SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Technology transition”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1997

Advanced Technologies for Space Life Science Payloads on the International Space Station

SENSORS 2000! (S2K!) is a specialized, high-performance work group organized to provide advanced engineering and technology support for NASA's Life Sciences spaceflight and ground-based research and development programs. In support of these objectives, S2K! manages NASA's Advanced Technology Development Program for Biosensor and Biotelemetry Systems (ATD-B), with particular emphasis on technologies suitable for Gravitational Biology, Human Health and Performance, and Information Technology and Systems Management. A concurrent objective is to apply and transition ATD-B developed technologies to external, non-NASA humanitarian (medical, clinical, surgical, and emergency) situations and to stimulate partnering and leveraging with other government agencies, academia, and the commercial/industrial sectors. A phased long-term program has been implemented to support science disciplines and programs requiring specific biosensor (i.e., biopotential, biophysical, biochemical, and biological) measurements from humans, animals (mainly primates and rodents), and cells under controlled laboratory and simulated microgravity situations. In addition to the technology programs described above, NASA's Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications Office has initiated a Technology Infusion process to identify and coordinate the utilization and integration of advanced technologies into its International Space Station Facilities. This project has recently identified a series of technologies, tasks, and products which, if implemented, would significantly increase the science return, decrease costs, and provide improved technological capability. This presentation will review the programs described above and discuss opportunities for collaboration, leveraging, and partnering with NASA.

Hines, John W.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) Enabling a Sustainable Return to the Lunar Surface through NASA Gateway

NASA continues to evolve a human exploration approach for beyond low-Earth orbit. The center of this approach is NASA’s Gateway that is envisioned to provide a maneuverable outpost in lunar orbit to extend human presence in deep space and expand on NASA exploration goals. The Gateway represents the initial step in NASA’s architecture for human cislunar operations, lunar surface access and missions to Mars. NASA announced at the May 2020 NASA Advisory Council’s Human Explorations and Operations Committee a new plan that calls for launching the first two elements of Gateway as a co-manifested mission in the late 2023 timeframe [2]. Launching the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) together reduces mission risk, utilizes the PPE high-powered Electric Propulsion (EP) system to transport both elements to the lunar orbit, and reduces overall cost. NASA and Maxar Technologies have a commercial partnership to develop and demonstration a high-powered Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) spacecraft [3, 4]. The PPE is baselined to include three 12.5-kW Advanced Electric Propulsion Systems (AEPS) and four 6-kW Hall thrusters, currently under development by Maxar, for a total beginning of life propulsion power of over 48-kW [5]. High-power solar electric propulsion is one of the key technologies that has been prioritized because of its significant exploration benefits, specifically, for missions beyond low Earth orbit. Spacecraft size and mass are currently dominated by onboard chemical propulsion systems and propellants that may constitute more than 50 percent of spacecraft mass. This impact can be substantially reduced through the utilization of SEP, due to its higher specific impulse and lower propellant load required to meet the equivalent mission delta-V. Studies performed for NASA’s HEOMD and Science Mission Directorate (SMD) have demonstrated that 40-kW-class SEP provides the necessary capabilities that would enable near term and future architectures, and science missions [6]. Accordingly, NASA has been developing a 12 kW Hall thruster electric propulsion thruster that can serve as the building block for a 40-kW-class SEP capability. The AEPS development, led by the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), began with the maturation of the high-power Hall thruster. The technology development work has transitioned to AR via a competitive procurement selection for the AEPS contract in May 2016. Management of the AEPS contract is being led by NASA GRC with funding from NASA’s Science Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) under the Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) program. NASA continues to support the AEPS development leveraging in-house expertise, plasma modeling capability, and world-class test facilities.

