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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Integration Matrix Education Outreach

The Advanced Integration Matrix (AIM) will design a ground-based test facility for developing revolutionary integrated systems for joint human-robotic missions in order to study and solve systems-level integration issues for exploration missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This paper describes development plans for educational outreach activities related to technological and operational integration scenarios similar to the challenges that will be encountered through this project. The education outreach activities will provide hands-on, interactive exercises to allow students of all levels to experience design and operational challenges similar to what NASA deals with everyday in performing the integration of complex missions. These experiences will relate to and impact students everyday lives by demonstrating how their interests in science and engineering can develop into future careers, and reinforcing the concepts of teamwork and conflict resolution. Allowing students to experience and contribute to real-world development, research, and scientific studies of ground-based simulations for complex exploration missions will stimulate interest in the space program, and bring NASA's challenges to the student level. By enhancing existing educational programs and developing innovative activities and presentations, AIM will support NASA s endeavor to "inspire the next generation of explorers.. .as only NASA can."

Paul Heather L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scalable Data Center Capacity for DOE's AI Prototype: A Rapidly Available Gigawatt Data Center for DOE

The multilaboratory Gigawatt Data Center working group was commissioned to identify approaches to rapidly establish federal data centers with scalable capacities up to 1,000 MW. These state-of-the-art facilities will serve as hubs for interdisciplinary collaboration, industry partnerships, and transformative applications of artificial intelligence. The proposed strategic shift includes facilitating multilaboratory collaboration, prioritizing operational efficiency, expanding public–private partnerships, optimizing investments, ensuring long-term contractual flexibility, supporting open science and secure data enclaves, and exploiting high-speed national networks. Owing to their extensive experience and best practices, the US Department of Energy national laboratories are uniquely positioned to lead this initiative. We recommend conducting a feasibility analysis to rapidly identify the optimal sites for this initiative, and the effort will likely involve private industry for design, construction, financing, and operational integration. We also propose establishing multiple geographically diverse sites to ensure energy resilience, high operational reliability, and a diverse user base, thereby effectively addressing the nation’s critical needs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1984

Radiative transfer in spherical atmospheres

A method for defining spherical model atmospheres in radiative/convective and hydrostatic equilibrium is presented. A finite difference form is found for the transfer equation and a matrix operator is developed as the discrete space analog (in curvilinear coordinates) of a formal integral in plane geometry. Pressure is treated as a function of temperature. Flux conservation is maintained within the energy equation, although the correct luminosity transport must be assigned for any given level of the atmosphere. A perturbed integral operator is used in a complete linearization of the transfer and constraint equations. Finally, techniques for generating stable solutions in economical computer time are discussed.

Kalkofen, W.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Dynamic Weather Routes: Two Years of Operational Testing at American Airlines

The Dynamic Weather Routes (DWR) tool continuously analyzes active flights in en-route airspace and finds simple route corrections to achieve more time- and fuel-efficient routes around convective weather. A strong partnership between NASA, American Airlines (AA), and the Federal Aviation Administration has enabled testing of DWR in real-world air traffic operations. NASA and AA have been conducting a trial of DWR at AA’s Integrated Operations Center in Fort Worth, Texas since July 2012. This paper describes test results based on AA’s use of DWR for their flights in and around Fort Worth Center (ZFW). Results indicate an actual savings of 3,290 flying minutes for 526 AA revenue flights from January 2013 through September 2014. Of these, 48 flights each indicate a savings of 15 minutes or more. Potential savings for all flights in ZFW airspace, corrected for savings flights achieve today through normal pilot requests and controller clearances, is about 100,000 flying minutes for 15,000 flights in 2013. Results indicate that AA flights with DWR in use realize about 20 percent more savings than non-AA flights. A weather forecast analysis examines the extent to which DWR routes rated acceptable by AA users remain clear of downstream weather. A sector congestion analysis indicates congestion could be reduced 19-38 percent if all flights fly DWR routes rather than nominal weather-avoidance routes.

