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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 235 records · Page 13

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1996

Affordable In-Space Transportation Phase 2: An Advanced Concepts Project

The Affordable In-Space Transportation (AIST) program was established by the NASA Office of Space Access to improve transportation and lower the costs from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and beyond (to Lunar orbit, Mars orbit, inner solar system missions, and return to LEO). A goal was established to identify and develop radically innovative concepts for new upper stages for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) and Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST) systems. New architectures and technologies are being identified which have the potential to meet a cost goal of $1,000 to $2,000 per pound for transportation to GEO and beyond for overall mission cost (including the cost to LEO). A Technical Interchange Meeting (TTM) was held on October 16 and 17, 1996 in Huntsville, Alabama to review previous studies, present advanced concepts and review technologies that could be used to meet the stated goals. The TIN4 was managed by NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Advanced Concepts Office with Mr. Alan Adams providing TIM coordination. Mr. John C. Mankins of NASA Headquarters provided overall sponsorship. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Propulsion Research Center hosted the TIM at the UAH Research Center. Dr. Clark Hawk, Center Director, was the principal investigator. Technical support was provided by Christensen Associates. Approximately 70 attendees were present at the meeting. This Executive Summary provides a record of the key discussions and results of the TIN4 in a summary for-mat. It incorporates the response to the following basic issues of the TDVL which addressed the following questions: 1. What are the cost drivers and how can they be reduced? 2. What are the operational issues and their impact on cost? 3. What is the current technology readiness level (TRL) and what will it take to reach TRL 6? 4. What are the key enabling technologies and sequence for their accomplishment? 5 . What is the proposed implementation time frame? See Appendix A for the TIM Agenda and Appendix C for the AIST Program Terms of Reference.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1996

Affordable In-Space Transportation: An Advanced Concepts Project - Phase 2

The Affordable In-Space Transportation (AIST) program was established by the NASA Office of Space Access to improve transportation and lower the costs from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and beyond (to Lunar orbit, Mars orbit, inner solar system missions, and return to LEO). A goal was established to identify and develop radically innovative concepts for new upper stages for Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLV) and Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST) systems. New architectures and technologies are being identified which have the potential to meet a cost goal of $1,000 to $2,000 per pound for transportation to GEO and beyond for overall mission cost (including the cost to LEO). A Technical Interchange Meeting (ITM) was held on October 16 and 17, 1996 in Huntsville, Alabama to review previous studies, present advanced concepts and review technologies that could be used to meet the stated goals. The TIM was managed by NASA-Mar-shaU Space Flight Center (MSFC) Advanced Concepts Office with Mr. Alan Adams providing TIM coordination. Mr. John C. Manidns of NASA Headquarters provided overall sponsorship. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Propulsion Research Center hosted the TM at the UAH Research Center. Dr. Clark Hawk, Center Director, was the principal investigator. Technical support was provided by Christensen Associates. Approximately 70 attendees were present at the meeting. This Executive Summary provides a record of the key discussions and results of the TIM in a summary format. It incorporates the response to the following basic issues of the TPA, which addressed the following questions: 1. What are the cost drivers and how can they be reduced? 2. What are the operational issues and their impact on cost? What is the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and what will it take to reach TRL 6? 4. What are the key enabling technologies and sequence for their accomplishment? 5. What is the proposed implementation time frame? See Appendix A for the TIM Agenda and Appendix C for the AIST Program Terms of Reference.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1988

Information sciences and human factors overview

An overview of program objectives of the Information Sciences and Human Factors Division of NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology is given in viewgraph form. Information is given on the organizational structure, goals, the research and technology base, telerobotics, systems autonomy in space operations, space sensors, humans in space, space communications, space data systems, transportation vehicle guidance and control, spacecraft control, and major program directions in space.

