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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

SSP‐Based Land‐Use Change Scenarios: A Critical Uncertainty in Future Regional Climate Change Projections

Abstract To better understand the role projected land‐use changes (LUCs) may play in future regional climate projections, we assess the combined effects of greenhouse‐gas (GHG)‐forced climate change and LUCs in regional climate model (RCM) simulations. To do so, we produced RCM simulations that are complementary to the North‐American Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment (NA‐CORDEX) simulations, but with future LUCs that are consistent with particular Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and related to a specific Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP). We examine the state of the climate at the end of the 21st century with and without two urban and agricultural LUC scenarios that follow SSP3 and SSP5 using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model forced by one global climate model, the MPI‐ESM, under the RCP8.5 scenario. We find that LUCs following different societal trends under the SSPs can significantly affect climate projections in different ways. In regions of significant cropland expansion over previously forested area, projected annual mean temperature increases are diminished by around 0.5°C–1.0°C. Across all seasons, where urbanization is high, projected temperature increases are magnified. In particular, summer mean temperature projections are up to 4°C–5°C greater and minimum and maximum temperature projections are increased by 2.5°C–6°C, amounts that are on par with the warming due to GHG‐forced climate change. Warming is also enhanced in the urban surroundings. Future urbanization also has a large influence on precipitation projections during summer, increasing storm intensity, event length, and the overall amount over urbanized areas, and decreasing precipitation in surrounding areas.

Bukovsky, Melissa S.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Spectroscopic quantification of projection effects in the SDSS redMaPPer galaxy cluster catalogue

ABSTRACT Projection effects, whereby galaxies along the line of sight to a galaxy cluster are mistakenly associated with the cluster halo, present a significant challenge for optical cluster cosmology. We use statistically representative spectral coverage of luminous galaxies to investigate how projection effects impact the low-redshift limit of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) redMaPPer galaxy cluster catalogue. Spectroscopic redshifts enable us to differentiate true cluster members from false positives and determine the fraction of candidate cluster members viewed in projection. Our main results can be summarized as follows: first, we show that a simple double-Gaussian model can be used to describe the distribution of line-of-sight velocities in the redMaPPer sample; secondly, the incidence of projection effects is substantial, accounting for ∼16 per cent of the weighted richness for the lowest richness objects; thirdly, projection effects are a strong function of richness, with the contribution in the highest richness bin being several times smaller than for low-richness objects; fourthly, our measurement has a similar amplitude to state-of-the-art models, but finds a steeper dependence of projection effects on richness than these models; and fifthly, the slope of the observed velocity dispersion–richness relation, corrected for projection effects, implies an approximately linear relationship between the true, three-dimensional halo mass and three-dimensional richness. Our results provide a robust, empirical description of the impact of projection effects on the SDSS redMaPPer cluster sample and exemplify the synergies between optical imaging and spectroscopic data for studies of galaxy cluster astrophysics and cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Bias Correction and Statistical Downscaling of Future Solar Irradiance Projections Using the NSRDB

Assessing renewable energy resources under future climate scenarios has been highlighted to understand potential impacts of future climate change in renewable generation on the power sector. Climate model projection has been recognized by the renewable energy community as a useful data set to analyze the impacts of future climate change on renewable resources. However, future climate projections generated from general circulation models (GCMs) contain inherent biases that need to be corrected for accurate analysis of future projections of climate variables. In addition, the coarse spatiotemporal resolution of GCMs needs to be improved for regional climate studies. In this work, we develop statistical methods to downscale future projections of global horizontal irradiance (GHI) in a computationally efficient way. Our approach builds statistical downscaling models that correct bias of climate projection of GHI and downscale the future GHI projection from daily-scale to hourly-scale. The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) is used to calibrate the statistical models and validate the downscaled GHI projections across the contiguous United State (CONUS). Preliminary results show that the statistical approach efficiently downscales climate projections of GHI with a nBIAS of 3%, nMAE of 34 % and nRMSE of 46% calculated against NSRDB for CONUS. This study describes the implemented methodology and initial results as well as future research to create high-resolution climate data sets for solar energy applications.

analytical models↗
DOE OSTI2020

Annual Scientific Focus Area Report for the Energy Exascale Earth System Model Project: Phase II