Trajectory Automation↗
NASA NTRS2014

An Overview of Current Capabilities and Research Activities in the Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Center

The Airspace Operations Laboratory at NASA Ames conducts research to provide a better understanding of roles, responsibilities, and requirements for human operators and automation in future air traffic management (ATM) systems. The research encompasses developing, evaluating, and integrating operational concepts and technologies for near-, mid-, and far-term air traffic operations. Current research threads include efficient arrival operations, function allocation in separation assurance and efficient airspace and trajectory management. The AOL has developed powerful air traffic simulation capabilities, most notably the Multi Aircraft Control System (MACS) that is used for many air traffic control simulations at NASA and its partners in government, academia and industry. Several additional NASA technologies have been integrated with the AOL's primary simulation capabilities where appropriate. Using this environment, large and small-scale system-level evaluations can be conducted to help make near-term improvements and transition NASA technologies to the FAA, such as the technologies developed under NASA's Air Traffic Management Demonstration-1 (ATD-1). The AOL's rapid prototyping and flexible simulation capabilities have proven a highly effective environment to progress the initiation of trajectory-based operations and support the mid-term implementation of NextGen. Fundamental questions about accuracy requirements have been investigated as well as realworld problems on how to improve operations in some of the most complex airspaces in the US. This includes using advanced trajectory-based operations and prototype tools for coordinating arrivals to converging runways at Newark airport and coordinating departures and arrivals in the San Francisco and the New York metro areas. Looking beyond NextGen, the AOL has started exploring hybrid human/automation control strategies as well as highly autonomous operations in the air traffic control domain. Initial results indicate improved capacity, low operator workload, good situation awareness and acceptability for controllers teaming with autonomous air traffic systems. While much research and development needs to be conducted to make such concepts a reality, these approaches have the potential to truly transform the airspace system towards increased mobility, safe and efficient growth in global operations and enabling many of the new vehicles and operations that are expected over the next decades. This paper describes how the AOL currently contributes to the ongoing air transportation transformation.

simulation↗
DOE OSTI2026

Guideline for Characterizing and Evaluating a Candidate Project Site for Solar Thermal Applications

This document presents a structured procedure for characterizing and evaluating candidate project sites for concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar heat for industrial processes (SHIP) applications. The objective is to provide project developers, researchers, and other stakeholders with a consistent, technology-agnostic framework for early-stage site assessment, enabling informed decision-making prior to significant investment in project development. Site selection is a critical factor in project success or failure for both CSP and SHIP projects. Key factors such as solar resource availability, land characteristics, environmental and regulatory constraints, infrastructure availability, and community context are determined by the choice of project site and can materially impact project performance, cost, schedule, and overall viability. This procedure is designed to systematically evaluate these factors, identify potential fatal flaws, and prioritize the most favorable candidate sites for further development. The process begins with rapid screening-level evaluation, using publicly available data to assess solar resource, land availability and suitability, zoning and land-use compatibility, and exclusion zones such as protected lands or sensitive habitats. Sites that meet the minimum screening criteria advance to a more detailed characterization. Subsequent sections of this report provide guidance for a next-level assessment of the most important technical and environmental parameters, including: 1) Solar resource quality, variability, and uncertainty using multiyear datasets and, where appropriate, on-site measurement campaigns; 2) Meteorological conditions such as wind, temperature, extreme weather events, and soiling impacts; 3) Land characteristics including slope, shading, and geotechnical conditions; and 4) Environmental and regulatory considerations, including permitting processes, endangered species, cultural resources, and visual impacts. The procedure also addresses infrastructure and integration considerations, including: 1) Grid interconnection requirements for CSP power generation projects; 2) Electrical and operational integration for SHIP facilities; 3) Water availability, quality, and permitting constraints, which are particularly critical for CSP in arid regions; and 4) Site access, construction logistics, and availability of workforce and supporting services. Recognizing the importance of social and economic context, the procedure includes evaluation of community engagement factors, such as stakeholder sentiment, proximity to sensitive visual receptors, workforce development opportunities, and local economic incentives. The outputs of these assessments are synthesized in a cost and risk evaluation, translating site characteristics into expected impacts on capital cost, operating cost, schedule, and technical risk. This is complemented by screening-level performance modeling, including 8760 simulations and long-term projections, to quantify expected energy or thermal output, assess variability thereof, and support comparison between candidate sites. Finally, the procedure provides high-level guidance on a structured go/no-go decision framework, categorizing sites based on identified risks and constraints, and outlining a clear path forward to feasibility studies and front-end engineering design for viable projects. By standardizing the site characterization process across both CSP and SHIP applications, this guideline aims to: 1) Improve consistency and transparency in early-stage project evaluation; 2) Reduce development risk and avoid investment in nonviable project sites; 3) Support collaboration between developers, researchers, and public agencies; and 4) Accelerate successful deployment of concentrating solar technologies for both power generation and industrial process heat.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2018