Holcomb, Lee B.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Opening the Solar System: An Advanced Nuclear Spacecraft for Human Exploration

Human exploration of the solar system is limited by our technology, not our imagination. We dream of a time when we can freely travel among the planets and truly become a spacefaring people. However, the current state of our technology limits our options for architecting missions to other planets. Instead of sailing the seas of space in the way that we cruise the seas of Earth, our limited propulsion technology requires us to depart Earth on a giant cluster of gas tanks and return in a lifeboat. This inefficient approach to exploration is evident in many of today's leading mission plans for human flights to Mars, asteroids, and other destinations. The cost and complexity of this approach to mission architecting makes it extremely difficult to realize our dreams of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This does not need to be the case. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have been investigating the feasibility of a new take on nuclear propulsion with the performance to enable a paradigm shift in human space exploration. During the fall of 2013, engineers at MSFC's Advanced Concepts Office developed a spacecraft concept (pictured below) around this new propulsion technology and redefined the human Mars mission to show its full potential. This spacecraft, which can be launched with a fleet of soon-to-be available SLS launch vehicles, is fueled primarily with hydrogen, and is fully reusable with no staging required. The reusable nature of this design enables a host of alternative mission architectures that more closely resemble an ocean voyage than our current piecemeal approach to exploration.

Werka, R. O.↗

DOE OSTI2023

BSM (Bioenergy Scenario Model) 2023 FKA: Biomass Scenario Model [SWR-09-09]

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Bioenergy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the BSM (Bioenergy Scenario model) to explore the development of a U.S. biofuels industry. The BSM is a system dynamics model built on the STELLA software platform. The model represents the dynamic interactions of the major sectors of the biofuels industry—feedstock production, feedstock logistics, biomass to biofuels conversion, and biofuels end use, including fuels inventory, dispensing, distribution, fuel use, and the vehicle fleet. The BSM represents contextual aspects of the developing biofuels industry, including investment in new biomass to biofuel conversion technologies, competition from petroleum fuels, vehicle demand for biofuels, and various government policies, using all of these to simulate the development of the industry. The purpose of the BSM is to generate and explore plausible scenarios for the evolution of a biofuels industry in the United States, and as a high-level system model it is not designed for precise, quantitative forecasting. Instead, it is best used to (1) analyze and evaluate alternate policies; (2) generate scenarios; (3) identify high-impact levers and bottlenecks to system evolution; and (4) seed focused discussion among policymakers, analysts, and stakeholders.

Bush, Brian↗

NASA NTRS2001

NASA's Spaceliner 100 Investment Area Technology Activities

Hueter, Uwe↗

NASA NTRS2006

Tools for Tomorrow's Science and Technology Workforce: MATE's 2006 ROV Competition Sets Students' Sights on Ocean Observing Systems

Teams participating in the 2006 ROV competition organized by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society's (MTS) ROV Committee experienced first-hand the scientific and technical challenges that many ocean scientists, technicians, and engineers face every day. The competition tasked more than 1,000 middle and high school, college, and university students from Newfoundland to Hong Kong with designing and building ROVs to support the next generation of ocean observing systems. Teaming up with the National Office for Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observations, Ocean. US, and the Ocean Research Interactive Observatory Networks (ORION) Program, the competition highlighted ocean observing systems and the careers, organizations, and technologies associated with ocean observatories. The student teams were challenged to develop vehicles that can deploy, install, and maintain networks of instruments as well as to explore the practical applications and the research questions made possible by observing systems.

OCEANOGRAPHERS↗

NASA NTRS1988

OAST Technology for the Future. Executive Summary

NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) conducted a workshop on the In-Space Technology Experiments Program (IN-STEP) December 6-9, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of this workshop was to identify and prioritize space technologies which are critical for future national space programs and which require validation in the space environment. A secondary objective was to review the current NASA (In-Reach) and Industry/University (Out-Reach) experiments. Finally, the aerospace community was requested to review and comment on the proposed plans for the continuation of the In-Space Technology Experiments Program. In particular, the review included the proposed process for focusing the next experiment selection on specific, critical technologies and the process for implementing the hardware development and integration on the Space Shuttle vehicle. The product of the workshop was a prioritized listing of the critical space technology needs in each of eight technology disciplines. These listings were the cumulative recommendations of nearly 400 participants, which included researchers, technologists, and managers from aerospace industries, universities, and government organizations.

