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DOE OSTI2020

5G Enabled Energy Innovation: Advanced Wireless Networks for Science (Workshop Report)

Rapidly expanding, new telecommunications infrastructure based on 5G technologies will disrupt and transform how we design, build, operate, and optimize scientific infrastructure and the experiments and services enabled by that infrastructure, from continental-scale sensor networks to centralized scientific user facilities, from intelligent Internet of Things devices to supercomputers. Concurrently, 5G will introduce, or exacerbate, challenges related to protecting infrastructure and associated scientific data as well as to fully leveraging opportunities related to expanded infrastructure scale and complexity. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science operates scientific infrastructure, supporting some of the nation’s most advanced intellectual discoveries, spanning the country and including 30 world-class user facilities from supercomputers to accelerators. Along with field experiments and remote observatories, every aspect of DOE’s scientific enterprise will be affected by 5G, which amounts to a complete renovation of the underpinnings of the nation’s information infrastructure. In this report we explore the scientific opportunities and new research challenges associated with 5G, ranging from scalability to heterogeneity to cybersecurity. The rapid commercial deployment of 5G opens the opportunity to rethink and reinvent DOE’s scientific infrastructure and experimentation, from intelligent sensor networks at unprecedented scales to a digital continuum of cyberinfrastructure spanning low-power sensors, high-performance computing embedded within and at the edge of the network, and DOE’s large-scale user instrument and computing facilities. New programming paradigms, workflow and data frameworks, and AI-based system design, operation, and autonomous adaptation and optimization will be necessary in order to exploit these new opportunities. Field deployments and centralized scientific instruments can also be revolutionized, moving (without traditional performance penalties) from wired to wireless connectivity for data and control systems, improving flexibility, and opening new sensing modalities, including the use of the 5G electromagnetic spectrum itself as an environmental probe. For DOE science, in contrast to commercial 5G applications and settings, devices will be deployed in extreme environments such as cryogenically cooled instrument control systems and in remote settings with harsh conditions, requiring the design of new materials for RF communication and edge processing to operate in these regimes. Concurrently, 5G infrastructure comprises both hardware and sophisticated software systems - currently closed and proprietary. The cybersecurity challenges to 5G-empowered reinvention mirror the complexity and variety of new 5G features, from virtualization to private network slices to ubiquitous access. Research is also needed in order to accelerate the development of secure and open 5G software infrastructure, reducing reliance on hardware and software produced outside the United States and providing the transparency and rigorous evaluation and testing afforded through open software. Twelve broad research thrusts are laid out in four chapters, with a companion fifth chapter (and three additional research thrusts) underscoring the needs and opportunities for an aggressive testbed program co-designed by networking experts and scientists involved in the 15 research thrusts. The urgency of undertaking this research is fueled by a global, accelerating deployment of new telecommunications infrastructure that is designed for entertainment and commercial applications - barely scratching the surface of what 5G can do to extend U.S. leadership in scientific discovery.

42 ENGINEERING↗

NASA NTRS1990

Preliminary assessment of a supersonic STOVL flight research and demonstration aircraft

NASA Ames has conducted a conceptual design study of a supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) flight research and demonstration aircraft sized according to current technology levels. The aircraft would provide the capability for demonstrating advanced technologies required for STOVL and would be instrumented to provide temperature, pressure, and noise data for power-induced-effects research. The propulsion concept for the single-engine aircraft studied operates in mixed flow without thrust augmentation during power-lift flight. The study aircraft is full scale to facilitate STOVL propulsion-system component validation and power-induced aerodynamics research. Performance is sufficient to permit investigation and validation of vertical landing and hover, accelerating and decelerating transitions, short takeoff, reduced-weight vertical takeoff, and supersonic flight. Mission and maneuver capability is sufficient to demonstrate the operational utility of this class of aircraft. Aircraft mission and technology sensitivities were also examined.