The project's long-term goal is to assert and maintain an international scientific leadership position in the development of Earth system models that address the grand challenge of actionable predictions of Earth system variability and change, with an emphasis on the most critical scientific questions facing the nation and DOE. The grand challenge will be addressed by overcoming three major limitations: Pushing the high-resolution frontier of Earth system modeling through a combination of strategic model development and computational advances targeting exascale computers and beyond. Bridging the gap in scales and processes by developing a new class of models that couple the natural, managed, and man-made systems across scales to address energy sector vulnerability to variability and change. The project will achieve its goal through four intersecting project elements: A series of prediction and simulation experiments addressing scientific questions and mission needs; A well-documented and tested, continuously advancing, evolving, and improving system of model codes that comprise the E3SM Earth system model; The ability to use effectively leading (and “bleeding”) edge computational facilities soon after their deployment at DOE national laboratories; and An infrastructure to support code development, hypothesis testing, simulation execution, and analysis of results. To achieve the Grand Challenge of actionable Earth system predictions to address the most critical scientific questions facing our nation and DOE, the E3SM project defined its strategy in a fifteen-year roadmap with four intersecting project elements: A series of prediction and simulation experiments addressing scientific questions and mission needs; A well-documented and tested, continuously advancing, evolving, and improving system of model codes that comprise the E3SM Earth system model ; The ability to use effectively leading (and “bleeding”) edge computational facilities soon after their deployment at DOE national laboratories; and An infrastructure to support code development, hypothesis testing, simulation execution, and analysis of results. Figure 1 depicts the E3SM Project Roadmap, showing the relationships among the first three major project elements: the simulations, the modeling system to perform those simulations, and the machines on which they will be executed. Unlike the other three elements that have distinct but overlapping phases, the fourth element, the infrastructure, will evolve continuously based on the requirements imposed by project needs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Comparing Offshore Wind Energy Procurement and Project Revenue Sources Across U.S. States

The pace of offshore wind energy procurement in the United States has rapidly accelerated in recent years. U.S. states along the Atlantic Coast have set procurement goals for offshore wind energy to meet renewable portfolio standards and serve state policy needs. By the end of 2019, projects with a total capacity of 6.4 gigawatts (GW) had established long-term contracts (or equivalent regulatory requirements) with utility off-takers. The prices established in these contracts since 2017 have been well below expectations from many industry observers, prompting stakeholders to compare price levels across U.S. states and globally. However, comparing procurement prices across projects and jurisdictions is often challenging because of differences in project parameters, support regimes, supply chains, and the applicable tax and regulatory environment. These characteristics provide critical context for understanding project revenue streams, delivery obligations, and risk allocation, which need to be accounted for when comparing across different projects. In combination, variation in these characteristics between projects results in measurable differences in project costs and revenues and, consequently, in different offer bids. In this report, we systematically analyze offshore wind energy support regimes across U.S. states. Because offshore wind energy procurement prices from U.S. projects are often compared not only among states but also with European tenders, this report also provides an overview of support regimes and taxonomy used in European offshore wind markets. The content of this report was derived from a literature review, primarily regulatory filings and summary reports, and 16 interviews with leading industry experts from state agencies, energy sector consultancies, and law practices. The comparison between U.S. states focuses on several dimensions, including statutory authority, solicitation procedures, procurement goals and awards, and the structuring of physical and transactional delivery of energy services.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy Storage Financing: Project and Portfolio Valuation

This study investigates the issues and challenges surrounding energy storage project and portfolio valuation and provide insights in to improving visibility into the process for developers, capital providers, and customers so they can make more informed choices. Energy storage project valuation methodology is typical of power sector projects through evaluating various revenue and cost assumptions in a project economic model. The difference is that energy storage projects have many more design and operational variables to incorporate, and the governing market rules that control these variables are still evolving. This makes project valuation for energy storage more difficult. As the number of operating projects grow, portfolios of these projects are being developed, garnering the interest of larger investors. Valuation challenges of these portfolios can be even more challenging as market role and geographical diversity can actually exacerbate the variability, not mitigate it. By proposing additional visibility of key factors and drivers for industry participants, the US DOE can reduce investment risk, expanding both the number and types of investors, plus helping emerging energy storage technology into sustained commercialization.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

DARHT : Enduring Lessons from a Technical Project in a National Laboratory Context [Slides]