AEPS↗

NASA NTRS2014

An Evaluation of a Flight Deck Interval Management Algorithm Including Delayed Target Trajectories

NASA's first Air Traffic Management (ATM) Technology Demonstration (ATD-1) was created to facilitate the transition of mature air traffic management technologies from the laboratory to operational use. The technologies selected for demonstration are the Traffic Management Advisor with Terminal Metering (TMA-TM), which provides precise timebased scheduling in the terminal airspace; Controller Managed Spacing (CMS), which provides controllers with decision support tools enabling precise schedule conformance; and Interval Management (IM), which consists of flight deck automation that enables aircraft to achieve or maintain precise in-trail spacing. During high demand operations, TMA-TM may produce a schedule and corresponding aircraft trajectories that include delay to ensure that a particular aircraft will be properly spaced from other aircraft at each schedule waypoint. These delayed trajectories are not communicated to the automation onboard the aircraft, forcing the IM aircraft to use the published speeds to estimate the target aircraft's estimated time of arrival. As a result, the aircraft performing IM operations may follow an aircraft whose TMA-TM generated trajectories have substantial speed deviations from the speeds expected by the spacing algorithm. Previous spacing algorithms were not designed to handle this magnitude of uncertainty. A simulation was conducted to examine a modified spacing algorithm with the ability to follow aircraft flying delayed trajectories. The simulation investigated the use of the new spacing algorithm with various delayed speed profiles and wind conditions, as well as several other variables designed to simulate real-life variability. The results and conclusions of this study indicate that the new spacing algorithm generally exhibits good performance; however, some types of target aircraft speed profiles can cause the spacing algorithm to command less than optimal speed control behavior.

Swieringa, Kurt A.↗

NASA NTRS2005

The NASA Short-term Prediction and Research Transition (SPoRT) Center: A Research to Operations Test Bed

Over the last three years, NASA/MSFC scientists have embarked on an effort to transition unique NASA EOS data/products and research technology to selected NWSEOs in the southeast U.S. This activity, called the Short-term Prediction and - Research Transition (SPoRT) program, supports the NASA Science Mission Directorate and its Earth-Sun System Mission to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth System and its response to natural or human-induced changes that will enable improved prediction capability for climate, weather, and natural hazards. The overarching question related to weather prediction is "How well can weather forecasting duration and reliability be improved by new space-based observations, data assimilation, and modeling?" The transition activity has included the real-time delivery of MODIS data and products to several NWS Forecast Offices. Local NWS FOs have used the MODIS data to complement the coarse resolution GOES data for a number of applications. Specialized products have also been developed and made available to local and remote offices for their weather applications. Data from &e Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) network has been used in severe storm forecasts at several offices in the region. At the regional scale and forecast horizons from 0-1 day, the next generation of high-resolution mesoscale forecast and data assimilation models have been used to provide local offices with unique weather forecasts not otherwise available. The continued use of near red-time infusion of NASA science products into high-resolution mesoscale forecast and decision-making models can be expected to improve the model initialization as well as short-term forecasts. A current focus of SPoRT is to expand collaborations to include contributions from the assimilation of AMSR-E data in the ADASIARPS forecast system (OU), inclusion of MODIS SSTs and AIRS thermodynamic profiles in the WRF, and to extend the distribution of real-time MODIS and AMSR-E data and products to the Florida coastal WFOs. A SPoRT Test bed, together with input from other interagency and university partners, will provide a means and a process to effectively transition ESE observations and technology to NWS operations and decision makers at both the globdnational and regional scales. The transition of emerging experimental products into operations through the SPoRT infrastructure will allow NASA to foster and accelerate the progress of this Science Mission Directorate research strategy over the coming years.

Jedlovec, Gary J.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: The resilience value of residential solar + storage systems in the continental U.S.

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. Clean energy resources that are located behind the meter have the potential to benefit the hosting customers by providing affordability, environmental, and reliability and resilience value. Solar plus storage systems (PVESS) are clean energy resources that can supply backup power without requiring fuel resupply or increasing local emissions. This report examines the regional value of PVESS for resilience by calculating a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) that considers the annual resiliency benefits of PVESS and the annualized cost of the investment. In addition, we estimate the expected technical mitigation potential of PVESS systems at the county-level to these expected events, and characterize the customer interruption costs by determining the value of lost load at the state level.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Renewable Energy

