Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “LP-DED NASA HR-1”

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.

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

1,223 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2026

Does the International Space Station Leak DNA? Preliminary Results from the ISS External Microorganisms Payload

Existing crewed spacecraft like the ISS (International Space Station) leak by design. The ISS routinely releases gas to maintain life support systems and when astronauts exit the station to perform space walks. The chemical component of this leakage is well characterized, but the biological components are not. The ISS is not subject to planetary protection requirements, but planned missions to Mars will use similar systems and will be subject to planetary protection requirements. If detectable microorganisms are escaping through vents and or airlocks we may need to redesign our crewed habitats to minimize this type of contamination. To test the hypothesis that microorganisms from inside ISS are detectable on exterior surfaces an astronaut used the ISS External Microorganisms sampling kit (Rucker et al. 2018) to sample exterior surfaces of the ISS during an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) in January of 2025. These samples were returned to Earth for DNA extraction and sequencing. We successfully, extracted and sequenced bacterial, fungal and viral DNA from these samples that was not present in the negative controls. These results should help NASA refine the planetary protection requirements for crewed missions. Methods: The samples were collected using sterile, DNA free, buccal swabs (23 mm. diameter) housed in custom canisters. Each canister uses a 0.2 μm Teflon filter to maintain sterility as the caddy, holding 8 swabs moves in and out of vacuum. The astronaut sampled the: 1) airlock vestibule, 2) airlock thermal cover, 3) a gap in the micrometeorite shielding near the airlock, 4) a handrail near the airlock, 5) the Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly vent, and 6) the Vacuum Exhaust System vent. The seventh swab was exposed to vacuum during the EVA without touching it to a surface. The eighth swab, a negative control, was not opened until the caddy returned to Earth. DNA was extracted from the swabs using a QIamp UCP Pathogen kit and prepared for sequencing on an Aviti (Element Biosciences) sequencer (Arslan et al. 2024). The resulting sequences were analyzed using the EDGE Bioinformatics platform (Li et al. 2017). The sequences were analyzed individually using tools like BLAST, GOTTCHA2, Kraken2, and PanGIA. The data were also assembled into metagenome assembled genomes) using tools like CONCOCT, MaxBin2 and MetaBAT2. Results: We successfully extracted and sequenced bacterial, archaeal, fungal and viral DNA from all seven samples. The handrail swab had the lowest number of reads (768,651) and the airlock thermal cover had the highest number of reads (8,819,230). These samples contain DNA from human associated bacteria (e.g. Crynebacterium riegelii ), fungi (.e.g. Penicillium rubens ), and viruses (e.g Alphapapillomavirus ). Conclusion: Preliminary interpretation suggest that the airlock and the space suits themselves are the largest sources of contaminant DNA. Most if not all of the DNA is from organisms known to be present inside the ISS. Vents attached to life support systems may be a lesser source of biological contamination. Further analysis should help NASA address planetary protection knowledge gaps for crewed missions.

Aaron B Regberg↗
DOE OSTI2026

Statistical Study of Energy Dissipation in Magnetic Structures During Turbulent Reconnection in the Earth's Magnetotail

Magnetic reconnection is a ubiquitous plasma phenomenon that plays a critical role in particle heating and energization. During reconnection, the topology of magnetic field rearranges, depositing energy into the surrounding plasma through bulk flow, thermal heating, or non-thermal particle acceleration. While the pathways of this transformation from magnetic energy into kinetic have been studied extensively in recent years through theoretical or case-by-case observations, comprehensive statistical studies remain limited. In this paper, we present a statistical investigation using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, and detail the particle energization mechanisms in magnetic structures found near reconnecting regions in turbulent Earth's magnetotail. We find that electrons with motion perpendicular to the magnetic field dominate $\vec{j}$ ⋅ $\vec{E}$ dissipation. In contrast to the conventional picture of unidirectional energy transfer to particles by laminar two-dimensional (2D) reconnection, we find that energy exchange within magnetic structures during turbulent reconnection tends to be bidirectional with only a small positive bias from electromagnetic fields to particles. Specific electron energization mechanisms are quantified, including those due to parallel electric field, Fermi energization from curvature drift, betatron heating from magnetic field inhomogeneity, and polarization drift.

