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NASA NTRS2010

Commercial Orbital Transportation Cargo Services Environmental Control and Life Support Integration

The International Space Station s (ISS) largest crew and cargo resupply vehicle, the Space Shuttle, will retire in 2011. To help augment ISS resupply and return capability, NASA announced a project to promote the development of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) for the ISS in January of 2006. By December of 2008, NASA entered into space act agreements with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation for COTS development and ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS). The intent of CRS is to fly multiple resupply missions each year to ISS with SpaceX s Dragon vehicle providing resupply and return capabilities and Orbital Science Corporation s Cygnus vehicle providing resupply capability to ISS. The ISS program launched an integration effort to ensure that these new commercial vehicles met the requirements of the ISS vehicle and ISS program needs. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) requirements cover basic cargo vehicle needs including maintaining atmosphere, providing atmosphere circulation, and fire detection and suppression. The ISS-COTS integration effort brought unique challenges combining NASA s established processes and design knowledge with the commercial companies new initiatives and limited experience with human space flight. This paper will discuss the ISS ECLS COTS integration effort including challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

Duchesne, Stephanie↗

NASA NTRS2012

Red Dragon: Low-cost Access to the Surface of Mars using Commercial Capabilities

We will discuss the feasibility of using a minimally-modified variant of a SpaceX Dragon capsule as a low-cost, large-capacity, near-term, Mars lander for scientific and human-precursor missions. We have been evaluating such a Red Dragon platform as an option for a Discovery Program mission concept. A Red Dragon lander has the potential to be low cost primarily because it would be derived from a routinely-flying spacecraft. Dragon is being developed to ferry cargo and crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The cargo variant is currently undergoing test flights, which will be followed by standard ISS cargo missions and, eventually, crewed flights. The human variant, unlike other Earth-return vehicles, appears to also have most of the capabilities necessary to land on Mars. In particular, it has a set of high-thrust, throttleable, storable bi-propellant Super- Draco engines integrated directly into the capsule which are intended for launch abort and powered landings on Earth. These thrusters suggest the possibility of a parachute-free, fully-propulsive deceleration at Mars from supersonic speeds to the surface. Concepts for large, human-relevant landers (see, e.g., [1]) also often employ supersonic retro-propulsion; Red Dragon's entry, descent, and landing approach would scale to those landers. Further, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch vehicle, currently under development and expected to have its first flight in 2013, will be capable of sending Dragon on a trajectory to Mars. We will discuss our motivation for exploring a Red Dragon lander, the primary technical questions which determine its feasibility, and the current results of our analysis. In particular, we will examine entry, descent, and landing (EDL) in detail. We will describe the modifications to Dragon necessary for interplanetary cruise, EDL, and operations on the Martian surface.

Karcz, John↗

NASA NTRS2012

Cargo Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Environmental Control and Life Support Integration

The International Space Station s (ISS) largest crew and cargo resupply vehicle, the Space Shuttle, retired in 2011. To help augment ISS resupply and return capability, NASA announced a project to promote the development of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) for the ISS in January of 2006. By December of 2008, NASA entered into space act agreements with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation for COTS development and ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS). The intent of CRS is to fly multiple resupply missions each year to ISS with SpaceX s Dragon vehicle providing resupply and return capabilities and Orbital Science Corporation s Cygnus vehicle providing resupply capability to ISS. The ISS program launched an integration effort to ensure that these new commercial vehicles met the requirements of the ISS vehicle and ISS program needs. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) requirements cover basic cargo vehicle needs including maintaining atmosphere, providing atmosphere circulation, and fire detection and suppression. The ISS-COTS integration effort brought unique challenges combining NASA s established processes and design knowledge with the commercial companies new initiatives and limited experience with human space flight. This paper will discuss the ISS ECLS COTS integration effort including challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

Duchesne, Stephanie↗

NASA NTRS2013

Mars Sample Return Using Commercial Capabilities: ERV Trajectory and Capture Requirements