Addressing Human Error in International Space Station Flight Control Teams: Advances in Ground Training for Science Operators

In flight control, as with any human in the loop system, operator error is an inevitable reality. On the International Space Station (ISS) where crew time and physical resources are precious and often irreplaceable, operator errors can result in significant, irreversible consequences. Flight controllers at the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) located at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama know this reality well. At the POIC, operator errors can be caused by a variety of factors, from poor hardware or software design to environmental factors such as time pressure or fatigue. The most difficult errors to address, however, are those which result from ineffective teamwork.Academic research in teamwork has resulted in the identification of many factors which make cross-functional teaming difficult, including leadership, trust building, and communication challenges. These factors, especially when combined with the challenging environmental factors flight control teams must contend with daily, make the goal of minimizing operator errors in payload operations challenging to achieve. To address such teamwork errors, trainers at the POIC have drawn best practices from high reliability industries such as commercial aviation, healthcare, and nuclear power plants, as well as from our sister ISS control center in Houston, Texas, to develop and institute a new training program focused specifically on teamwork skills.This training program, called the Team Skills Curriculum, is based on the concept of Crew Resource Management (CRM) which was developed by NASA in the 1970s for the commercial aviation industry in response to a series of aviation disasters resulting from ineffective teamwork. CRM was later tailored by the Johnson Space Center (JSC) for use in astronaut and flight control training. The result, called Space Flight Resource Management (SFRM) was formally introduced into manned spaceflight training in the late 90s. SFRM has evolved over the years, but the focus has remained on helping operators develop the skills needed to work as part of an effective team. Using these concepts as well as the latest research in cross-functional teaming and data on specific errors occurring at the POIC, trainers in the integrated flight control training branch created a custom training program for both new and certified payload operations specialists.

Harris, Samantha S.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Imagery Integration Team