Samuels, Jeffrey J.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Phase Drifts and Signal Dispersion in Coaxial Cables

Phase reference distribution is a critical challenge in modern linear particle accelerators, such as European Spallation Source (ESS), European X-ray Free Electron Laser (E-XFEL), or Proton Improvement Plan II (PIP-II). Similar issues may also arise in other RF systems that need to synchronize many independent circuits. Achieving low phase drift of the reference signal requires careful selection of cables and their environmental operating conditions. Due to the limited data provided by cable manufacturers, it is necessary to characterize the cable performance. This article investigates the phase drifts in coaxial cables and presents a dedicated measurement methodology. The dispersion characteristics of the cables are also examined. The measurement results of various coaxial cables are presented, along with conclusions and practical guidelines for designers of phase reference distribution lines.

coaxial cables↗

DOE OSTI2023

Preliminary Characterization and Evaluation on FFF Manufactured 316H and ODS Steels

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology (AMMT) program develops cross-cutting technologies in support of a broad range of nuclear reactor technologies and maintains U.S. leadership in materials and manufacturing technologies for nuclear energy applications. The overarching vision of AMMT is to accelerate the development, qualification, demonstration, and deployment of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to enable reliable and economical nuclear energy. Solid-state advanced manufacturing techniques can overcome some of the challenges in liquid-based additive manufacturing (AM) processes and should therefore be considered in material design and manufacturing as well. The work presented in this report forms part of a study on solid-state AM techniques of 316 stainless steels (SS) and oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel components and supports the vision and goals of the AMMT program relevant to accelerate the development and deployment of advanced manufacturing processes. Achieving this can provide a safety improvement through larger safety margins, economic benefit for higher efficiency during operation, and a cost reduction through more effective manufacturing processes and less waste. This study provides preliminary information on development of the fused-filament fabrication (FFF) process using different powder types to demonstrate the sensitivity, and therefore the characterization of these sample components. The full solid-state manufacturing feasibility study will be completed and reported in a final feasibility evaluation during 2025. The study investigation used two 14YWT ODS powder batches, which provided information and the effect of different powder morphologies on manufacturability. The two 316SS powders demonstrated the effect of powder size on the manufacturability using FFF. Two product forms, namely a honeycomb structure and flat samples, were manufactured to demonstrate the flexibility of product form.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS2016

Evaluation of 10V Chip Polymer Tantalum Capacitors for Space Applications

Due to low ESR and safe failure mode, new technology chip polymer tantalum capacitors (CPTC) have gained popularity in the electronics design community, first in commercial applications, and now in hi-rel and space systems. The major drawbacks of these parts are high leakage currents, degradation under environmental stresses, and a relatively narrow temperature range of operating and storage conditions. Several studies have shown that a certain amount of moisture in polymer cathodes is necessary for a normal operation of the parts. This might limit applications of CPTCs in space systems and requires analysis of long-term exposure to deep vacuum conditions on their performance and reliability. High leakage currents and limited maximum operational temperature complicate accelerated testing that is necessary to assess long-term reliability and require new screening and qualification procedures for quality assurance. A better understanding of behavior of CPTCs as compared to traditional, MnO2, capacitors is necessary to develop adequate approaches for QA system for space applications. A specific of CPTCs is that different materials and processes might be used for low-voltage (10 V and less) and high-voltage (above 10 V) capacitors, so performance and degradation processes in these groups require separate analysis. In this work, that is a part of the NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) program, degradation of AC and DC characteristics under environmental stresses at different temperatures and voltages have been studied in nine lots of commercial and automotive grade capacitors rated to 10 V. Results of analysis of leakage currents, high temperature storage (HTS) up to 5000 hrs in vacuum and air at different temperatures, and Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) in the range from 85 C to 145 C are presented. Temperature and voltage acceleration factors were calculated based on approximation of distributions of degradation rates with a general log-linear Weibull model. Mechanisms of degradation and failures, and requirements for screening and qualification testing are discussed.