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. This brief discusses some of the possible consumer benefits of utility-scale and behind the meter renewable energy, with a focus on how these resources can contribute to a low-cost electricity system. It begins with a literature review of modeled impacts, primarily considering consumer benefits, of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Next, it discusses how utility-scale renewable energy can contribute to a low-cost electricity system (e.g., in some cases, low resource costs relative to other alternatives). It concludes with a discussion of behind-the-meter renewable energy consumer benefits (e.g., reduced host electricity bill, increased property value, resilience).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Energy Efficiency

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. This brief focuses on energy efficiency benefits, and builds on prior analysis from Berkeley Lab’s Cost of Saved Energy database. We show that energy efficiency remains a low-cost energy and capacity resource; the levelized cost of saving energy for the programs included in the analysis is $\$0.02$/kilowatt-hour and the cost of saving peak demand is less $\$120$/kilowatt. Understanding the impact of the program mix, portfolio size, and duration of implementation for customer-funded energy efficiency portfolios can guide regulatory oversight of these programs, help utilities better utilize energy efficiency as a resource, and inform building energy decarbonization policies.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

NASA NTRS2002

Minnowbrook III: 2000 Workshop on Boundary Layer Transition and Unsteady Aspects of Turbomachinery Flows

This volume and its accompanying CD-ROM contain materials presented at the Minnowbrook III-2000 Workshop on Boundary Layer Transition and Unsteady Aspects of Turbomachinery Flows held at the Syracuse University Minnowbrook Conference Center, Blue Mountain Lake, New York, August 20-23, 2000. Workshop organizers were John E. LaGraff (Syracuse University), Terry V Jones (Oxford University), and J. Paul Gostelow (University of Leicester). The workshop followed the theme, venue, and informal format of two earlier workshops: Minnowbrook I (1993) and Minnowbrook II (1997). The workshop was focused on physical understanding the late stage (final breakdown) boundary layer transition, separation, and effects of unsteady wakes with the specific goal of contributing to engineering application of improving design codes for turbomachinery. The workshop participants included academic researchers from the USA and abroad, and representatives from the gas-turbine industry and government laboratories. The physical mechanisms discussed included turbulence disturbance environment in turbomachinery, flow instabilities, bypass and natural transition, turbulent spots and calmed regions, wake interactions with attached and separated boundary layers, turbulence and transition modeling and CFD, and DNS. This volume contains abstracts and copies of the viewgraphs presented, organized according to the workshop sessions. The viewgraphs are included on the CD-ROM only. The workshop summary and the plenary-discussion transcripts clearly highlight the need for continued vigorous research in the technologically important area of transition, separated and unsteady flows in turbomachines.

LaGraff, John E.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Aerosciences, Aero-Propulsion and Flight Mechanics Technology Development for NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology Program

The Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) program, Vehicle Systems Research and Technology (VSR&T) project is pursuing technology advancements in aerothermodynamics, aeropropulsion and flight mechanics to enable development of future reusable launch vehicle (RLV) systems. The current design trade space includes rocket-propelled, hypersonic airbreathing and hybrid systems in two-stage and single-stage configurations. Aerothermodynamics technologies include experimental and computational databases to evaluate stage separation of two-stage vehicles as well as computational and trajectory simulation tools for this problem. Additionally, advancements in high-fidelity computational tools and measurement techniques are being pursued along with the study of flow physics phenomena, such as boundary-layer transition. Aero-propulsion technology development includes scramjet flowpath development and integration, with a current emphasis on hypervelocity (Mach 10 and above) operation, as well as the study of aero-propulsive interactions and the impact on overall vehicle performance. Flight mechanics technology development is focused on advanced guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) algorithms and adaptive flight control systems for both rocket-propelled and airbreathing vehicles.