Mars Sample Return was presented as the highest priority planetary science mission of the next decade [1]. Lemke et al. [2] present a Mars Sample Return mission concept in which the sample is returned directly from the surface of Mars to an Earth orbit. The sample is recovered in Earth Orbit instead of being transferred between spacecraft in Mars Orbit. This paper provides the details of this sample recovery in Earth orbit and presents as such a sub-element of the overall Mars sample return concept given in [2]. We start from the assumption that a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), initially landed on Mars using a modified SpaceX Dragon capsule, has successfully delivered the sample, already contained within an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV), to a parking orbit around Mars. From the parking orbit, the ERV imparts sufficient Delta-V to inject itself into an earthbound trajectory and to be captured into an Earth orbit eventually. We take into account launch window and Delta-V considerations as well as the additional constraint of increased safety margins imposed by planetary protection regulations. We focus on how to overcome two distinct challenges of the sample return that are driven by the issues of planetary protection: (1) the design of an ERV trajectory meeting all the requirements including the need to avoid contamination of Earth's atmosphere; (2) the concept of operations for retrieving the Martian samples in Earth orbit in a safe way. We present an approach to retrieve the samples through a rendezvous between the ERV and a second SpaceX Dragon capsule. The ERV executes a trajectory that brings it from low Mars orbit (LMO) to a Moon-trailing Earth orbit at high inclination with respect to the Earth-Moon plane. After a first burn at Trans-Earth Injection (TEI), the trajectory uses a second burn at perigee during an Earth flyby maneuver to capture the ERV in Earth orbit. The ERV then uses a non-propulsive Moon flyby to come to a near-circular Moon-trailing orbit. To perform the Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR), a second Dragon capsule is then launched from Earth and a similar lunar flyby is performed to rendezvous with the ERV. The requirements for rendezvous, close proximity operations and capture of the sample canister are described. A concept of operations for sample retrieval is presented along with design specifications of the ERV, the required modifications to the Dragon capsule, as well as the hardware, software, sensors, actuators, and capture mechanisms used. In our concept, a container is mounted to the front hatch of Dragon, capable of accommodating the sample canister and sealing it from the rest of the capsule. The sample canister is captured using a robotic arm with a magnetic grappling mechanism. Dragon then performs a propulsive maneuver to return to Earth for a controlled re-entry while the ERV (sans sample container) is left in the Moon trailing orbit. Contingency cases and related mitigation strategies are also discussed, including the advantages and disadvantages of performing the ERV rendezvous with a crew.

Faber, Nicolas F.↗

NASA NTRS2007

KSC Vertical Launch Site Evaluation

RS&H was tasked to evaluate the potential available launch sites for a combined two user launch pad. The Launch sites were to be contained entirely within current Kennedy Space Center property lines. The user launch vehicles to be used for evaluation are in the one million pounds of first stage thrust range. Additionally a second evaluation criterion was added early on in the study. A single user launch site was to be evaluated for a two million pound first stage thrust vehicle. Both scenarios were to be included in the report. To provide fidelity to the study criteria, a specific launch vehicle in the one million pound thrust range was chosen as a guide post or straw-man launch vehicle. The RpK K-1 vehicle is a current Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS), contract awardee along with the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle. SpaceX, at the time of writing, is planning to launch COTS and possibly other payloads from Cx-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station property. RpK has yet to declare a specific launch site as their east coast US launch location. As such it was deemed appropriate that RpK's vehicle requirements be used as conceptual criteria. For the purposes of this study those criteria were marginally generalized to make them less specifiC.

Phillips, Lynne V.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Mars Sample Return Using Commercial Capabilities: Mission Architecture Overview

