Nondestructive testing of brazed rocket engine components.
Radiographic, ultrasonic, thermographic and leak test quality control for brazed liquid propellant rocket engine components
Adams, C.↗
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Results for “Control Rocket”
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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Study of vortex valve for medium temperature solid propellants
Fluid state vortex valve secondary injection control system shows considerable promise for future application to solid propellant rocket engine thrust vector control. The single axis injection system tested would be capable of providing secondary injection thrust vector control using 2000 deg F gas.
Holt, W. D.↗
Thrust-Vector-Control System
Control gains computed via matrix Riccati equation. Software-based system controlling aim of gimbaled rocket motor on spacecraft adaptive and optimal in sense it adjusts control gains in response to feedback, according to optimizing algorithm based on cost function. Underlying control concept also applicable, with modifications, to thrust-vector control on vertical-takeoff-and-landing airplanes, control of orientations of scientific instruments, and robotic control systems.
Murray, Jonathan↗
Reducing Bolt Preload Variation with Angle-of-Twist Bolt Loading
Critical high-pressure sealing joints on the Space Shuttle reusable solid rocket motor require precise control of bolt preload to ensure proper joint function. As the reusable solid rocket motor experiences rapid internal pressurization, correct bolt preloads maintain the sealing capability and structural integrity of the hardware. The angle-of-twist process provides the right combination of preload accuracy, reliability, process control, and assembly-friendly design. It improves significantly over previous methods. The sophisticated angle-of-twist process controls have yielded answers to all discrepancies encountered while the simplicity of the root process has assured joint preload reliability.
Thompson, Bryce↗
Fabrication and test of a flueric position servo Quarterly report, 10 Sep. - 10 Dec. 1965
Fabrication and testing of flueric pneumatic drum actuator for nuclear rocket engine
PNEUMATIC EQUIPMENT↗
Detection of meteoritic dust from a sounding rocket.
Meteoritic dust detection from sounding rocket, discussing sensor controls for real time data
Mcdonnell, J. A. M.↗
The location of the X-ray source in Vela.
X ray source in constellation Vela lying close to galactic plane observed by attitude controlled Aerobee 150 rocket
Gorenstein, P.↗
Examination of surfaces exposed to a noctilucent cloud, August 1, 1968
Noctilucent cloud particle size composition and origin from sounding rocket flight and control collecting surfaces
Blanchard, M. B.↗
SMS engineering design report
The engineering design for the Shuttle Missions Simulator is presented in sections, with each section representing a subsystem development activity. Subsystems covered include: electrical power system; mechanical power system; main propellant and external tank; solid rocket booster; reaction control system; orbital maneuvering system; guidance, navigation, and control; data processing system; mission control center interface; and image display system.
Source record↗
X-ray spectrometer spectrograph telescope system
A new sounding rocket payload that has been developed for X-ray spectroscopic studies of the solar corona is described. The instrument incorporates a grazing incidence Rowland mounted grating spectrograph and an extreme off-axis paraboloic sector feed system to isolate regions of the sun of order 1 x 10 arc seconds in size. The focal surface of the spectrograph is shared by photographic and photoelectric detection systems, with the latter serving as a part of the rocket pointing system control loop. Fabrication and alignment of the optical system is based on high precision machining and mechanical metrology techniques. The spectrograph has a resolution of 16 milliangstroms and modifications planned for future flights will improve the resolution to 5 milliangstroms, permitting line widths to be measured.
Bruner, E. C., Jr.↗
CFD evaluation of an advanced thrust vector control concept
A potential concept that can offer an alternate method for thrust vector control of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster is the use of a cylindrical probe that is inserted (on demand) through the wall of the rocket nozzle. This Probe Thrust Vector Control (PTVC) concept is an alternate to that of a gimbaled nozzle or a Liquid Injection Thrust Vector (LITVC) system. The viability of the PTVC concept can be assessed either experimentally and/or with the use of CFD. A purely experimental assessment can be time consuming and expensive, whereas a CFD assessment can be very time- and cost-effective. Two key requirements of the proposed concept are PTVC vectoring performance and the active cooling requirements for the probe to maintain its thermal and structural integrity. An active thermal cooling method is the injection of coolant around the pheriphery of the probe. How much coolant is required and how this coolant distributes itself in the flow field is of major concern. The objective of the work reported here is the use of CFD to answer these question and in the design of test hardware to substantiate the results of the CFD predictions.
Tiarn, Weihnurng↗
Experimental and theoretical comparison of the Probe Thrust Vector Control concept
A concept that offers an alternate method for thrust vector control of liquid or solid propellant rockets is the use of a solid body or probe that is inserted on demand through the wall of the rocket nozzle. This Probe Thrust Vector Control (PTVC) concept is an alternative to that of a gimbaled nozzle or a Liquid Injection Thrust Vector control system. The viability of the PTVC concept can be assessed either experimentally and/or with the use of CFD. A purely experimental assessment is time consuming and expensive, whereas a CFD assessment is time- and cost-effective. Two key requirements of the concept are PTVC vectoring performance and active cooling requirements for the probe to maintain its thermal and structural integrity. The objective of the work reported here is presentation of experimental subscale cold flow tests and comparison of these tests with CFD predictions and the response time of the PTVC system.