Cockrell, Charles E., Jr.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the NASA Earth Action Strategies Wildland Fire Initiative

As part of NASA’s new Earth Action strategy, the Wildland Fire initiative was established, which includes both the NASA Wildland Fire Program (WFP) and the FireSense project. NASA has over 50 years of experience generating data and technology to enhance fire science and operational management. The WFP’s mission is threefold: 1) assemble communities of practice through collaborative efforts with government, academia, and the private sector; 2) co-develop knowledge and applications with relevant partners and stakeholders in the wildfire community; and 3) improve wildland fire management through the transitioning of NASA data, technology, tools, and science to stakeholder organizations. The WFP is focusing on supporting proactive fire management, including situational awareness, preparedness, and risk mitigation. This will be accomplished through selected projects that identify management challenges, relevant to partners and end users, and the NASA data that will be utilized to deliver innovative solutions to enhance the management of wildland fires. Examples include: i) investigation of evaporative stress from OpenET to help predict the risk of wildfire occurrence in watersheds; ii) incorporation of space based LiDAR for the generation of 3-dimensional forest fuel metrics, used to improve wildfire risk and behavior models; iii) integration of global, multi-platform geostationary active-fire data in near-real-time into NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS); and iv) identification of post-fire ecohydrological conditions using thermal, multispectral, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and hyperspectral remotely-sensed data to improve flood hazard forecast models. The FireSense project is a US-focused 5-year project that will focus on delivering NASA’s unique Earth science and technological capabilities to operational agencies, striving towards enhancing fire fighting and air quality management. The project will include airborne campaigns and new technology that will likely have global implications. Initial stakeholder engagement led FireSense to focus on four use-cases focused on the characterization and measurement of: (i) pre-fire fuels conditions, (ii) active fire-dynamics; (iii) post-fire impact and threats; and iv) air quality impacts and forecasting, each-developed with identified stakeholders.

Wildland Fire program↗

NASA NTRS2007

Indium Hybridization of Large Format TES Bolometer Arrays to Readout Multiplexers for Far-Infrared Astronomy

The advance of new detector technologies combined with enhanced fabrication methods has resulted in an increase in development of large format arrays. The next generation of scientific instruments will utilize detectors containing hundreds to thousands of elements providing a more efficient means to conduct large area sky surveys. Some notable detectors include a 32x32 x-ray microcalorimeter for Constellation-X, an infrared bolometer called SAFIRE to fly on the airborne observatory SOFIA, and the sub-millimeter bolometer SCUBA-2 to be deployed at the JCMT which will use more than 10,000 elements for two colors, each color using four 32x40 arrays. Of these detectors, SCUBA-2 is farthest along in development and uses indium hybridization to multiplexers for readout of the large number of elements, a technology that will be required to enable the next generation of large format arrays. Our current efforts in working toward large format arrays have produced GISMO, the Goddard IRAM Superconducting 2-Millimeter observer. GISMO is a far infrared instrument to be field tested later this year at the IRAM 30 meter telescope in Spain. GISMO utilizes transition edge sensor (TES) technology in an 8x16 filled array format that allows for typical fan-out wiring and wire-bonding to four 1x32 NIST multiplexers. GISMO'S electrical wiring is routed along the tops of 30 micron walls which also serve as the mechanical framework for the array. This architecture works well for the 128 element array, but is approaching the limit for routing the necessary wires along the surface while maintaining a high fill factor. Larger format arrays will benefit greatly from making electrical connections through the wafer to the backside, where they can be hybridized to a read-out substrate tailored to handling the wiring scheme. The next generation array we are developing is a 32x40 element array on a pitch of 1135 microns that conforms to the NIST multiplexer, already developed for the SCUBA-2 instrument This architecture will utilize electrical connections that route from the TES to the support frame and through the wafer. The detector chip will then be hybridized to the NIST multiplexer via indium bump bonding. In our development scheme we are using substrates that allow for diagnostic testing of electrical continuity across the entire array and we are testing our process to minimize or eliminate any contact resistance at metal interfaces. Our goal is hybridizing a fully functional 32x40 array of TES bolometers to a NIST multiplexer. The following work presents our current progress toward enabling this technology.