Mars Sample Return (MSR) is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science. This paper presents an overview of a feasibility study for an MSR mission. The objective of the study was to determine whether emerging commercial capabilities can be used to reduce the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of reducing mission cost. We report the feasibility of a complete and closed MSR mission design using the following scenario that covers three synodic launch opportunities, beginning with the 2022 opportunity: A Falcon Heavy injects a SpaceX Red Dragon capsule and trunk onto a Trans Mars Injection (TMI) trajectory. The capsule is modified to carry all the hardware needed to return samples collected on Mars including a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV), and hardware to transfer a sample collected in a previously landed rover mission to the ERV. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Super Sonic Retro Propulsion (SSRP). After previously collected samples are transferred to the ERV, the single-stage MAV launches the ERV from the surface of Mars. The MAV uses a storable liquid bi-propellant propulsion system to deliver the ERV to a Mars phasing orbit. After a brief phasing period, the ERV, which also uses a storable bi-propellant system, performs a Trans Earth Injection (TEI) burn. Upon arrival at Earth, the ERV performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a lunar trailing circular orbit - an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A later mission, using Dragon and launched by a Falcon Heavy, performs a rendezvous with the ERV in the lunar trailing orbit, retrieves the sample container and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of pristine martian materials into the Earth's biosphere. The analysis methods employed standard and specialized aerospace engineering tools. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships (MERs). The architecture was iterated until overall mission convergence was achieved on at least one path. Subsystems analyzed in this study include support structures, power system, nose fairing, thermal insulation, actuation devices, MAV exhaust venting, and GN&C. Best practice application of loads, mass growth contingencies, and resource margins were used. For Falcon Heavy capabilities and Dragon subsystems we utilized publically available data from SpaceX, published analyses from other sources, as well as our own engineering and aerodynamic estimates. Earth Launch mass is under 11 mt, which is within the estimated capability of a Falcon Heavy, with margin. Total entry masses between 7 and 10 mt were considered with closure occurring between 9 and 10 mt. Propellant mass fractions for each major phase of the EDL - Entry, Terminal Descent, and Hazard Avoidance - have been derived. An assessment of the effect of the entry conditions on the thermal protection system (TPS), currently in use for Dragon missions, shows no significant stressors. A useful payload mass of 2.0 mt is provided and includes mass growth allowances for the MAV, the ERV, and mission unique equipment. We also report options for the MAV and ERV, including propulsion systems, crewed versus robotic retrieval mission, as well as direct Earth entry. International planetary protection policies as well as verifiable means of compliance will have a large impact on any MSR mission design. We identify areas within our architecture where such impacts occur. We also describe preliminary compliance measures that will be the subject of future work. This work shows that emerging commercial capabilities as well as new methodologies can be used to efficiently support an important planetary science objective. The work also has applications for human exploration missions that use propulsive EDL techniques

Red Dragon↗

NASA NTRS2013

Mars Sample Return Using Commercial Capabilities: Mission Architecture Overview

Mars Sample Return (MSR) is the highest priority science mission for the next decade as recommended by the recent Decadal Survey of Planetary Science. This paper presents an overview of a feasibility study for a MSR mission. The objective of the study was to determine whether emerging commercial capabilities can be used to reduce the number of mission systems and launches required to return the samples, with the goal of reducing mission cost. The major element required for the MSR mission are described and include an integration of the emerging commercial capabilities with small spacecraft design techniques; new utilizations of traditional aerospace technologies; and recent technological developments. We report the feasibility of a complete and closed MSR mission design using the following scenario that covers three synodic launch opportunities, beginning with the 2022 opportunity: A Falcon Heavy injects a SpaceX Red Dragon capsule and trunk onto a Trans Mars Injection (TMI) trajectory. The capsule is modified to carry all the hardware needed to return samples collected on Mars including a Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV); an Earth Return Vehicle (ERV); and hardware to transfer a sample collected in a previously landed rover mission to the ERV. The Red Dragon descends to land on the surface of Mars using Supersonic Retro Propulsion (SRP). After previously collected samples are transferred to the ERV, the single-stage MAV launches the ERV from the surface of Mars to a Mars phasing orbit. The MAV uses a storable liquid, pump fed bi-propellant propulsion system. After a brief phasing period, the ERV, which also uses a storable bi-propellant system, performs a Trans Earth Injection (TEI) burn. Once near Earth the ERV performs Earth and lunar swing-bys and is placed into a Lunar Trailing Orbit (LTO0 - an Earth orbit, at lunar distance. A later mission, using a Dragon and launched by a Falcon Heavy, performs a rendezvous with the ERV in the lunar trailing orbit, retrieves the sample container and breaks the chain of contact with Mars by transferring the sample into a sterile and secure container. With the sample contained, the retrieving spacecraft, makes a controlled Earth re-entry preventing any unintended release of pristine Martian materials into the Earth's biosphere. Other capsule type vehicles and associated launchers may be applicable. The analysis methods employed standard and specialized aerospace engineering tools. Mission system elements were analyzed with either direct techniques or by using parametric mass estimating relationships (MERs). The architecture was iterated until overall mission convergence was achieved on at least one path. Subsystems analyzed in this study include support structures, power system, nose fairing, thermal insulation, actuation devices, MAV exhaust venting, and GN&C. Best practice application of loads, mass growth contingencies, and resource margins were used. For Falcon Heavy capabilities and Dragon subsystems we utilized publically available data from SpaceX; published analyses from other sources; as well as our own engineering and aerodynamic estimates. Earth Launch mass is under 11 mt, which is within the estimated capability of a Falcon Heavy, with margin. Total entry masses between 7 and 10 mt were considered with closure occurring between 9 and 10 mt. Propellant mass fractions for each major phase of the EDL - Entry, Terminal Descent, and Hazard Avoidance - have been derived. An assessment of the entry conditions on the thermal protection system (TPS), currently in use for Dragon missions, has been made. And shows no significant stressors. A useful mass of 2.0 mt is provided and includes mass growth allowances for the MAV, the ERV, and mission unique equipment. We also report on alternate propellant options for the MAV and options for the ERV, including propulsion systems; crewed versus robotic retrieval mission; as well as direct Earth entry. International Planetary Protection Policies as well as verifiable means of compliance will have a large impact on any MSR mission design. We identify areas within our architecture where such impacts occur. This work shows that emerging commercial capabilities can be used to effectively integrated into a mission to achieve an important planetary science objective.

