testing since 2010. These AM techniques reduce hardware cost, shorten fabrication schedules, increase reliability by reducing the number of joints, and improve hardware performance by allowing unconventional design. The RAMFIRE project, funded under Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) Program, has furthered the use of novel AM liquid rocket nozzles in collaboration with Elementum 3D. The project advanced novel large-scale AM aluminum material technology for significant weight savings in rocket engines and launch vehicles. Previously, aluminum alloys were difficult to weld and print using additive manufacturing. Elementum 3D’s patented Aluminum 6061-RAM2 alloy allows for aluminum alloys to be printed using various AM techniques and at various scales. The alloy can be leveraged for welding wire, showing drastic improvements in aluminum weldability. The RAMFIRE project focuses on five key areas: 1) Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) AL6061-RAM2 feedstock specification and verification, 2) LP-DED process development and validation, 3) LP-DED printed AL6061-RAM2 microstructural and mechanical property characterization, 4) Hot-fire test a 7k-lbf thrust class regeneratively cooled nozzle, 5) Print large scale regeneratively cooled nozzle. Hot-fire testing demonstrates potential of advanced space technologies to NASA and potential users by providing the relevant environments to advance TRL levels to the 5/6 range.

Al6061-RAM2↗
NASA NTRS2023

Hermes LunarG Executive Summary

Hermes LunarG is a flight-proven research platform that can measure the effects of lunar gravity on different types of astromaterials using Blue Origin's reusable sub-orbital flight system. Hermes LunarG is part of the Strata-1 family of experiments that leverages International Space Station (ISS) flight hardware to investigate particle dynamics. The platform is a single payload locker consisting of four clear, polycarbonate tubes containing different regolith simulant materials. Onboard the New Shephard, once lunar gravity conditions are achieved, the payload releases the simulants to move freely in the tubes. The payload will capture images and sensor data to illustrate the dust settling effects and behavior of lunar regolith simulant in this environment. Funded by NASA STMD (Space Technology Mission Directorate) GCD (Game Changing Development) Program, the project has been developed by NASA, T STAR (Texas Space Technology Applications and Research) and Texas A&M's SOAR (Sub-Orbital Astromaterial Research) team to deliver a platform that will further address gaps in dust mitigation and improve the understanding of regolith in lunar gravity.

regolith↗