The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is the world’s first flash x-ray facility able to take multiple high-resolution radiographs of the interior features of fast-moving dense objects during a single experiment. DARHT’s radiography and complimentary diagnostics makes it an important diagnostic tool in support of the US Department of Energy’s (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s stewardship of the US nuclear deterrent. The project to construct DARHT ran from 1988 through 2003. Initial Operating Capability along a single axis began in 1999. A technical issue delayed Critical Decision 4 for the full dual-axis capability until 2008. DARHT was characterized by several directed changes resulting from an environmental impact study, changes to the global security context resulting from the end of underground nuclear testing, and rapid evolution of applicable technology. Conventional building and lab-space construction were part of the project, but the project was dominated by Special Facility Equipment that, together with the mission to support the nuclear weapons program, required the project to be completed by national laboratories. Although the project pre-dated implementation of DOE Order 413.3, several important lessons for national laboratory projects remain applicable today and will be discussed here, including projects appropriate for the national laboratory environment, scope stability, risk acceptance and mitigation, communication, and collaboration. Finally, considerations for DOE contractor project managers are offered based upon the DARHT experience.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Systematic Framework for Projecting the Future Cost of Offshore Wind Energy

Offshore wind costs are expected to decline rapidly in the short and medium term future as the industry grows and gains experience in manufacturing, installing, and operating commercial scale projects. Estimating the future costs of offshore wind energy is critical for evaluating the technology's economic performance, how it can fit into a broader clean energy economy, and how R&D investment can be allocated to advance the technology. We present a newly developed approach for forecasting these costs which focuses on an empirically-derived learning rate for capital costs and prescribed cost and performance improvements for operational costs and capacity factor. We establish baseline costs for a series of reference fixed-bottom and floating projects in 2021 and project cost trajectories to 2035, presenting both an average cost trajectory as well as describing the range of potential future costs associated with site-specific cost variations and uncertainty in the estimate of the learning rate. We also conduct sensitivity analyses showing the impact of different global deployments by 2035 and variations in the prescribed operational costs and capacity factors. The results show that fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind capital costs could decrease to around $\$$2,400/kW and $\$$3,300/kW by 2035, respectively, with ranges of $\$$2,100/kW - $\$$2,750/kW for fixed-bottom projects and $\$$2,850/kW - $\$$5,500/kW for floating projects. The levelized cost of energy of fixed-bottom and floating wind projects could decrease to $\$$53.1/MWh and $\$$63.9/MWh by 2035, with ranges of $\$$48.4/MWh - $\$$59.7/MWh for fixed-bottom projects and $\$$46.5/MWh - $\$$99.9/MWh for floating projects. By presenting the uncertainty associated with the forecast we provide a transparent description of the spectrum of potential cost trajectories for offshore wind.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of Low-Cost, High-Performance, Easy-To-Apply, Non-Flammable, Inorganic Phase Change Material (PCM) Technology (Project Final Report)