Mars Sample Return↗

NASA NTRS2014

Veggie Hardware Validation Test Preliminary Results and Lessons Learned

The Veggie hardware validation test, VEG-01, was conducted on the International Space Station during Expeditions 39 and 40 from May through June of 2014. The Veggie hardware and the VEG-01 experiment payload were launched to station aboard the SpaceX-3 resupply mission in April, 2014. Veggie was installed in an Expedite-the-Processing-of-Experiments-to-Space-Station (ExPRESS) rack in the Columbus module, and the VEG-01 validation test was initiated. Veggie installation was successful, and power was supplied to the unit. The hardware was programmed and the root mat reservoir and plant pillows were installed without issue. As expected, a small amount of growth media was observed in the sealed bags which enclosed the plant pillows when they were destowed. Astronaut Steve Swanson used the wet/dry vacuum to clean up the escaped particles. Water insertion or priming the first plant pillow was unsuccessful as an issue prevented water movement through the quick disconnect. All subsequent pillows were successfully primed, and the initial pillow was replaced with a backup pillow and successfully primed. Six pillows were primed, but only five pillows had plants which germinated. After about a week and a half it was observed that plants were not growing well and that pillow wicks were dry. This indicated that the reservoir was not supplying sufficient water to the pillows via wicking, and so the team reverted to an operational fix which added water directly to the plant pillows. Direct watering of the pillows led to a recovery in several of the stressed plants; a couple of which did not recover. An important lesson learned involved Veggie's bellows. The bellows tended to float and interfere with operations when opened, so Steve secured them to the baseplate during plant tending operations. Due to the perceived intensity of the LED lights, the crew found it challenging to both work under the lights and read crew procedures on their computer. Although the lights are not a safety hazard, for visual comfort crewmembers were advised to wear sunglasses when working with the plants and then they can lift glasses to read procedures. Steve Swanson had already trail-blazed this procedure when he initiated VEG-01. The temperature and humidity data logger was relocated mid-experiment to provide measurements on both sides of the unit. Images of the plants were downlinked weekly, and videos of installation and harvest were recorded. This imaging frequency was not sufficient to monitor and respond to changes in plant growth. Plants, samples, and data loggers will be returned on SpaceX-4, scheduled to return the fall of 2014. Lessons learned will be translated into hardware and operational modifications for future Veggie payloads.

International Space Station↗

NASA NTRS2017

Red Dragon Drill Missions to Mars

We present the concept of using a variant of a Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) Dragon space capsule as a low-cost, large-capacity, near-term, Mars lander (dubbed "Red Dragon") for scientific and human precursor missions. SpaceX initially designed the Dragon capsule for flight near Earth, and Dragon has successfully flown many times to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and successfully returned the Dragon spacecraft to Earth. Here we present capsule hardware modifications that are required to enable flight to Mars and operations on the martian surface. We discuss the use of the Dragon system to support NASA Discovery class missions to Mars and focus in particular on Dragon's applications for drilling missions. We find that a Red Dragon platform is well suited for missions capable of drilling deeper on Mars (at least 2 m) than has been accomplished to date due to its ability to land in a powered controlled mode, accommodate a long drill string, and provide payload space for sample processing and analysis. We show that a Red Dragon drill lander could conduct surface missions at three possible targets including the ice-cemented ground at the Phoenix landing site (68degN), the subsurface ice discovered near the Viking 2 (49degN) site by fresh impact craters, and the dark sedimentary subsurface material at the Curiosity site (4.5degS).