Miller, Timothy M.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Radial Clearance Found To Play a Key Role in the Performance of Compliant Foil Air Bearings

Compliant foil air bearings are at the forefront of the Oil-Free turbomachinery revolution, which supports gas turbine engines with hydrodynamic bearings that use air instead of oil as the working fluid. These types of bearings have been around for almost 50 years and have found a home in several commercial applications, such as in air cycle machines, turbocompressors, and microturbines, but are now being aggressively pursued for use in small and midrange aircraft gas turbine engines. Benefits include higher operating speeds and temperatures, lower maintenance costs, and greater reliability. The Oil-Free Turbomachinery team at the NASA Glenn Research Center is working to foster the transition of Oil-Free technology into gas turbine engines by performing in-house experiments on foil air bearings in order to gain a greater insight into their complex operating principles. A research program recently undertaken at Glenn focused on the concept of radial clearance and its influence on bearing performance. The tests were conducted on foil bearings with different radial clearances. As defined for a foil bearing, radial clearance is a measure of the small amount of shaft radial motion that is present from play that exists in the elastic support structure, such as between the top and bump foils and the bump foils and bearing shell (see the drawing). With an insufficient amount of radial clearance, the bearing imparts a high preload on the shaft, which when excessive, can reduce the loadcarrying capability of the bearing. On the other hand, systems using foil bearings with excessive radial clearance may experience rotordynamic instabilities because of low bearing preload. Therefore, without a more thorough understanding of radial clearance, it is difficult to accurately predict the performance of a given bearing design. The test program demonstrated that there is a direct correlation between radial clearance and the performance of foil air bearings. As shown in the graph, an optimum radial clearance exists that will maximize the amount of load that the bearing is capable of supporting. With respect to this optimum, two different performance regimes were observed that are a function of the amount of radial clearance. Tests showed that bearings with radial clearances below the optimum in regime I were susceptible to sudden seizure, a failure mode indicative of thermal runaway caused by high preload. The high preload is in response to an insufficient amount of radial clearance available to accommodate the thermal growth of the bearing and shaft. However, radial clearances greater than the optimum in regime II resulted in low bearing preloads that did not cause any heat-related problems, and the failure mode was due to fluid-film breakdown. In fact, bearings operating with radial clearances twice as much as the optimum suffered a decrease in the maximum load capacity of only about 20 percent. Therefore, special attention has to be given to the range of operating conditions expected in the bearing/shaft system since changes in temperature, centrifugal, and hydrodynamic effects can all affect radial clearance. This enhanced understanding of foil air bearing behavior will greatly aid our efforts to transition Oil-Free technology to future aircraft engines.

Radil, Kevin C.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Technology and Innovation Roadmap

This Technology and Innovation Roadmap outlines the Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC (H2C) strategic approach for advancing the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment Mission (HTWTM) through technology development. Our focus is on addressing technology needs that address risks, enhance efficiency, ensure worker safety, and uphold environmental standards. This Roadmap identifies key technology initiatives essential for the successful completion of the Hanford Site tank waste cleanup. Updated annually, it incorporates insights from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the Integrated Tank Disposition Contractor (ITDC) H2C, recognized national lab experts, and fieldwork specialists. The Roadmap includes approximately 100 technology elements, each detailed in Technology Element Description Summaries (TEDS) and summarized in catalog sheets. These elements are crucial for aligning technology development activities with mission objectives across the HTWTM. With the initiation of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) program and the operation of the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system, our focus now shifts to the support of scaled up production in East Area; applying similar and exploring new treatment alternatives to West Area Tank Waste; and advancing retrieval, delivery and treatment technologies for waste managed as high-level waste (HLW) across the Hanford tank farms. This transition is reflected in the technology and maturation (TM&E) charts, which highlight the evolving technology priorities. This document serves as a guide for navigating the challenges and opportunities in technology development at the Hanford Site.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRS1998

Minnowbrook II 1997 Workshop on Boundary Layer Transition in Turbomachines

The volume contains materials presented at the Minnowbrook II - 1997 Workshop on Boundary Layer Transition in Turbomachines, held at Syracuse University Minnowbrook Conference Center, New York, on September 7-10, 1997. The workshop followed the informal format at the 1993 Minnowbrook I workshop, focusing on improving the understanding of late stage (final breakdown) boundary layer transition, with the engineering application of improving design codes for turbomachinery in mind. Among the physical mechanisms discussed were hydrodynamic instabilities, laminar to turbulent transition, bypass transition, turbulent spots, wake interaction with boundary layers, calmed regions, and separation, all in the context of flow in turbomachinery, particularly in compressors and high and low pressure turbines. Results from experiments, DNS, computation, modeling and theoretical analysis were presented. Abstracts and copies of viewgraphs, a specifically commissioned summation paper prepared after the workshop, and a transcript of the extensive working group reports and discussions are included in this volume. They provide recommendations for future research and clearly highlight the need for continued vigorous research in the technologically important area of transition in turbomachines.