Cavalleri, Robert↗
An inverse dynamics approach to trajectory optimization and guidance for an aerospace plane
The optimal ascent problem for an aerospace planes is formulated as an optimal inverse dynamic problem. Both minimum-fuel and minimax type of performance indices are considered. Some important features of the optimal trajectory and controls are used to construct a nonlinear feedback midcourse controller, which not only greatly simplifies the difficult constrained optimization problem and yields improved solutions, but is also suited for onboard implementation. Robust ascent guidance is obtained by using combination of feedback compensation and onboard generation of control through the inverse dynamics approach. Accurate orbital insertion can be achieved with near-optimal control of the rocket through inverse dynamics even in the presence of disturbances.
Lu, Ping↗
Plum Brook facilities
The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: the Spacecraft Propulsion Research Research Facility (B-2); the Hydrogen Heat Transfer Facility (HHTF); the Rocket Dynamics and Control Facility (B-3); the Cryogenic Propellant Tank Site (K-Site); and the Space Power Facility (SPF).
Kozar, Robert↗
Experience with custom processors in space flight applications
The Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has developed a magnetometer instrument for a swedish satellite named Freja with launch scheduled for August 1992 on a Chinese Long March rocket. The magnetometer controller utilized a custom microprocessor designed at APL with the Genesil silicon compiler. The processor evolved from our experience with an older bit-slice design and two prior single chip efforts. The architecture of our microprocessor greatly lowered software development costs because it was optimized to provide an interactive and extensible programming environment hosted by the target hardware. Radiation tolerance of the microprocessor was also tested and was adequate for Freja's mission -- 20 kRad(Si) total dose and very infrequent latch-up and single event upset events.
Fraeman, M. E.↗
RTO Technical Publications: A Quarterly Listing
This is a listing of recent unclassified RTO technical publications for April 1, 2004 through June 30, 2004, processed by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information. Topics covered include: heat transfer and cooling in propulsion and power systems; assessment of operator functional state; microwaves; aerodynamics in solid rocket propulsion; command, control, communications and intelligence modeling; personal protective equipment against anti-personnel mine blast; and data fusion and visualization.
Source record↗
Autonomous Navigation Results from the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mission
In January, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission landed two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on the surface of Mars. Several autonomous navigation capabilities were employed in space for the first time in this mission. ]n the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) phase, both landers used a vision system called the, Descent Image Motion Estimation System (DIMES) to estimate horizontal velocity during the last 2000 meters (m) of descent, by tracking features on the ground with a downlooking camera, in order to control retro-rocket firing to reduce horizontal velocity before impact. During surface operations, the rovers navigate autonomously using stereo vision for local terrain mapping and a local, reactive planning algorithm called Grid-based Estimation of Surface Traversability Applied to Local Terrain (GESTALT) for obstacle avoidance. ]n areas of high slip, stereo vision-based visual odometry has been used to estimate rover motion, As of mid-June, Spirit had traversed 3405 m, of which 1253 m were done autonomously; Opportunity had traversed 1264 m, of which 224 m were autonomous. These results have contributed substantially to the success of the mission and paved the way for increased levels of autonomy in future missions.
autonomous↗
Multi-Mission Earth Vehicle Subsonic Dynamic Stability Testing and Analyses
Multi-Mission Earth Entry Vehicles (MMEEVs) are blunt-body vehicles designed with the purpose of transporting payloads from outer space to the surface of the Earth. To achieve high-reliability and minimum weight, MMEEVs avoid use of limited-reliability systems, such as parachutes, retro-rockets, and reaction control systems and rely on the natural aerodynamic stability of the vehicle throughout the Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) phase of flight. The Multi-Mission Systems Analysis for Planetary Entry (M-SAPE) parametric design tool is used to facilitate the design of MMEEVs for an array of missions and develop and visualize the trade space. Testing in NASA Langley?s Vertical Spin Tunnel (VST) was conducted to significantly improve M-SAPE?s subsonic aerodynamic models. Vehicle size and shape can be driven by entry flight path angle and speed, thermal protection system performance, terminal velocity limitations, payload mass and density, among other design parameters. The objectives of the VST testing were to define usable subsonic center of gravity limits, and aerodynamic parameters for 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) simulations, for a range of MMEEV designs. The range of MMEEVs tested was from 1.8m down to 1.2m diameter. A backshell extender provided the ability to test a design with a much larger payload for the 1.2m MMEEV.
Glaab, Louis J.↗