Drill↗

NASA NTRS2018

NASA: 60 Years and Counting...

Sputnik launched on 4 Oct 1057. On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, the creation of NASA. The Soviets launched the first human into orbit, Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. On 5 May 1961, Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 Mercury capsule lifted off at 9:34 a.m. from Launch Complex 5 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and flew a suborbital trajectory lasting 15 minutes and 22 seconds, America's first man in space. On 25 May 1961, Kennedy delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress. In that speech, he stated "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." The rest, as they say, is history. Project Mercury, the first U.S. program to put humans in space, made 25 flights, six of which carried astronauts between 1961 and 1963. The Gemini program primarily tested equipment and mission procedures and trained astronauts and ground crews for future Apollo missions to the Moon. Exactly eight years, one month and 26 days after President Kennedy challenged Americans to reach for the Moon, Project Apollo landed the first humans on the lunar surface and returned them safely to Earth. In 1973, Skylab expeditions paved the way for the International Space Station. Over 30 years, NASA's space shuttle fleet, ”Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour,” flew 135 missions and carried 355 different people to space. The space shuttle carried people into orbit repeatedly; launched, recovered and repaired satellites; conducted cutting-edge research; and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. Tragically, NASA lost two crews of seven in the 1986 Challenger accident and the 2003 Columbia accident. The International Space Station is a model for global cooperation and scientific advancements that is enabling growth of private industry in low-Earth orbit and development of new technologies to advance human space exploration. Built between 1998 and 2011, the space station has housed humans continuously since Nov. 2, 2000. NASA has contracted with commercial companies SpaceX, Orbital ATK, and Sierra Nevada Corporation to deliver science investigations, cargo, and supplies to the crews living in space, and soon Boeing and SpaceX will transport astronauts to and from the station. Today, NASA is working on many fronts to advance man's presence in space. NASA's Exploration Campaign will establish U.S. preeminence in cislunar space through the operations and the deployment of a U.S.-led Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOPG). Together with the Orion and SLS Programs, the LOPG is central to advancing and sustaining human space exploration goals, and is the unifying single stepping off point for human cislunar operations, lunar surface access and missions to Mars. As one might expect, EMC for all this activity is challenging, to say the least. In the next half-hour or so, I will talk about some of those challenges and how the different programs are meeting them.

Scully, Bob↗

NASA NTRS2019

Marsbee - Swarm of Flapping Wing Flyers for Enhanced Mars Exploration: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) - Phase I: Final Report

Mars exploration has received significant interest from academia, industry, government, and the general public. Despite continued interest, flying on Mars remains challenging, mainly due to the ultra-thin Martian atmospheric density. Although the gravitational acceleration on Mars is 38 percent of Earth's 9.8 meters per second squared, the Martian atmospheric density is only 1.3 percent of the air density on Earth. The aerodynamic forces are proportional to the ambient fluid density. Therefore, flying near the surface of Mars has been considered nearly impossible. The proposed mission architecture (Fig. 1) consists of a Mars rover (already existing) that serves as a mobile base for Marsbees - a deployable swarm of small bio-inspired flapping wing vehicles. In one ConOps scenario, each Marsbee would carry an integrated stereographic video camera and the swarm could construct a 3D topographic map of the local surface for rover path planning. These flying scouts would provide a "third-dimension" to the rover capabilities. In other scenarios, each part of the swarm of Marsbees could carry pressure and temperature sensors for atmospheric sampling, or small spectral analyzers for identification of mineral outcroppings. In each scenario, the rover acts as a recharging and deployment/return station and data and communication hub. Human exploration of Mars is one of the major objectives of NASA and commercial entities such as SpaceX and Boeing. The identified innovations unique to the bio-inspired flapping Marsbee provide viable multi-mode flying mobility for Martian atmospheric and terrain exploration. A swarm of Marsbees provides an enhanced reconfigurable Mars exploration system that is resilient to individual component failures. These Marsbees can carry sensors and wireless communication devices in combination with a Mars rover and helicopters. These enhanced sensing and information gathering abilities can contribute to the following NASA Mars mission objectives: i) "Determine the habitability of an environment", ii) "Obtain surface weather measurements to validate global atmospheric models", and iii) "Prepare for human exploration on Mars." Various commercial entities, e.g. SpaceX and Boeing, are investing in technologies to transport humans to Mars.