This report describes a 45-months long research program focused on the development of novel, easy-to-apply, non-flammable, and high-performance inorganic phase change materials (PCMs) for building and industrial applications. The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) formed a world-class team consisting of researchers form InsolCorp (only N. American manufacturer of inorganic PCM systems for building applications), and a group of industrial advisors, to develop a universal/multipurpose, simple-to-manufacture and cost-effective PCM technology. The project team expects that the results of this work will spur in the future the adoption of thermal storage materials – a key building energy saving technology as identified by DOE BTO – for a variety of building envelope applications. The main goal of this project was to demonstrate a suite of low-cost, multipurpose, and durable inorganic PCM formulations with phase transition temperatures encompassing typical building applications (between +5 o C and +55 o C). The first objective was to design, fabricate, and experimentally validate a performance of inexpensive, durable, highly efficient, non-flammable, and easy to manufacture PCMs. To allow a variety of building applications, the project team focused on formulations that exhibit repeatable phase transitions between +5 o C and +55 o C. To follow the DOE BTO cost efficiency target without compromising thermal performance, our work was based on inorganic compounds (mostly salt hydrates) and their blends, which represent a fraction of the cost of most of organic PCMs with about twice as high density as well as significantly higher thermal conductivity and phase change enthalpy. The second objective was to develop easy-to-manufacture and -install packaging/encapsulation designs that are 1) a superior barrier to current state-of-the-art macro-packaging, which significantly reduces the risk of loss of hydration water and PCM leak, and 2) optimal in enhancing the heat exchange rates with the surroundings and within the PCM core to ensure complete charging/discharging of the entire PCM within the product. Finally, the project’s intend was to scale-up the fabrication process to demonstrate installation on system-scale applications, and to validate the performance under field conditions. This work aimed at developing low-cost, high-energy storage, and reliable latent heat storage technology for building applications. This development was realized by formulating and integrating the following two technology components: 1) inorganic salt hydrate based PCMs that have high latent enthalpies and are low-cost and durable, and 2) PCM encapsulation (packaging) technology that maximizes PCM concentration and enhances heat transport characteristics in the product and with the external environment/materials. High thermal storage capacity, low cost and fire resistance are key to the building market entry for PCM technology. Therefore, the project’s focus was on salt-hydrate-based formulations which satisfy all these criteria. Packaging and/or encapsulation of PCM is a key processing step. The project team recognized that a low-cost and simple-to-manufacture salt hydrate-based PCM technology holds the best chance to be successful in the building construction market, a market which is traditionally extremely sensitive to cost and where commodity thermal insulations are the benchmark for envelope-related energy saving measures. That is why, in this project, the main intention was to minimize the production cost and maximize the product energy storage density without sacrificing the PCM performance. It was achieved through: 1. Minimizing the non-PCM components (plastics, additives, packaging/encapsulation materials, etc.) because they are significantly more expensive than salt hydrates, 2. Using highly thermally conductive and lightweight PCM carrier (packaging material) to facilitate more complete phase cycling, and 3. Optimizing the thickness and minimizing air spaces in product design (such as in pouched PCM). For this purpose, our approach was to enable an easy system design, including selection of the PCM operating temperatures, optimizing the necessary heat storage capacity (by stacking together several layers of PCM products), and if needed, a synchronized usage of PCM products of different temperatures. A specially designed, robust, highly thermally conducting and highly impermeable packaging (to retain salt hydrate water during phase transition cycles) was designed and tested to increase the overall system thermal performance and durability. All PCM products developed during this project were tested in both lab scale and in full scale field conditions. It is expected that, after further developments and commercialization, the developed PCM technologies may be also applied in space conditioning, energy storage technologies, and heat transfer applications.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

CarbonSAFE Phase II: Optimizing Alabama’s CO 2 Storage in Shelby County, Alabama (Project OASIS), Milestone M3 - Site Specific Drilling Report

The Phase II Storage Complex Feasibility project, entitled "Optimizing Alabama's CO 2 Storage in Shelby County, Alabama (Project OASIS)," is a part of the DOE/NETL's CarbonSAFE initiative. The Project is managed by the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), and includes participation from Advanced Resources International, Inc. (ARI), Crescent Resource Innovation, Southern Company, Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, and Oklahoma State University. Project OASIS is working to establish the foundation for a commercial-scale geologic storage complex for CO 2 captured from Plant Gaston (home of the National Carbon Capture Center) and surrounding industrial sources of CO 2 located in Shelby County, Alabama. The Project objectives are: • Demonstrate that the subsurface saline formations at the storage complex can store commercial volumes of CO 2 safely and permanently. • Develop a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan. • Develop the infrastructure framework for a CO 2 storage hub. • Develop a rigorous risk registry and to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment. • Develop a monitoring plan. • Develop a comprehensive site characterization plan to support an Underground Injection Control Class VI Permit in a future Phase III program. • Evaluate the commercial viability of the project. Project OASIS is about 30 miles southeast of Birmingham, Alabama within a geologic province called the Valley and Ridge (Figure 1.1). The Valley and Ridge Province comprises a sequence of Paleozoic carbonate and clastic rocks that underwent structural deformation during the Alleghanian Orogeny. Storage prospects occur in relatively flat lying structural panels located between thrust faults. Available geologic studies related to hydrocarbon exploration suggest that Cambro-Ordovician carbonates and Cambrian clastic units offer multiple potential storage intervals, and that regional confining systems are present, such as the tectonically thickened Floyd-Parkwood Shale. The surface property is owned by a timber and land stewardship company, The Westervelt Company, Inc., who worked with the Project Team to select and prepare adequate sites for geologic assessment. The purpose of drilling the Westover Stratigraphic Test Well #2 was to collect geologic data to model the feasibility of commercial scale CO 2 injection and storage. This includes geological and geophysical evaluations, reservoir engineering analyses, and risk assessments.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final DOE-ASR Report for the Project “Using LASSO to bridge the gap between model and observations and to learn about atmospheric convection”