Wang, Rachel [Princeton University, NJ (United Sta↗
NASA NTRS1973

Terrestrial Environment (Climatic) Criteria Guidelines for Use in Aerospace Vehicle Development, 1973 Revision

This document provides guidelines on probable climatic extremes and probabilities-of-occurrence of terrestrial environment data specifically applicable for NASA space vehicles and associated equipment development. The geographic areas encompassed are The Eastern Test Range (Cape Kennedy, Florida); Huntsville, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; The Space and Missile Test Center (Vandenberg AFB California); Sacramento, California; Wallops Test Range (Wallops Island, Virginia); White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; and intermediate transportation areas. In addition, sections have been included to provide information on the general distribution of natural environment extremes in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), cloud cover, and some worldwide climatic extremes. Although all these areas are covered, the major emphasis is given to the Kennedy Space Center launch area and Vandenburg Air Force Base due to importance in NASA's future large space vehicle programs. This document presents the latest available information on probable climatic extremes, and supersedes information presented in TM X-64589. The information in this document is recommended for employment in the development of space vehicles and associated equipment design and operational criteria, unless otherwise stated in contract work specifications.

cloud cover↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fire-Resistant Textile Development for Exploration Vehicles With Enriched-Oxygen Cabin Environments

Material selection is a key part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spacecraft fire safety management plan. Non-flammable textiles are necessary to ensure large-scale flame propagation events do not occur inside a spacecraft. An increased use of textiles and other softgood material is crucial to the pursuit of exploration spaceflight to reduce mass and volume. Exploration spaceflight missions benefit from enriched oxygen cabin environments (>21% O2) by allowing a reduced prebreathe protocol before Extravehicular Activity (EVA). However, materials become exponentially more flammable the higher the O2 levels become. Recent testing within the agency has revealed the lack of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) materials that can meet safety requirements in oxygen-enriched environments. Most of the fibers and textiles developed during Apollo (100% O2 cabin environment) and Skylab (>70% O2 cabin environment) are no longer commercially available due to those Programs ending and the discontinuation of raw materials or closure of the original manufacturers. As NASA returns to higher oxygen concentrations inside spacecraft, non-flammable textile development efforts have begun to meet the agency’s needs. This paper discusses those efforts including overall fire safety approach, priorities, interactions with industry, flammability testing and expected challenges.

Karim Aly↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LBFD X-59 Propulsion Overview

The LBFD X-59 Propulsion Overview is prepared in support of a panel session at the 2026 AIAA Aviation Conference. The overview covers highlights of the X-59 propulsion system, a short history of propulsion testing at NASA GRC, A summary of X-59 ground testing, a summary of X-59 flight testing, and finally some lessons learned.

Aerodynamic↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Controls for Electrified Aircraft Propulsion

Advanced electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) concepts with integrated power, propulsion, and thermal systems require the development of equally sophisticated controllers to fly safe and efficient missions. Hybrid electric aircraft utilize electric machines mechanically coupled to the engine shafts to extract and insert power for a variety of purposes. Additionally, electric machines may drive propulsive fans pulling from a combination of on-board energy storage devices and engine extracted power. NASA’s investment in hybrid electric aircraft hardware-in-the-loop testing enables controls research on representative engine models using a novel emulation and scaling methodology. High-voltage, high-power electrical powertrain presents several technical risks at altitude. High-power requires high efficiency to minimize losses. Superconducting electric machines and power distribution research at NASA has identified key challenges with potential controls solutions. These risks necessitate the development of controllers robust to model uncertainty, disturbances, and fault conditions. System health management and fault detection schemes play an important role in a multi-layer controls approach that utilizes a supervisor which oversees inner loops for the highly coupled power, propulsion, and thermal systems. Such a supervisory controller enables coordinates energy transfer between engines, energy storage devices, electric machines, propulsors, and heat exchangers. Existing methods have shown an improvement in engine operability using the hybrid electric powertrain.