The Human Exploration Science Office (KX) provides leadership for NASA's Imagery Integration (Integration 2) Team, an affiliation of experts in the use of engineering-class imagery intended to monitor the performance of launch vehicles and crewed spacecraft in flight. Typical engineering imagery assessments include studying and characterizing the liftoff and ascent debris environments; launch vehicle and propulsion element performance; in-flight activities; and entry, landing, and recovery operations. Integration 2 support has been provided not only for U.S. Government spaceflight (e.g., Space Shuttle, Ares I-X) but also for commercial launch providers, such as Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corporation, servicing the International Space Station. The NASA Integration 2 Team is composed of imagery integration specialists from JSC, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), who have access to a vast pool of experience and capabilities related to program integration, deployment and management of imagery assets, imagery data management, and photogrammetric analysis. The Integration 2 team is currently providing integration services to commercial demonstration flights, Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), and the Space Launch System (SLS)-based Exploration Missions (EM)-1 and EM-2. EM-2 will be the first attempt to fly a piloted mission with the Orion spacecraft. The Integration 2 Team provides the customer (both commercial and Government) with access to a wide array of imagery options - ground-based, airborne, seaborne, or vehicle-based - that are available through the Government and commercial vendors. The team guides the customer in assembling the appropriate complement of imagery acquisition assets at the customer's facilities, minimizing costs associated with market research and the risk of purchasing inadequate assets. The NASA Integration 2 capability simplifies the process of securing one-of-a-kind imagery assets and skill sets, such as ground-based fixed and tracking cameras, crew-in the-loop imaging applications, and the integration of custom or commercial-off-the-shelf sensors onboard spacecraft. For spaceflight applications, the Integration 2 Team leverages modeling, analytical, and scientific resources along with decades of experience and lessons learned to assist the customer in optimizing engineering imagery acquisition and management schemes for any phase of flight - launch, ascent, on-orbit, descent, and landing. The Integration 2 Team guides the customer in using NASA's world-class imagery analysis teams, which specialize in overcoming inherent challenges associated with spaceflight imagery sets. Precision motion tracking, two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) photogrammetry, image stabilization, 3D modeling of imagery data, lighting assessment, and vehicle fiducial marking assessments are available. During a mission or test, the Integration 2 Team provides oversight of imagery operations to verify fulfillment of imagery requirements. The team oversees the collection, screening, and analysis of imagery to build a set of imagery findings. It integrates and corroborates the imagery findings with other mission data sets, generating executive summaries to support time-critical mission decisions.

Calhoun, Tracy↗
NASA NTRS2010

Using Web 2.0 (and Beyond?) in Space Flight Operations Control Centers

Word processing was one of the earliest uses for small workstations, but we quickly learned that desktop computers were far more than e-typewriters. Similarly, "Web 2.0" capabilities, particularly advanced search engines, chats, wikis, blogs, social networking, and the like, offer tools that could significantly improve our efficiency at managing the avalanche of information and decisions needed to operate space vehicles in realtime. However, could does not necessarily equal should. We must wield two-edged swords carefully to avoid stabbing ourselves. This paper examines some Web 2.0 tools, with an emphasis on social media, and suggests which ones might be useful or harmful in real-time space operations co rnotl environments, based on the author s experience as a Payload Crew Communicator (PAYCOM) at Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC) Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) for the International Space Station (ISS) and on discussions with other space flight operations control organizations and centers. There is also some discussion of an offering or two that may come from beyond the current cyber-horizon.

Scott, David W.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Evolution of a Simulation Testbed into an Operational Tool

This paper describes the evolution over a 20-year period of the Future ATM (Air Traffic Management) Concepts Evaluation Tool (FACET) from a National Airspace System (NAS) based simulation testbed into an operational tool. FACET was developed as a testbed for assessing futuristic ATM concepts, e.g., automated conflict detection and resolution. NAS Constraint Evaluation and Notification Tool (NASCENT) is an application, within FACET, for alerting airspace users of inefficiencies in flight operations and advising time- and fuel-saving reroutes.It is currently in use at American Airlines Integrated Operations Center in Fort Worth, TX. The concepts assessed,research conducted, and the operational capability developed, along with the NASA support and achievements are presented in this paper.

Sheth, Kapil↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Human Research Program Grant Lifecycle & Data Integration Schedule: Infographic