Tantalum Capacitors↗

DOE OSTI2024

Nested Pebble Bed Blanket (NesPeB)

Recent advances in magnetic confinement fusion technology have attracted billions of dollars of investments in startups from venture capitals and corporations, resulting in the development of devices aiming to demonstrate net energy gain in a self-heated burning plasma, such as SPARC (under construction) and others. However, future fusion power plants must operate in regimes that will require technologies far beyond current experience. According to a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report, to have nuclear fusion power plants contributing in a timely manner to the planned reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a pilot plant should be built by 2035, and it should demonstrate fusion power production and the performance of the tritium fuel system (requiring a high enough tritium breeding) by 2040. A recognized key technology gap by [26] is the fusion first wall and blanket since no current blanket concept is considered satisfactory or has been built and proven. The first wall and blanket in magnetic fusion reactors form a vital and complex system, as it must satisfy different functions such as power extraction, tritium breeding, plasma containment, radiation shielding, and safety. The list of design requirements is even longer: high enough tritium production for fusion self-sufficiency, low material activation, decay heat and shutdown dose rates, high thermal efficiency, high-capacity factor, high magnets-divertor-vacuum vessel-first wall life, low corrosion, low cost, and intrinsically safe (requiring minimal licensing). Despite fifty-plus years of research, the first wall and blanket concepts proposed suffer from fundamental technical problems and immaturity (TRL=2-3) that jeopardize the timely delivery of a commercial fusion power plant. A fusion first-wall blanket has never been built nor tested, and a "winning", practical functioning design requires enough engineering margins (high enough tritium breeding considering the uncertainty, etc.), manufacturing simplicity, ease of continuous operation, maintenance, and low cost. A new, groundbreaking blanket concept called "Nested Pebble Bed Blanket" (NesPeB) was developed at ORNL under the successful ARPA-E GAMOW FERMI project (patent application allowed by the USPTO). The NesPeB blanket concept addresses current blanket concepts' shortcomings and technical immaturity, paving the way for accelerated delivery of fusion power plants. NesPeB is based on nested pebbles, which are binary-sized lithium-ceramic pebbles enclosed in "Beryllide" perforated and coated spherical shells, which are also binary-sized, stacked on top of each other, forming a "bed" and cooled by Nitrogen gas also "sweeping" the Helium and Tritium generated by the neutron irradiation of Lithium; the vacuum vessel plasma facing material is Molybdenum-96 and -97 with the first wall cooled by Helium while the divertor armor is made of Tungsten. The simulations of the NesPeB blanket using Fusion Reactors Models Integrator (FERMI) are encouraging as they estimate a tritium breeding ratio (TBR) greater than 1.2 using natural Lithium, acceptable pressure drop, and excellent heat transfer properties. Furthermore, the NesPeB blanket is not limited by magneto-hydro-dynamics (MHD) effects, is designed for online refueling, relies on existing tritium extraction technologies, has a simple construction, and limits the corrosion and chemical reactivity problems. NesPeB has the potential to be transformational and disruptive since it can solve all the main, challenging technical problems of fusion device blankets and accelerate a pilot plant delivery for 10 or more years.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Viskores User's Guide, Release 1.1

High-performance computing relies on ever finer threading. Advances in processor technology include ever greater numbers of cores, hyperthreading, accelerators with integrated blocks of cores, and special vectorized instructions, all of which require more software parallelism to achieve peak performance. Traditional visualization solutions cannot support this extreme level of concurrency. Extreme scale systems require a new programming model and a fundamental change in how we design algorithms. To address these issues we created Viskores: the visualization toolkit for multi/many-core architectures. Viskores supports a number of algorithms and the ability to design further algorithms through a top-down design with an emphasis on extreme parallelism. Viskores also provides support for finding and building links across topologies, making it possible to perform operations that determine manifold surfaces, interpolate generated values, and find adjacencies. Although Viskores provides a simplified high-level interface for programming, its template-based code removes the overhead of abstraction.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS1998