Halle E Buescher↗
NASA NTRS1976

The Deep Space Network Progress Report 42-33, March and April 1976

This report describes work performed for the JPL/NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). Progress is presented on DSN supporting research and technology, advanced development and engineering, and implementation, and DSN operations which pertain to mission-independent or multiple-mission development as well as to support of flight projects. Each issue contains a description of the functions and facilities of the DSN.

JPL Staff↗
NASA NTRS1994

Resistance of Silicon Nitride Turbine Components to Erosion and Hot Corrosion/Oxidation Attack

Silicon nitride turbine components are under intensive development by AlliedSignal to enable a new generation of higher power density auxiliary power systems. In order to be viable in the intended applications, silicon nitride turbine airfoils must be designed for survival in aggressive oxidizing combustion gas environments. Erosive and corrosive damage to ceramic airfoils from ingested sand and sea salt must be avoided. Recent engine test experience demonstrated that NT154 silicon nitride turbine vanes have exceptional resistance to sand erosion, relative to superalloys used in production engines. Similarly, NT154 silicon nitride has excellent resistance to oxidation in the temperature range of interest - up to 1400 C. Hot corrosion attack of superalloy gas turbine components is well documented. While hot corrosion from ingested sea salt will attack silicon nitride substantially less than the superalloys being replaced in initial engine applications, this degradation has the potential to limit component lives in advanced engine applications. Hot corrosion adversely affects the strength of silicon nitride in the 850 to 1300 C range. Since unacceptable reductions in strength must be rapidly identified and avoided, AlliedSignal and the NASA Lewis Research Center have pioneered the development of an environmental life prediction model for silicon nitride turbine components. Strength retention in flexure specimens following 1 to 3300 hour exposures to high temperature oxidation and hot corrosion has been measured and used to calibrate the life prediction model. Predicted component life is dependent upon engine design (stress, temperature, pressure, fuel/air ratio, gas velocity, and inlet air filtration), mission usage (fuel sulfur content, location (salt in air), and times at duty cycle power points), and material parameters. Preliminary analyses indicate that the hot corrosion resistance of NT154 silicon nitride is adequate for AlliedSignal's initial engine applications. Protective coatings and/or inlet air filtration may be required to achieve required ceramic component lives in more aggressive environments.

Nitride↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow within Electrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Generation Unit

Long-term manned space missions require the onboard production of disinfectants essential for maintaining crew health and supporting life systems. Currently, disinfection aboard the International Space Station (ISS) relies on disposable wetted wipes, which are regularly resupplied from Earth. This approach imposes a significant burden on resupply logistics, storage, and waste management. To address these challenges and support future missions, efforts are underway to develop an in-situ solution that electrochemically generates hydrogen peroxide disinfectant using onboard resources. In collaboration with NASA, Faraday Technology, Inc. has advanced this concept through a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects, resulting in the development of a Peroxide Generation Unit (PGU). The PGU can produce up to 3 wt.% hydrogen peroxide on-demand at a rate of 1 liter per day, providing a sustainable alternative to Earth-dependent supplies. The resulting aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an effective disinfectant, safe for crew use, compatible with spacecraft systems, and free from volatiles, off-gassing, or residues. This innovation offers a reliable, efficient solution for onboard disinfection, reducing dependence on Earth-based resupply while ensuring the health and safety of space crews. Generating hydrogen peroxide at the required rate needs high voltages and currents, exceeding 20V and 2A respectively, which leads to significant heat generation from Joule heating. This temperature rise poses a risk to sensitive system components, especially critical and expensive membranes that can degrade under thermal stress. To mitigate this risk, the thermal, fluid, and electrical flows within the system are modeled computationally using the commercial software COMSOL. The numerical simulations are validated against experimental data from both sub-scale and alpha-scale systems. Once verified, the model is employed to identify thermal hotspots, investigate their underlying causes, and explore solutions to prevent them.