Atmospheric convection spans a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and involves complex interactions with the surrounding dynamic and thermodynamic environment, particularly over tropical continental regions. These processes remain a major source of uncertainty in weather and climate models, including persistent biases in the diurnal cycle of convective precipitation that directly affect estimates of climate sensitivity. Addressing these challenges requires the combined use of high-resolution observations and cloud-resolving modeling frameworks. In this context, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Large-Eddy Simulation ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) activity provides a powerful platform that pairs comprehensive observations with numerical simulations to enable process-level understanding of atmospheric convection. Within this context, this Research and Development Partnership Pilot (RDPP) project was designed to initiate and expand DOE ARM/ASR research capacity at minority-serving institutions, while advancing scientific understanding of convective processes over the Amazon rainforest. Consistent with the RDPP mission, the project emphasized partnership development, training, and workforce capacity building alongside exploratory research activities. On the scientific side, the project produced two peer-reviewed journal articles, and one manuscript currently under review (see list in section 3.1). Together, these studies combine long-term ARM observations and cloud-resolving and convection-permitting modeling to investigate the environmental controls on the shallow-to-deep convective transition during the Amazon wet season. The results demonstrate the central role of early-day moisture preconditioning and large-scale dynamical forcing in regulating isolated deep convection, provide mechanistic insight into convective evolution, and establish physically informed modeling frameworks for future sensitivity experiments. These scientific outcomes are described in sections 2.1 to 2.3 and were disseminated in 8 conference presentations (see section 3.2) and 5 invited talks (see section 3.3), reflecting broad engagement with our community. Equally important, the project achieved its RDPP capacity-building objectives (see section 2.4). A sustained research partnership was established among the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Morgan State University (MSU), and Howard University (HU), and extended to include collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The project organized multiple multi-day training events focused on ARM data, LASSO simulations, and quantitative analysis methods, directly engaging students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty across institutions. These activities broadened participation in ASR research and led to independent adoption of LASSO workflows by students beyond the immediate project team. Finally, the project successfully positioned the participating institutions to pursue future DOE research. Preliminary scientific results, coupled with strengthened partnerships and technical capacity, enabled the submission of follow-on proposals to DOE ASR funding opportunities. In this way, the project fulfilled the RDPP goal of seeding durable research capacity and laying the foundation for larger-scale, sustained engagement with DOE ARM and ASR programs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Empirical Estimation of the Energy Impacts of Projects Installed through Residential Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing Programs in California

We examine the energy use impacts of energy efficiency and solar PV projects financed by residential property assessed clean energy (R-PACE) programs in California. We leverage household-level interval meter data to apply normalized metered energy consumption (NMEC) methods at significant scale—more than 25,000 electric meters and more than 15,000 gas meters. We develop a comparison group to account for non-project-related changes in usage. The projects include homes that replaced existing HVAC equipment with higher-efficiency units and homes that installed central heating or air conditioning equipment for the first time. We have limited information on pre-project household equipment stock so we develop a method to infer new installations. We find that projects that installed energy efficiency technologies reduce electricity consumption by approximately 3% and gas consumption by approximately 3.5% on average. When we remove homes that installed new cooling and heating equipment for the first time, savings rise to approximately 5% for electricity and approximately 6% for gas. Given the California climate and the results of an existing study of similar California projects, these results are in line with expectations. Solar PV projects produce electricity that offsets approximately 69% of household electricity consumption on average. We estimate that California R-PACE projects installed through the end of 2019 produce annual reductions in grid-tied electricity consumption of 506 GWh (equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 74,000 California households) and gas consumption reductions of 2 million therms (equivalent to the gas consumption of approximately 4700 California households) in a typical weather year.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Probabilistic projections of the Amery Ice Shelf catchment, Antarctica, under conditions of high ice-shelf basal melt