Bulk-Flow Analysis of Hybrid Thrust Bearings for Advanced Cryogenic Turbopumps

A bulk-flow analysis and computer program for prediction of the static load performance and dynamic force coefficients of angled injection, orifice-compensated hydrostatic/hydrodynamic thrust bearings have been completed. The product of the research is an efficient computational tool for the design of high-speed thrust bearings for cryogenic fluid turbopumps. The study addresses the needs of a growing technology that requires of reliable fluid film bearings to provide the maximum operating life with optimum controllable rotordynamic characteristics at the lowest cost. The motion of a cryogenic fluid on the thin film lands of a thrust bearing is governed by a set of bulk-flow mass and momentum conservation and energy transport equations. Mass flow conservation and a simple model for momentum transport within the hydrostatic bearing recesses are also accounted for. The bulk-flow model includes flow turbulence with fluid inertia advection, Coriolis and centrifugal acceleration effects on the bearing recesses and film lands. The cryogenic fluid properties are obtained from realistic thermophysical equations of state. Turbulent bulk-flow shear parameters are based on Hirs' model with Moody's friction factor equations allowing a simple simulation for machined bearing surface roughness. A perturbation analysis leads to zeroth-order nonlinear equations governing the fluid flow for the thrust bearing operating at a static equilibrium position, and first-order linear equations describing the perturbed fluid flow for small amplitude shaft motions in the axial direction. Numerical solution to the zeroth-order flow field equations renders the bearing flow rate, thrust load, drag torque and power dissipation. Solution to the first-order equations determines the axial stiffness, damping and inertia force coefficients. The computational method uses well established algorithms and generic subprograms available from prior developments. The Fortran9O computer program hydrothrust runs on a Windows 95/NT personal computer. The program, help files and examples are licensed by Texas A&M University Technology License Office. The study of the static and dynamic performance of two hydrostatic/hydrodynamic bearings demonstrates the importance of centrifugal and advection fluid inertia effects for operation at high rotational speeds. The first example considers a conceptual hydrostatic thrust bearing for an advanced liquid hydrogen turbopump operating at 170,000 rpm. The large axial stiffness and damping coefficients of the bearing should provide accurate control and axial positioning of the turbopump and also allow for unshrouded impellers, therefore increasing the overall pump efficiency. The second bearing uses a refrigerant R134a, and its application in oil-free air conditioning compressors is of great technological importance and commercial value. The computed predictions reveal that the LH2 bearing load capacity and flow rate increase with the recess pressure (i.e. increasing orifice diameters). The bearing axial stiffness has a maximum for a recess pressure rati of approx. 0.55. while the axial damping coefficient decreases as the recess pressure ratio increases. The computer results from three flow models are compared. These models are a) inertialess, b) fluid inertia at recess edges only, and c) full fluid inertia at both recess edges and film lands. The full inertia model shows the lowest flow rates, axial load capacity and stiffness coefficient but on the other hand renders the largest damping coefficients and inertia coefficients. The most important findings are related to the reduction of the outflow through the inner radius and the appearance of subambient pressures. The performance of the refrigerant hybrid thrust bearing is evaluated at two operating speeds and pressure drops. The computed results are presented in dimensionless form to evidence consistent trends in the bearing performance characteristics. As the applied axial load increases, the bearing film thickness and flow rate decrease while the recess pressure increases. The axial stiffness coefficient shows a maximum for a certain intermediate load while the damping coefficient steadily increases. The computed results evidence the paramount of centrifugal fluid inertia at low recess pressures (i.e. low loads), and where there is actually an inflow through the bearing inner diameter, accompanied by subambient pressures just downstream of the bearing recess edge. These results are solely due to centrifugal fluid inertia and advection transport effects. Recommendations include the extension of the computer program to handle flexure pivot tilting pad hybrid bearings and the ability to calculate moment coefficients for shaft angular misalignments.

SanAndres, Luis↗

NASA NTRS2001

1000 Hours of Testing Completed on 10-kW Hall Thruster

Between the months of April and August 2000, a 10-kW Hall effect thruster, designated T- 220, was subjected to a 1000-hr life test evaluation. Hall effect thrusters are propulsion devices that electrostatically accelerate xenon ions to produce thrust. Hall effect propulsion has been in development for many years, and low-power devices (1.35 kW) have been used in space for satellite orbit maintenance. The T-220, shown in the photo, produces sufficient thrust to enable efficient orbital transfers, saving hundreds of kilograms in propellant over conventional chemical propulsion systems. This test is the longest operation ever achieved on a high-power Hall thruster (greater than 4.5 kW) and is a key milestone leading to the use of this technology for future NASA, commercial, and military missions.

