FACILITIES FOR MANNED SPACECRAFT DEVELOPMENT- FLIGHT OPERATIONS FACILITIES
Description of available and planned ground support facilities for manned spaceflights
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Description of available and planned ground support facilities for manned spaceflights
Modification, major overhaul, repair, and instrument calibration of equipment used in cryogenic irradiation facility at Plum Brook reactor installation
Facility modification plan for testing 260-inch diameter solid rocket engine
Cost optimization for 260-inch diameter solid rocket engine test facility
Preliminary research requirements analysis and design and cost synthesis of ground research facilities for hypersonic aircraft
Parameteric research requirements analysis and synthesis of ground research facilities for hypersonic aircraft
Analysis of ground research facilities for hypersonic aircraft
Summary of analyses on research requirements and research facilities for hypersonic aircraft
Scientific requirements for the Spacelab Ultraviolet-Optical Telescope (SUOT) facility are presented. Specific programs involving high angular resolution imagery over wide fields, far ultraviolet spectroscopy, precisely calibrated spectrophotometry and spectropolarimetry over a wide wavelength range, and planetary studies, including high resolution synoptic imagery, are recommended. Specifications for the mounting configuration, instruments for the mounting configuration, instrument mounting system, optical parameters, and the pointing and stabilization system are presented. Concepts for the focal plane instruments are defined. The functional requirements of the direct imaging camera, far ultraviolet spectrograph, and the precisely calibrated spectrophotometer are detailed, and the planetary camera concept is outlined. Operational concepts described in detail are: the makeup and functions of shuttle payload crew, extravehicular activity requirements, telescope control and data management, payload operations control room, orbital constraints, and orbital interfaces (stabilization, maneuvering requirements and attitude control, contamination, utilities, and payload weight considerations).
The technical characteristics of the Atmospheric Sciences Research Facility, the improvements being made to the instrumentation there which will enhance its usefulness in atmospheric research, and several of the on-going research programs are described. Among the area of atmospheric research discussed are clouds and precipitation, lightning, ozone, wind, and storms. Meteorological instruments including Doppler radar, spectrophotometers, and ozone sensors are mentioned. Atmospheric research relevant to aircraft design and COMSTAR communication satellites is briefly discussed.
The purpose of this requirements document is to develop the foundation for concept development for the Life Sciences Research Facility (LSRF) on the Space Station. These requirements are developed from the perspective of a Space Station laboratory module outfitter. Science and mission requirements including those related to specimens are set forth. System requirements, including those for support, are detailed. Functional and design requirements are covered in the areas of structures, mechanisms, electrical power, thermal systems, data management system, life support, and habitability. Finally, interface requirements for the Command Module and Logistics Module are described.
The inventory activity was initiated to solve the critical need for a single source of site specific descriptive and parametric data on major public and privately held aeronautics and aerospace related facilities. This a challenging undertaking due to the scope of the effort and the short lead time in which to assemble the inventory and have it available to support the task group study needs. The inventory remains dynamic as sites are being added and the data is accessed and refined as the study progresses. The inventory activity also included the design and implementation of a computer database and analytical tools to simplify access to the data. This volume describes the steps which were taken to define the data requirements, select sites, and solicit and acquire data from them. A discussion of the inventory structure and analytical tools is also provided.
The Facility Study Office (FSO) has completed its assigned activities. The results of the FSO efforts, studies, and assessments are documented. An overview of the FSO activities as well as a general comparison of all concepts considered are provided. Detailed information is also provided for the selected concept, Concept D-Option 5. Only findings are presented. The FSO developed recommendations only as a consequence of assumptions for cost and schedule assessments.
The Ames Arc Jet Complex has a rich heritage of over 40 years in Thermal Protection System (TPS) development for every NASA Space Transportation and Planetary program, including Apollo, Space Shuttle, Viking, Pioneer-Venus, Galileo, Mars Pathfinder,Stardust, NASP,X-33,X-34,SHARP-B1 and B2,X-37 and Mars Exploration Rovers. With this early TPS history came a long heritage in the development of the arc jet facilities. These are used to simulate the aerodynamic heating that occurs on the nose cap, wing leading edges and on other areas of the spacecraft requiring thermal protection. TPS samples have been run in the arc jets from a few minutes to over an hour,from one exposure to multiple exposures of the same sample, in order t o understand the TPS materials response to a hot gas flow environment (representative of real hyperthermal environments experienced in flight). The Ames Arc l e t Complex is a key enabler for customers involved in the three major areas of TPS development: selection, validation, and qualification. The arc jet data are critical for validating TPS thermal models, heat shield designs and repairs, and ultimately for flight qualification.
This slide presentation reviews the construction of a test facility for the Mars Science Laboratory landing on Mars.
The Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL) has undertaken a developmental Touchdown Test Program that utilizes a full-scale rover vehicle and an overhead winch system to replicate the skycrane landing event. Landing surfaces consisting of flat and sloped granular media, planar, rigid surfaces, and various combinations of rocks and slopes were studied. Information gathered from these tests was vital for validating the rover analytical model, validating certain design or system behavior assumptions, and for exploring events and phenomenon that are either very difficult or too costly to model in a credible way. This paper describes this test program, with a focus on the creation of test facility, daily test operations, and some of the challenges faced and lessons learned along the way.
Polar-drive (PD) experiments on the OMEGA [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] laser are described. Continuous pulse shapes, where a low-power foot is followed by a rise to the main pulse, and triple-picket pulse shapes, where three pickets precede the main pulse, are used to irradiate warm plastic shell capsules. Both of these pulse shapes set the target on a low, ignition-relevant adiabat of ∼3.5. The areal density is modeled very well in these implosions indicating that shock timing is well modeled in PD geometry. It is shown that the symmetry can be predictably varied by changing the beam pointings. Symmetry is also well reproduced across the two pulse shapes. Limitations of OMEGA experiments are discussed. Preliminary designs for PD implosion experiments on the NIF, with the goal of addressing ignition-relevant issues for PD, including symmetry are presented.
The fission product, 99 Tc, presents significant challenges to the long-term disposal of nuclear waste due to its long half-life, high fission yield, and to the environmental mobility of pertechnetate (TcO 4 – ), the stable Tc species in aerobic environments. Here, the migration of 99 Tc from disposal sites can potentially be prevented by incorporating it into durable waste forms based on environmentally stable minerals.