Life Support Systems (LSS)↗
NASA NTRS1992

Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System

The Nickel Cadmium Battery Expert System-2, or 'NICBES-2', which was used by the NASA HST six-battery testbed, was subsequently converted into the Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System, or 'NICHES'. Accounts are presently given of this conversion process and future uses being contemplated for NICHES. NICHES will calculate orbital summary data at the end of each orbit, and store these files for trend analyses and rules-generation.

Johnson, Yvette B.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Nickel-Cadmium Battery Operation Management Optimization Using Robust Design

In recent years following several spacecraft battery anomalies, it was determined that managing the operational factors of NASA flight NiCd rechargeable battery was very important in order to maintain space flight battery nominal performance. The optimization of existing flight battery operational performance was viewed as something new for a Taguchi Methods application.

NiCd rechargeable battery Taguchi Methods applicat↗
NASA NTRS1961

Research Summary No. 36-8 for the Period February 1, 1961 to April 1, 1961

The Research Summary is a report of supporting research and development activities at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology. This bimonthly periodical is usually published in two volumes. However, for this issue, all the material has been combined into one volume. To foster a more rapid interchange of original ideas and information throughout the scientific and technical community, all authors' names have been added as bylines to the material they contributed.

Telecommunication↗
NASA NTRS1994

What to Do Until the Money Runs Out: A Refinement Framework for Cognitive Engineering in the Real World

A case study is presented to illustrate some of the problems of applying cognitive science to complex human-machine systems. Disregard for facts about human cognition often undermines the safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of complex systems. Yet single-point methods (for example, better user-interface design), whether rooted in computer science or in experimental psychology, fall far short of addressing systems-level problems in a timely way using realistic resources. A model-based methodology is proposed for organizing and prioritizing the cognitive engineering effort, focusing appropriate expertise on major problems first, then moving to more sophisticated refinements if time and resources permit. This case study is based on a collaborative effort between the Human Factors Division at NASA-Ames and the Spaceborne Imaging Radar SIR-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California institute of Technology. The first SIR-C/X-SAR Shuttle mission flew successfully in April, 1994. A series of such missions is planned to provide radar data to study Earth's ecosystems, climatic and geological processes, hydrologic cycle, and ocean circulation. In addition to JPL and NASA personnel, the SIR-C/X-SAR operations team included Scientists and engineers from the German and Italian space agencies.

Shafto, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The HEROIX Broadband X-Ray Space Telescope Mission Concept

The High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) Medium-Class Mission concept envisions a next-generation broadband X-ray observatory designed to meet the astrophysics community’s need for high-angular-resolution studies of the Cosmic X-ray Background. Building on the science legacy of NASA’s NuSTAR mission and more than 30 years of advances in replicated NiCo shell technology at NASA Marshall, HEROIX proposes a space observatory comprising four co-aligned telescopes achieving 5 arcsecond half-power diameter (HPD) angular resolution. This capability, approached by the resolution demonstrated in the FOXSI-4 sounding rocket mission and under development through the SuperHERO balloon mission, will be extended to energies up to 80 keV through multilayer coatings. Marshall’s inhouse precision optics manufacturing enables an integrated effective area of 380 cm² at 30 keV, which, combined with high-resolution optics, opens new windows into extreme astrophysical non-thermal processes.

Nick Thomas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Practical Tips for Setting Up an LS-DYNA MAT_213 Analysis

Since 2012, NASA has actively contributed to the development and application of the LS-DYNA MAT_213 material model to predict responses under dynamic loading events. This presentation provides a high-level overview of MAT_213 and captures practical tips and suggestions for using it.

MAT_213↗