Mason, Lee S.↗

NASA NTRS2012

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2012

Topics covered include: Instrument Suite for Vertical Characterization of the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System; Terahertz Radiation Heterodyne Detector Using Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in a GaN Heterostructure; Pattern Recognition Algorithm for High-Sensitivity Odorant Detection in Unknown Environments; Determining Performance Acceptability of Electrochemical Oxygen Sensors; Versatile Controller for Infrared Lamp and Heater Arrays; High-Speed Scanning Interferometer Using CMOS Image Sensor and FPGA Based on Multifrequency Phase-Tracking Detection; Ultra-Low-Power MEMS Selective Gas Sensors; Compact Receiver Front Ends for Submillimeter-Wave Applications; Dynamically Reconfigurable Systolic Array Accelerator; Blocking Losses With a Photon Counter; Motion-Capture-Enabled Software for Gestural Control of 3D Mod; Orbit Software Suite; CoNNeCT Baseband Processor Module Boot Code SoftWare (BCSW); Trajectory Software With Upper Atmosphere Model; ALSSAT Version 6.0; Employing a Grinding Technology to Assess the Microbial Density for Encapsulated Organisms; Demonstration of Minimally Machined Honeycomb Silicon Carbide Mirrors; Polyimide Aerogel Thin Films; Nanoengineered Thermal Materials Based on Carbon Nanotube Array Composites; Composite Laminate With Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Matching D263 Glass; Robust Tensioned Kevlar Suspension Design; Focal Plane Alignment Utilizing Optical CMM; Purifying, Separating, and Concentrating Cells From a Sample Low in Biomass; Virtual Ultrasound Guidance for Inexperienced Operators; Beat-to-Beat Blood Pressure Monitor; Non-Contact Conductivity Measurement for Automated Sample Processing Systems; An MSK Radar Waveform; Telescope Alignment From Sparsely Sampled Wavefront Measurements Over Pupil Subapertures; Method to Remove Particulate Matter from Dusty Gases at Low Pressures; Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser With Efficient Coupling and Beam Profile; Measurement Via Optical Near-Nulling and Subaperture Stitching; 885-nm Pumped Ceramic Nd:YAG Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Laser System; Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System; Heat Shield Employing Cured Thermal Protection Material Blocks Bonded in a Large-Cell Honeycomb Matrix; and Asymmetric Supercapacitor for Long-Duration Power Storage.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2025

60 years of science in ICF: from conception to scientific breakeven on the National Ignition Facility

The recent achievements of a burning plasma, fusion ignition, and scientific energy gain with deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) represents a major milestone in the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and all of fusion research. In these experiments, fuel pressures well in excess of hundreds of GBars were achieved in the compressed fuel, and robust alpha heating of the fuel, far in excess of the energy provided by the implosion, were demonstrated for the first time. These achievements occurred 60 years after the inception of ICF and the first laser demonstration, and were made possible by more than five decades of research at laser facilities around the world. Advances in laser technology both in wavelength and precision, motivated by improved understanding of laser-plasma interaction physics and the demands of targets; improvements in target fabrication inspired by the need to control and minimize hydrodynamic instabilities in the implosion; and multi-dimensional simulations and diagnostics have been critical to this achievement. This paper will summarize the scientific and technical advances, the surprises, and the challenges that had to be overcome to achieve these goals.

fusion↗

DOE OSTI2026

Feedback, physics, and forecasts: The emerging paradigm of machine learning-driven battery research

Machine learning (ML) is reshaping how we understand, predict, and optimize electrochemical systems. In batteries, ML accelerates discovery across chemistry, design, and operation by transforming massive experimental and simulated datasets into predictive, interpretable models. This review consolidates a decade of progress in ML-driven battery innovation, from early-cycle feature extraction to operando image analysis and physics-informed modeling. We categorize approaches by data domain and physical fidelity, emphasizing interpretable ML for diagnostics, reinforcement learning for control, and multi-objective optimization for lifetime extension strategies. Additionally, we demonstrate how integrated models accelerate discovery, reduce testing time, and guide sustainable design. Economic analyses furthermore illustrate how these advances can lower cost per cycle and improve circularity. Together, these developments chart a path toward self-optimizing, sustainable battery technologies.

artificial intelligence↗

DOE OSTI2023

Higher order mode analysis of a 915 MHz 2-cell cavity for a prototype industrial accelerator