BMDO COLLECTION↗

NASA NTRS2001

An Approach to Establishing System Benefits for Technology in NASA's Hypersonics Investment Area

Hueter, Uwe↗

NASA NTRS2011

Launch Vehicle Demonstrator Using Shuttle Assets

The Marshall Space Flight Center Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) has the leading role for NASA s preliminary conceptual launch vehicle design and performance analysis. Over the past several years the ACO Earth-to-Orbit Team has evaluated thousands of launch vehicle concept variations for a multitude of studies including agency-wide efforts such as the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS), Constellation, Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV), Heavy Lift Propulsion Technology (HLPT), Human Exploration Framework Team (HEFT), and Space Launch System (SLS). NASA plans to continue human space exploration and space station utilization. Launch vehicles used for heavy lift cargo and crew will be needed. One of the current leading concepts for future heavy lift capability is an inline one and a half stage concept using solid rocket boosters (SRB) and based on current Shuttle technology and elements. Potentially, the quickest and most cost-effective path towards an operational vehicle of this configuration is to make use of a demonstrator vehicle fabricated from existing shuttle assets and relying upon the existing STS launch infrastructure. Such a demonstrator would yield valuable proof-of-concept data and would provide a working test platform allowing for validated systems integration. Using shuttle hardware such as existing RS-25D engines and partial MPS, propellant tanks derived from the External Tank (ET) design and tooling, and four-segment SRB s could reduce the associated upfront development costs and schedule when compared to a concept that would rely on new propulsion technology and engine designs. There are potentially several other additional benefits to this demonstrator concept. Since a concept of this type would be based on man-rated flight proven hardware components, this demonstrator has the potential to evolve into the first iteration of heavy lift crew or cargo and serve as a baseline for block upgrades. This vehicle could also serve as a demonstration and test platform for the Orion Program. Critical spacecraft systems, re-entry and recovery systems, and launch abort systems of Orion could also be demonstrated in early test flights of the launch vehicle demo. Furthermore, an early demonstrator of this type would provide a stop-gap for retaining critical human capital and infrastructure while affording the current emerging generation of young engineers opportunity to work with and capture lessons learned from existing STS program offices and personnel, who were integral in the design and development of the Space Shuttle before these resources are no longer available. The objective of this study is to define candidate launch vehicle demonstration concepts that are based on Space Shuttle assets and determine their performance capabilities and how these demonstration vehicles could evolve to a heavy lift capability to low earth orbit.

Threet, Grady E., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS2001

An Approach to Establishing System Benefits for Technologies In NASA's Spaceliner Investment Area

NASA's has established long term goals for access-to-space. The third generation launch systems are to be fully reusable and operational around 2025. The goals for the third generation launch system are to significantly reduce cost and improve safety over current systems. The Advanced Space Transportation Program Office (ASTP) at the NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL has the agency lead to develop space transportation technologies. Within ASTP, under the Spaceliner Investment Area, third generation technologies are being pursued. The Spaceliner Investment Area's primary objective is to mature vehicle technologies to enable substantial increases in the design and operating margins of third generation RLVs (current Space Shuttle is considered the first generation RLV) by incorporating advanced propulsion systems, materials, structures, thermal protection systems, power, and avionics technologies. Advancements in design tools and better characterization of the operational environment will result in reduced design and operational variabilities leading to improvements in margins. Improvements in operational efficiencies will be obtained through the introduction of integrated vehicle health management, operations and range technologies. Investments in these technologies will enable the reduction in the high operational costs associated with today's vehicles by allowing components to operate well below their design points resulting in improved component operating life, reliability, and safety which in turn reduces both maintenance and refurbishment costs. The introduction of advanced technologies may enable horizontal takeoff by significantly reducing the takeoff weight and allowing use of existing infrastructure. This would be a major step toward the goal of airline-like operation. These factors in conjunction with increased flight rates, resulting from reductions in transportation costs, will result in significant improvements of future vehicles. The real-world problem is that resources are limited and technologies need to be prioritized to assure the resources are spent on technologies that provide the highest system level benefits. Toward that end, a systems approach is being taken to determine the benefits of technologies for the Spaceliner Investment Area. Technologies identified to be enabling will be funded. However, the other technologies will be funded based on their system's benefits. Since the final launch system concept will not be decided for many years, several vehicle concepts are being evaluated to determine technology benefits. Not only performance, but also cost and operability are being assessed. This will become an annual process to assess these technologies against their goals and the benefits to various launch systems concepts. The paper describes the system process, tools and concepts used to determine the technology benefits. Preliminary results will be presented along with the current technology investments that are being made by ASTP's Spaceliner Investment Area.