LaGraff John E.↗

NASA NTRS1997

NASA's Involvement in Technology Development and Transfer: The Ohio Hybrid Bus Project

A government and industry cooperative is using advanced power technology in a city transit bus that will offer double the fuel economy, and reduce emissions to one tenth of government standards. The heart of the vehicle's power system is a natural gas fueled generator unit. Power from both the generator and an advanced energy storage system is provided to a variable speed electric motor attached to the rear drive axle. A unique aspect of the vehicle's design is its use of "super" capacitors for recovery of energy during braking. This is the largest vehicle ever built using this advanced energy recovery technology. This paper describes the project goals and approach, results of its system performance modeling, and the status of the development team's effort.

Viterna, Larry A.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Technology Development for Exploration: 2020 to 2021 Overview

This paper provides an overview of NASA supported activities developing Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) technologies in the following capability areas: life support, environmental monitoring, fire safety, and logistics. NASA has been refining technology needs for deep space missions including Gateway, lunar surface, Mars transit, and Mars surface missions. Validating technologies in relevant environments, both in low earth orbit (LEO) and ground tests is critical in understanding technology performance and long duration performance. On-orbit and ground tests inform NASA’s technology decisions to fill exploration gaps. NASA has multiple technology projects across the technology readiness spectrum with potential to fill or partially fill exploration gaps. For each capability area, this paper will describe select capability gaps, NASA technology project maturation over the past year, and how key performance parameters (KPPs) are being used to measure the degree of capability gap closure. KPPs are evolving but they still provide a useful measure in communicating progress and identifying development needs to fill exploration gaps. The intent is to provide a very high-level overview describing the strategic approach to gap closure and provide references to additional technical details, progress, and KPPs.

Life Support↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Technology Development for Exploration: 2020 to 2021 Overview

This paper provides an overview of NASA supported activities developing Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) technologies in the following capability areas: life support, environmental monitoring, fire safety, and logistics. NASA has been refining technology needs for deep space missions including Gateway, lunar surface, Mars transit, and Mars surface missions. Validating technologies in relevant environments, both in low earth orbit (LEO) and ground tests is critical in understanding technology performance and long duration performance. On-orbit and ground tests inform NASA’s technology decisions to fill exploration gaps. NASA has multiple technology projects across the technology readiness spectrum with potential to fill or partially fill exploration gaps. For each capability area, this paper will describe select capability gaps, NASA technology project maturation over the past year, and key performance parameters (KPPs). KPPs are evolving but they still provide a useful measure in communicating progress and identifying development needs to fill exploration gaps. The intent is to provide a very high-level overview describing the projects that are supporting gap closure and provide references to additional technical details, progress, and KPPs.

James Lee Broyan↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Technology Development for Exploration: 2020 to 2021 Overview

This PowerPoint presentation supports the following paper submission's abstract (STRIVES 20210015025). This paper provides an overview of NASA supported activities developing Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLSS) technologies in the following capability areas: life support, environmental monitoring, fire safety, and logistics. NASA has been refining technology needs for deep space missions including Gateway, lunar surface, Mars transit, and Mars surface missions. Validating technologies in relevant environments, both in low earth orbit (LEO) and ground tests is critical in understanding technology performance and long duration performance. On-orbit and ground tests inform NASA’s technology decisions to fill exploration gaps. NASA has multiple technology projects across the technology readiness spectrum with potential to fill or partially fill exploration gaps. For each capability area, this paper will describe select capability gaps, NASA technology project maturation over the past year, and key performance parameters (KPPs). KPPs are evolving but they still provide a useful measure in communicating progress and identifying development needs to fill exploration gaps. The intent is to provide a very high-level overview describing the projects that are supporting gap closure and provide references to additional technical details, progress, and KPPs.

Life Support↗