Abstract. Antarctica's Lambert Glacier drains about one-sixth of the ice from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and is considered stable due to the strong buttressing provided by the Amery Ice Shelf. While previous projections of the sea-level contribution from this sector of the ice sheet have predicted significant mass loss only with near-complete removal of the ice shelf, the ocean warming necessary for this was deemed unlikely. Recent climate projections through 2300 indicate that sufficient ocean warming is a distinct possibility after 2100. This work explores the impact of parametric uncertainty on projections of the response of the Lambert–Amery system (hereafter “the Amery sector”) to abrupt ocean warming through Bayesian calibration of a perturbed-parameter ice-sheet model ensemble. We address the computational cost of uncertainty quantification for ice-sheet model projections via statistical emulation, which employs surrogate models for fast and inexpensive parameter space exploration while retaining critical features of the high-fidelity simulations. To this end, we build Gaussian process (GP) emulators from simulations of the Amery sector at a medium resolution (4–20 km mesh) using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS)-Albany Land Ice (MALI) model. We consider six input parameters that control basal friction, ice stiffness, calving, and ice-shelf basal melting. From these, we generate 200 perturbed input parameter initializations using space filling Sobol sampling. For our end-to-end probabilistic modeling workflow, we first train emulators on the simulation ensemble and then calibrate the input parameters using observations of the mass balance, grounding line movement, and calving front movement with priors assigned via expert knowledge. Next, we use MALI to project a subset of simulations to 2300 using ocean and atmosphere forcings from a climate model for both low- and high-greenhouse-gas-emission scenarios. From these simulation outputs, we build multivariate emulators by combining GP regression with principal component dimension reduction to emulate multivariate sea-level contribution time series data from the MALI simulations. We then use these emulators to propagate uncertainty from model input parameters to predictions of glacier mass loss through 2300, demonstrating that the calibrated posterior distributions have both greater mass loss and reduced variance compared to the uncalibrated prior distributions. Parametric uncertainty is large enough through about 2130 that the two projections under different emission scenarios are indistinguishable from one another. However, after rapid ocean warming in the first half of the 22nd century, the projections become statistically distinct within decades. Overall, this study demonstrates an efficient Bayesian calibration and uncertainty propagation workflow for ice-sheet model projections and identifies the potential for large sea-level rise contributions from the Amery sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet after 2100 under high-greenhouse-gas-emission scenarios.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1971

System Definition Phase and Acquisition Phase Project Plan for Small Astronomy Satellite SAS-D

This Project Plan for the Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-D) is Goddard Space Flight Center's plan for accomplishing the project. It is issued in compliance with NASA Handbook NHB 7121.2 and NMI 7120.1, dated May 4, 1970, Subject: Approval and Implementation of Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) Research and Development (R&D) Projects. The Project Plan, as approved by GSFC executive management and NASA Headquarters, is the project manager's charter and defines his specific plan of action. System definition phase activities of the SAS-D Project will be a continuation of the analytical work that established the overall feasibility of the project. The system concept derived from that analytical work is defined in the Phase A (Mission Definition Phase) technical report. System definition phase activities will include detailed engineering analysis and preliminary breadboarding necessary to establish a single project approach from the feasible approaches. This document will be revised at the end of the system definition phase to provide greater detail on acquisition phase planning and to specify a specific system design.

Donald A Krueger↗
NASA NTRS1971

Modular space station Phase B extension preliminary performance specification. Volume 2: Project

The four systems of the modular space station project are described, and the interfaces between this project and the shuttle project, the tracking and data relay satellite project, and an arbitrarily defined experiment project are defined. The experiment project was synthesized from internal experiments, detached research and application modules, and attached research and application modules to derive a set of interface requirements which will support multiple combinations of these elements expected during the modular space station mission. The modular space station project element defines a 6-man orbital program capable of growth to a 12-man orbital program capability. The modular space station project element specification defines the modular space station system, the premission operations support system, the mission operations support system, and the cargo module system and their interfaces.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1993