Hueter, Uwe↗

NASA NTRS2005

Micro-Inspector Spacecraft for Space Exploration Missions

NASA is seeking to embark on a new set of human and robotic exploration missions back to the Moon, to Mars, and destinations beyond. Key strategic technical challenges will need to be addressed to realize this new vision for space exploration, including improvements in safety and reliability to improve robustness of space operations. Under sponsorship by NASA's Exploration Systems Mission, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), together with its partners in government (NASA Johnson Space Center) and industry (Boeing, Vacco Industries, Ashwin-Ushas Inc.) is developing an ultra-low mass (<3.0 kg) free-flying micro-inspector spacecraft in an effort to enhance safety and reduce risk in future human and exploration missions. The micro-inspector will provide remote vehicle inspections to ensure safety and reliability, or to provide monitoring of in-space assembly. The micro-inspector spacecraft represents an inherently modular system addition that can improve safety and support multiple host vehicles in multiple applications. On human missions, it may help extend the reach of human explorers, decreasing human EVA time to reduce mission cost and risk. The micro-inspector development is the continuation of an effort begun under NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology Enabling Concepts and Technology (ECT) program. The micro-inspector uses miniaturized celestial sensors; relies on a combination of solar power and batteries (allowing for unlimited operation in the sun and up to 4 hours in the shade); utilizes a low-pressure, low-leakage liquid butane propellant system for added safety; and includes multi-functional structure for high system-level integration and miniaturization. Versions of this system to be designed and developed under the H&RT program will include additional capabilities for on-board, vision-based navigation, spacecraft inspection, and collision avoidance, and will be demonstrated in a ground-based, space-related environment. These features make the micro-inspector design unique in its ability to serve crewed as well as robotic spacecraft, well beyond Earth-orbit and into arenas such as robotic missions, where human teleoperation capability is not locally available.

microspacecraft↗

NASA NTRS2004

ISS Asset Tracking Using SAW RFID Technology

A team at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is undergoing final preparations to test Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to track assets aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Currently, almost 10,000 U.S. items onboard the ISS are tracked within a database maintained by both the JSC ground teams and crew onboard the ISS. This barcode-based inventory management system has successfully tracked the location of 97% of the items onboard, but its accuracy is dependant on the crew to report hardware movements, taking valuable time away from science and other activities. With the addition of future modules, the volume of inventory to be tracked is expected to increase significantly. The first test of RFID technology on ISS, which will be conducted by the Expedition 16 crew later this year, will evaluate the ability of RFID technology to track consumable items. These consumables, which include office supplies and clothing, are regularly supplied to ISS and can be tagged on the ground. Automation will eliminate line-of-sight auditing requirements, directly saving crew time. This first step in automating an inventory tracking system will pave the way for future uses of RFID for inventory tracking in space. Not only are there immediate benefits for ISS applications, it is a crucial step to ensure efficient logistics support for future vehicles and exploration missions where resupplies are not readily available. Following a successful initial test, the team plans to execute additional tests for new technology, expanded operations concepts, and increased automation.

Schellhase, Amy↗

DOE OSTI2020

Charging and Repositioning Decision Making for Fully Automated Ride-Hailing Fleet

This is the presentation profile for 2020 DOE Vechicle Technologies Office Annual Merit Review. It introduces the research results in the project "Charging and Repositioning Decision Making for Fully Automated Ride-Hailing Fleet". These results come from the work of developing a framework for integrated dispatching and charging management of an autonomous electric vehicle ride-hailing fleet, and a case study in New York City was conducted to investigate the benefits of systematic optimization approach comparing to a heuristic approach.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS2010

Design and Testing of a Prototype Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSLRV)