A possible solution to reduce the complexity posed by the cryogenic systems in a superconducting RF accelerator for industrial applications, is to capitalize on the advances achieved by the Nb3Sn superconducting RF technology, as well as the feasibility of a reliable 4 K cooling system, based on commercial cryocoolers. Following this philosophy, the conceptual design for a prototype, conduction-cooled, 4 MeV, 20 kW SRF electron linac, is being developed at Jefferson Lab. Such design is based on a 915 MHz two-cell Nb3Sn cavity. In this contribution, we present the proposed cavity design, including the fundamental power coupler, and the analysis of the Higher Order Modes, using numerical simulations to estimate the potentially dangerous modes and to provide the requirements for damping for reliable operations with a cryocooler.

Rimmer, Robert↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Viskores User's Guide (V.1.0)

High-performance computing relies on ever finer threading. Advances in processor technology include ever greater numbers of cores, hyperthreading, accelerators with integrated blocks of cores, and special vectorized instructions, all of which require more software parallelism to achieve peak performance. Traditional visualization solutions cannot support this extreme level of concurrency. Extreme scale systems require a new programming model and a fundamental change in how we design algorithms. To address these issues we created Viskores: the visualization toolkit for multi-/many-core architectures. Viskores supports a number of algorithms and the ability to design further algorithms through a top-down design with an emphasis on extreme parallelism. Viskores also provides support for finding and building links across topologies, making it possible to perform operations that determine manifold surfaces, interpolate generated values, and find adjacencies. Although Viskores provides a simplified high-level interface for programming, its template-based code removes the overhead of abstraction.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NASA NTRS2018

Nasa's Launch Communications Ground Segment for the 21st Century Florida Spaceport

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Near Earth Network (NEN) Project is implementing a new launch communications ground segment to provide services for the next generation of human and robotic space exploration systems. It will deliver unique and advanced capabilities to accelerate the transformation of Kennedy Space Center into a multi-user spaceport in cooperation with the United States Air Force (USAF). The project has leveraged commercial technologies and remote operations concepts matured in NASAs orbiting satellite ground systems to achieve dramatic lifecycle cost efficiencies as compared to the space shuttle-era ground segment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development history, capabilities and anticipated use cases of the NEN Launch Communications Segment (NEN LCS).The NASA Kennedy Space Center is co-located with the USAF Eastern Launch Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The USAF operates two launch communications ground stations, but they are not designed to transmit voice, commands or other data to the launch vehicle or astronauts. The bi-directional uplink-downlink communications responsibility for human missions has historically resided with the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Several market analyses and feasibility studies investigating concepts to provide NASAs next generation launch communications services were performed during the Constellation Program prior to its cancellation in 2009, and as part of the Kennedy Space Centers follow-on efforts to transform itself into a 21st century multi-user spaceport. In 2012, the Kennedy Space Center and the USAF 45th Space Wing jointly led a study to analyze the market needs of current and future launch systems and assess the operational deficiencies of the Eastern Range infrastructure. The study team issued several recommendations, two of which ultimately became driving operational capability requirements for the NEN LCS: increased telemetry data rates of at least 20 Mbps, and S-band uplink capability. Additional capabilities identified in the requirements development process include spread spectrum modulation support, LDPC 12 and 78 error correction codes, support for IRIG-106 and CCSDS data formats, automated best source selection, and Space Link Extension (SLE) services for data distribution. The NEN LCS is comprised of two permanent ground stations, the new Kennedy Uplink Station (KUS) and refurbished Ponce de Leon (PDL) station. Both stations are remotely operated from the Global Monitor and Control Center at Wallops Flight Facility. This core architecture is extensible through host-tenant arrangements with the U.S. Air Force and deployable assets, enabling agile, tailored and robust solutions to meet the needs of civil, commercial or military customers. The NEN LCS has three use cases:1.To provide agile, tailored and robust launch communications solutions to Florida spaceport customers2.To provide orbital communications services to near-earth customers 3.To provide an experimental proving ground for Space Mobile Network concepts and technologies The NEN LCS driving mission is to support the bi-directional link with the Orion crew capsule and two 20 Mbps telemetry links from the Space Launch System core stage on Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of NASAs flagship human exploration systems.