The Human Research Program (HRP) Grant Lifecycle process can be described using information from several government authoritative sources with overlapping generalizations. It is the responsibility of the HRP Program Planning & Control (PP&C) Office and the Data Management Integration Office (DMIO)to interpret this information into a cohesive process that can be communicated to the human research organization. PP&C and DMIO have been exploring training opportunities to facilitate understanding through the form of infographics. This communication tool combines eye-catching visuals and text making complex information and data more digestible and shareable. The infographic poster tells a short story about a federally awarded grant and is intended to help both the new and experienced HRP workforce understand the timeline for a research procurement and where their specific tasks fall within the 4 phases of the grant lifecycle. The Pre-Award, Award, Post-Award, and Closeout phases are overlayed with business swimlanes so HRP stakeholders can see where they fit into the timeline rather than working in an isolated part. This includes the Chief Scientist Office (CSO), PP&C, the Data Management Integration Office (DMIO), the Principal Investigator (PI), the Element stakeholders, the LSDA Archivists, and the Research & Operations Integration (ROI) team along with the stakeholders in the Human Health and Performance Directorate. Additionally, the poster introduces (1) the HRP Data Integration Schedule identified in the HRP Data Management Plan HRP-48047, Table 8-2 and (2) a Smartsheet Solution to automate the grants tracking business process. Emphasis is given to the Data Integration Schedule which is the basis for the milestone tasks that are to be completed during the Post-Award phase in the grant lifecycle. The poster is also an opportunity to present the Smartsheet Solution, a software collaboration and work management tool used to assign tasks and track project progress. This PP&C FY24 effort will facilitate an end-to-end solution to track grants and provide insight to the health of HRP grant research procurements using metrics, reports, and dashboards.

J Peace↗
NASA NTRS2004

Integrating Ground System Tools From Multiple Technologies Into a Single System Environment

With rapid technology changes and new and improved development techniques, it becomes extremely difficult to try to add capabilities to existing ground systems without wanting to replace the entire system. Replacing entire systems is not usually cost effective so there is a need to be able to slowly improve systems without long development times that introduce risk due to large amounts of change. The Marshall Space Flight Center s (MSFC) Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) ground system provides command, telemetry, and payload planning systems in support of the International Space Station. Our systems have continuously evolved with technology changes due to hardware end of life issues, and also due to user requirement changes. As changes have been implemented, we have tried to take advantage of some of the latest technologies while at the same time maintaining certain legacy capabilities that are not cost affective to replace. One of our biggest challenges is to integrate all of these implementations into a single system that is usable, maintainable, and scalable. Another challenge is to provide access to our tools in such a way that users are not aware of all the various implementation methods and tools being used. This approach not only makes our system much more usable, it allows us to continue to migrate capabilities and to add capabilities without impacting system usability. This paper will give an overview of the tools used for MSFC ISS payload operations and show an approach for integrating various technologies into a single environment that is maintainable, flexible, usable, cost effective, and that meets user needs.

Ritter, George H.↗
NASA NTRS2010

An Operations Concept for Integrated Model-Centric Engineering at JPL

As JPL's missions grow more complex, the need for improved systems engineering processes is becoming clear. Of significant promise in this regard is the move toward a more integrated and model-centric approach to mission conception, design, implementation and operations. The Integrated Model-Centric Engineering (IMCE) Initiative, now underway at JPL, seeks to lay the groundwork for these improvements. This paper will report progress on three fronts: articulating JPL's need for IMCE; characterizing the enterprise into which IMCE capabilities will be deployed; and constructing an operations concept for a flight project development in an integrated model-centric environment.

Bayer, Todd J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Launch operations efficiency

The paper discusses launch operations from a program perspective. Launch operations cost is a significant part of program cost. New approaches to launch operations, integrated with lessons learned, have the potential to increase safety and reliability as well as reduce cost. Operational efficiency must be an initial program goal. Design technology and management philosophy must be implemented early to ensure operational cost goals. Manufacturing cost and launch cost are related to operational efficiency. True program savings can be realized through implementation of launch operations cost saving approaches which do not correspondingly increase cost in other program areas such as manufacturing and software development and maintenance. Launch rate is a key factor in the cost/flight analysis and the determination of launch operations efficiency goals.