This handbook describes a two-semester senior design course sponsored by the NASA Office of Education, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD), and the NASA Space Grant Consortium. The course was developed and implemented by the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department (MAE) at Utah State University. The course final outcome is a packaged senior design course that can be readily incorporated into the instructional curriculum at universities across the country. The course materials adhere to the standards of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), and is constructed to be relevant to key research areas identified by ESMD. The design project challenged students to apply systems engineering concepts to define research and training requirements for a terrestrial-based lunar landing simulator. This project developed a flying prototype for a Lunar or Planetary Surface Landing Research Vehicle (LPSRV). Per NASA specifications the concept accounts for reduced lunar gravity, and allows the terminal stage of lunar descent to be flown either by remote pilot or autonomously. This free-flying platform was designed to be sufficiently-flexible to allow both sensor evaluation and pilot training. This handbook outlines the course materials, describes the systems engineering processes developed to facilitate design fabrication, integration, and testing. This handbook presents sufficient details of the final design configuration to allow an independent group to reproduce the design. The design evolution and details regarding the verification testing used to characterize the system are presented in a separate project final design report. Details of the experimental apparatus used for system characterization may be found in Appendix F, G, and I of that report. A brief summary of the ground testing and systems verification is also included in Appendix A of this report. Details of the flight tests will be documented in a separate flight test report. This flight test report serves as a complement to the course handbook presented here. This project was extremely ambitious, and achieving all of the design and test objectives was a daunting task. The schedule ran slightly longer than a single academic year with the complete design closure not occurring until early April. Integration and verification testing spilled over into late May and the first flight did not occur until mid to late June. The academic year at Utah State University ended on May 8, 2010. Following the end of the academic year, testing and integration was performed by the faculty advisor, paid research assistants, and volunteer student help

Murphy, Gloria A.↗

NASA NTRS1963

ADVANCED VALVE TECHNOLOGY FOR SPACECRAFT ENGINES FINAL REPORT

This final report describes the work that was done to determine the state-of-the-art of valves required for space exploration vehicles and the steps that were taken to advance the technology. Interviews were held with personnel of major prime manufacturers to determine current problems and current and future requirements. Manufacturers were surveyed by mail to determine what equipment is presently being produced. An extensive search of patent office files was made to determine if any novel valve concepts not already applied to aerospace valves might exist. A literature search was conducted to provide the necessary technical information that was required for the program. Several extensive studies were made to determine the effects on materials resulting from use in space applications, and an investigation of the basic phenomena of valve seat wear was initiated. With the information developed in the surveys and studies, the significant problems associated with valves were identified and are described under "Discussion of Problems. " A novel valve concept was developed and a prototype valve was built and successfully tested. A seal compound of Teflon and stainless steel was developed which possesses superior cold flow characteristics while retaining the desirable properties of the basic Teflon material.

Spacecraft propulsion↗

NASA NTRS1981

Report on research and technology-FY 1981

More than 65 technical reports, papers, and articles published by personnel and contractors at the Dryden Flight Research Center are listed. Activities performed for the Offices of Aeronautics and Space Technology, Space and Terrestrial Applications, Space Transportation Systems, and Space Tracking and Data Systems are summarized. Preliminary stability and control derivatives were determined for the shuttle orbiter at hypersonic speeds from the data obtained at reentry. The shuttle tile tests, spin research vehicle nose shapes flight investigations, envelope expansion flights for the Ames tilt rotor research aircraft, and the AD-1 oblique wing programs were completed as well as the KC-135 winglet program.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2010

An Integrated, Evidence-Based Approach to Transitioning to Operations: Specifications for Future Replacement Lights on ISS

The International Space Station (ISS) currently uses General Luminaire Assemblies (GLAs) as its primary light source. These GLAs are composed of fluorescent lighting and are integrated into the electrical system on Station. Seventy seven of these units are distributed throughout the vehicle, and many of the lights, having reached their lifespan, are no longer functional; while backup panels are available on orbit, it is anticipated that the supplies of fluorescents on the station will be exhausted by 2015. The ISS vehicle office is therefore preparing to replace all of the GLAs, with Solid State Light Assemblies (SSLAs) composed of white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). In the Spring of 2010, an announcement for the replacement lights was released. The announcement specified that proposed lighting systems should use LED technology, given certain power draw restrictions and no changes to how the lights are currently controlled (a central on/off switch per node, and a dial to turn on/off and increase brightness on each lighting unit). The replacement lights are to follow current specifications for brightness levels (lux) and color temperature (degrees Kelvin, or K). Reportedly, the lighting on orbit is dim and suboptimal. The average brightness of the lights (given all lights within a node are operational) is 291 lux; by comparison, recommended office lighting ranges from 200 to 500 lux, and daylight ranges on a typical overcast day, consists of 10,000 to 25,000 lux. Representatives from NASA Behavioral Health and Performance Element (BHP) and Human Factors and Habitability identified that maintaining current brightness levels limits visual acuity, work space, and the use of light as a countermeasure for improving circadian entrainment, hastening phase shifting, evoking acute alertness and enhancing performance. Revised lighting specifications are therefore needed to optimize the replacement lights for the ISS.

Leveton, Lauren↗