Roberts, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Integrated Software Architecture for Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation

Solar Cruiser is a solar sailing mission, riding as a secondary payload to the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, slated to launch in February of 2025. The Solar Cruiser vehicle will generate thrust via a complex, low-thrust solar sail. The extreme low-thrust nature of the solar sail will leave Solar Cruiser highly sensitive to external environmental effects (such as solar radiation pressure and high-order gravitational perturbations) throughout the entirety of flight. Because of this, preliminary operational optimization routines must be intricately tied to high-order predictive propagation models to ensure the greatest possible confidence in mission success. The Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation (MDNav) team has designed a software tool suite, employing the latest in software containerization technology, to accomplish this task; allowing for seamless development across several users and operating systems. Combining JPL’s Monte toolkit with high-performance optimizers written by the University of Alabama, the proposed architecture allows for instant verification of optimized trajectories within the same development environment that the optimization takes place, removing the need for mission designers and navigators to switch between tools. The MDNav suite image deployment process is separated from the development and operational scripts to be used in flight, which allows for maintaining a low-footprint version control profile without unnecessary file bloating. This paper discusses the historical differences between previous iterations of the Solar Cruiser MDNav tool suite and the current iteration, planned operational interfaces of the tool with other software and subsystems, and the planned path forward in maintaining containerization services for the software throughout the lifetime of Solar Cruiser.

optimization↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Integrated Software Architecture for Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation

Solar Cruiser is a solar sailing mission, riding as a secondary payload to the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, expected to launch in February of 2025. The Solar Cruiser vehicle will generate thrust via a complex, low-thrust solar sail. The extreme low-thrust nature of the solar sail will leave Solar Cruiser highly sensitive to external environmental effects (such as solar radiation pressure and high-order gravitational perturbations) throughout the entirety of flight. Because of this, preliminary & operational optimization routines must be intricately tied to high-order predictive propagation models to ensure the greatest possible confidence in mission success. The Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation (MDNav) team has designed a software tool suite, employing the latest in software containerization technology, to accomplish this task, allowing for seamless development across several users and operating systems. Combining JPL’s Monte toolkit with high-performance optimizers written by researchers at the University of Alabama, the proposed architecture allows for instant verification of optimized trajectories within the same development environment that the optimization takes place, removing the need for mission designers and navigators to switch between tools. The MDNav software suite itself is separated from the development and operational scripts to be used in flight, which allows for maintaining a low-footprint version control profile – thus avoiding unnecessary file bloating. This paper discusses the historical differences between previous iterations of the Solar Cruiser MDNav tool suite and the current iteration, planned operational interfaces of the tool with other software and subsystems, and the planned path forward in maintaining containerization services for the software throughout the lifetime of Solar Cruiser.

Containerization↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Integrated Software Architecture for Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation

Solar Cruiser is a solar sailing mission, riding as a secondary payload to the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, expected to launch in February of 2025. The Solar Cruiser vehicle will generate thrust via a complex, low-thrust solar sail. The extreme low-thrust nature of the solar sail will leave Solar Cruiser highly sensitive to external environmental effects (such as solar radiation pressure and high-order gravitational perturbations) throughout the entirety of flight. Because of this, preliminary & operational optimization routines must be intricately tied to high-order predictive propagation models to ensure the greatest possible confidence in mission success. The Solar Cruiser Mission Design and Navigation (MDNav) team has designed a software tool suite, employing the latest in software containerization technology, to accomplish this task, allowing for seamless development across several users and operating systems. Combining JPL’s Monte toolkit with University of Alabama’s high-performance optimizer, ASSET, the proposed architecture allows for instant verification of optimized trajectories within the same development environment that the optimization takes place, removing the need for mission designers and navigators to switch between tools. The MDNav software suite itself is separated from the development and operational scripts to be used in flight, which allows for maintaining a low-footprint version control profile – thus avoiding unnecessary file bloating. This paper discusses the historical differences between previous iterations of the Solar Cruiser MDNav tool suite and the current iteration, planned operational interfaces of the tool with other software and subsystems, and the planned path forward in maintaining containerization services for the software throughout the lifetime of Solar Cruiser.

solar cruiser↗