Diloreto, Clem↗
DOE OSTI2024

Characterizing the negative triangularity reactor core operating space with integrated modeling

Negative triangularity (NT) has received renewed interest as a fusion reactor regime due to its beneficial power-handling properties, including low scrape-off layer power and a larger divertor wetted area that facilitates simple divertor integration. NT experiments have also demonstrated core performance on par with positive triangularity (PT) high confinement mode (H-mode) without edge-localized modes (ELMs), encouraging further study of an NT reactor core. In this work, we use integrated modeling to scope the operating space around two NT reactor strategies. The first is the high-field, compact fusion pilot plant concept Modular, Adjustable, NT ARC (MANTA) and the second is a low field, high aspect ratio concept based on work by Medvedev et al. By integrating equilibrium, core transport, and edge ballooning instability models, we establish a range of operating points with less than 50 MW scrape-off layer power and fusion power comparable to PT H-mode reactor concepts. Heating and seeded impurities are leveraged to accomplish the same fusion performance and scrape-off layer exhaust power for various pressure edge boundary conditions. Scans over these pressure edge conditions accommodate any current uncertainty of the properties of the NT edge and show that the performance of an NT reactor will be extremely dependent on the edge pressure. The high-field case is found to enable lower scrape-off layer power because it is capable of reaching high fusion powers at a relatively compact size, which allows increased separatrix density without exceeding the Greenwald density limit. Adjustments in NT shaping exhibit small changes in fusion power, with an increase in fusion power density seen at weaker NT. Infinite-n ballooning instability models indicate that an NT reactor core can reach fusion powers comparable to leading PT H-mode reactor concepts while remaining ballooning-stable. Seeded krypton is leveraged to further lower scrape-off layer power since NT does not have a requirement to remain in H-mode while still maintaining high confinement. We contextualize the NT reactor operating space by comparing to popular PT H-mode reactor concepts, and find that NT exhibits competitive ELM-free performance with these concepts for a variety of edge conditions while maintaining relatively low scrape-off layer power.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
NASA NTRS1978

The Approach and Landing Test program of the Space Shuttle Orbiter 101

The Approach and Landing Test (ALT) program was conducted in late 1976 through November 1977 to investigate the low speed characteristics of the Orbiter alone. The innovative aspects of the Orbiter are discussed along with the ALT program and the testing methodology used. The Shuttle Transportation System concept is briefly reviewed. The ALT was a first step towards operational missions for the Shuttle. The prime objective of the ALT was to verify the systems design and integrated operation of the Orbiter, and to demonstrate the capability of the Orbiter to safely land at a designated runway. The first free flight of the Orbiter occurred on August 12, 1977. Attention is also given to the results obtained in free-flight two, three, four, and five. Free-flight five was specifically planned to demonstrate a runway landing.

Brice, T. R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Operations Modeling for SSF Evolution

The operations required to support the on-orbit Space Station Freedom activities planned or being studied will be complex. Operational capability to perform tasks will be dependent on many factors such as manpower availability, logistics, other tasks being worked and Space Station configuration. This effort uses information available about these and other factors to perform operations analysis for given missions and determine the feasibility of target configuration concepts to support those missions. Studies have been conducted to determine processing requirements for a number of potential evolutionary missions on the Space Station Freedom. These studies have identified the need for growth of the Space Station in various ways. Some of the studies have dealt with the operational needs for the particular mission that they are concerned with, but none have looked at the total evolutionary operations requirement. In order to pursue the subject of overall on-orbit operations to any appreciable level of detail, data bases of operational on-orbit tasks need to be compiled, and an analysis tool is needed to assist the analyst. A number of existing operations tools have been reviewed, and none have been found to satisfactorily perform the functions needed to analyze integrated operations requirements for the evolutionary Space Station Freedom. However, during the tool review, some existing applications were found to provide subsets of the required functionality, and these are being considered for incorporation into the analysis tool.

Ganoe, George G.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Cell Science-02 Payload Overview

The presentation provides an general overview of the Cell Science-02 science and payload operations to the NASA Payload Operations Integrated Working Group. The overview includes a description of the science objectives and specific aims, manifest status, and operations concept.

CS-02↗