Design of components for the NASA OCEAN project

The goal of the Fall 1993 semester of the EGM 4000 class was to design, fabricate, and test components for the 'Ocean CELSS Experimental Analog NASA' Project (OCEAN Project) and to aid in the future development of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). The OCEAN project's specific aims are to place a human, Mr. Dennis Chamberland from NASA's Life Science Division of Research, into an underwater habitat off the shore of Key Largo, FL for three months. During his stay, he will monitor the hydroponic growth of food crops and evaluate the conditions necessary to have a successful harvest of edible food. The specific designs chosen to contribute to the OCEAN project by the EGM 4000 class are in the areas of hydroponic habitat monitoring, human health monitoring, and production of blue/green algae. The hydroponic monitoring system focused on monitoring the environment of the plants. This included the continuous sensing of the atmospheric and hydroponic nutrient solution temperatures. Methods for monitoring the continuous flow of the hydroponic nutrient solution across the plants and the continuous supply of power for these sensing devices were also incorporated into the design system. The human health monitoring system concentrated on continuously monitoring various concerns of the occupant in the underwater living habitat of the OCEAN project. These concerns included monitoring the enclosed environment for dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and smoke, high temperatures from fire, and the ceasing of the continuous airflow into the habitat. The blue/green algae project emphasized both the production and harvest of a future source of food. This project did not interact with any part of the OCEAN project. Rather, it was used to show the possibility of growing this kind of algae as a supplemental food source inside a controlled ecological life support system.

Wright, Jenna↗
NASA NTRS1993

Support of an Active Science Project by a Large Information System: Lessons for the EOS Era

The ability of large information systems to support the changing data requirements of active science projects is being tested in a NASA collaborative study. This paper briefly profiles both the active science project and the large information system involved in this effort and offers some observations about the effectiveness of the project support. This is followed by lessons that are important for those participating in large information systems that need to support active science projects or that make available the valuable data produced by these projects. We learned in this work that it is difficult for a large information system focused on long term data management to satisfy the requirements of an on-going science project. For example, in order to provide the best service, it is important for all information system staff to keep focused on the needs and constraints of the scientists in the development of appropriate services. If the lessons learned in this and other science support experiences are not applied by those involved with large information systems of the EOS (Earth Observing System) era, then the final data products produced by future science projects may not be robust or of high quality, thereby making the conduct of the project science less efficacious and reducing the value of these unique suites of data for future research.

Angelici, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Aeronautics and Aviation Science: Careers and Opportunities Project

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration funded project, Aeronautics and Aviation Science: Careers and Opportunities has been in operation since July, 1995. This project operated as a collaboration with Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications, the Federal Aviation Administration, Bridgewater State College and four targeted "core sites" in the greater Boston area. In its first and second years, a video series on aeronautics and aviation science was developed and broadcast via "live, interactive" satellite feed. Accompanying teacher and student supplementary instructional materials for grades 6-9 were produced and disseminated by the Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications (MCET). In the MCET grant application it states that project Take Off! in its initial phase would recruit and train teachers at "core" sites in the greater Boston area, as well as opening participation to other on-line users of MCET's satellite feeds. "Core site" classrooms would become equipped so that teachers and students might become engaged in an interactive format which aimed at not only involving the students during the "live" broadcast of the instructional video series, but which would encourage participation in electronic information gathering and sharing among participants. As a Take Off! project goal, four schools with a higher than average proportion of minority and underrepresented youth were invited to become involved with the project to give these students the opportunity to consider career exploration and development in the field of science aviation and aeronautics. The four sites chosen to participate in this project were: East Boston High School, Dorchester High School, Randolph Junior-Senior High School and Malden High School. In year 3 Dorchester was unable to continue to fully participate and exited out. Danvers was added to the "core site" list in year 3. In consideration of Goals 2000, the National Science Foundation standards for quality of teaching, and an educational agenda that promotes high standards for all students, Aeronautics and Aviation Science: Careers and Opportunities had as its aim to deliver products to schools, both in and outside the project sites, which attempt to incorporate multi-disciplined approaches in the presentation of a curriculum which would be appropriate in any classroom, while also aiming to appeal to young women and minorities. The curriculum was developed to provide students with fundamentals of aeronautics and aviation science. The curriculum also encouraged involving students and teachers in research projects, and further information gathering via electronic bulletin boards and internet capabilities. Though not entirely prescriptive, the curriculum was designed to guide teachers through recommended activities to supplement MCET's live telecast video presentations. Classroom teachers were encouraged to invite local pilots, meteorologists, and others from the field of aviation and aeronautics, particularly women and minorities to visit schools and to field questions from the students.

Texter, P. Cardie↗