Kang, Chang-kwon↗

NASA NTRS2016

On-Orbit Manufacturing From Orbital Factories to In Situ Resource Utilization

This webinar will review commercial prospects for manufacturing in orbit. Doing business in space is rapidly becoming more reliable, affordable and accessible. From 2010 to 2015 launch prices went down by a factor of 10 or more, to about $5,000kg while investments into Space 2.0 companies and technologies are closing in on $2.5 Billion (New Space Global). With three commercial suppliers (SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada Corp) to Earths orbits, mission frequency is improving dramatically. Moreover, private space companies (SpaceX Reusable Dragon Lab; Bigelows B330) are also scouting the opportunities of renting or selling modules as platforms for orbital free-flying facilities; modules that can be used for automated fabrication to manned experiments.Topics addressed in the webinar include: 1. Case studies of unique competitive advantages that can be gained from microgravity and space vacuum: wafer reprocessing, fiber optics, crystal growth;2. Prospective solar power orbital data centers;3. Reuse and recycling of orbital debris as a possible feedstock for robotic 3D fabrication potentially in the vacuum as well as inside facilities;4. The story behind the original WakeShield wafer fabrication facility and its relevance to todays activities;5. Energy needs for on-orbit manufacturing6. Environmental value proposition of on-orbit manufacturing for products with toxic byproducts or excessively large green house gases footprints;7. Longer term scenario of flexible, connected, automated, intelligent and sustainable orbital factories of the future.Opening up a less-appreciated aspect of NewSpace, this webinar will be of high interest to CTOs, Directors and Managers from product development to RD, Innovation Strategy leaders, and investors, across many different industrial verticals (materials, electronics, pharmaceuticals, advanced sustainable manufacturing, bioengineering, etc.)and anyone trying to understand what value space can have for their business in the near and far future.

Cozmuta, Ioana↗

NASA NTRS2019

Lunar Commercial Development Infographic

This infographic captures Commercial Landers and Rovers presented in the dates that the companies said in public sources that they plan to deploy their vehicles to the Moon and includes NASA activities (Gateway, Orion, PPP Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity), CLPS, and private investors (Bigelow, Blue Origin, SpaceX). This image is expected to change over time to reflect changes in company's plans as they develop their spacecraft. All images used are public domain except for SpaceX and Bigelow images.

Lynn D Harper↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Microbiological Analysis of Mizuna Grown in the Veggie Hardware to Define Critical Control Points and Ensure the Safety of Space Grown Crops

The Veggie facility on the International Space Station has been utilized as a “pick and eat” plant growth system to provide fresh produce for crew consumption. The VEG-04 experiments completed in 2019 examined the effect of red-rich and blue-rich light treatments on the growth of mizuna as well as harvest method and resulting yield. Analysis was performed on plant tissues and associated hardware to evaluate the influence of these experimental variables on the microbial population. VEG-04A plant pillows with pre-planted Mizuna mustard seeds were launched on SpaceX-16 in December 2018. The pillows were initiated, and a single 35-day harvest was performed. Veg 04B pillows were pre-planted with Mizuna seeds and launched on SpaceX-18 in July 2019, initiated and subsequently harvested at days 29, 43 and 58. The crew consumed approximately half of the produce, and the remainder was frozen and returned for analysis. Leaves, swabs, wicking material, substrate, and roots were processed and plated on media for the enumeration and isolation of bacteria and fungi. Isolated bacterial colonies were identified using Biolog Micro ID system or MicroSEQ16S rDNA sequencing technique. Fungal colonies were identified using the MicroSEQ D2 rDNA kit. Sample extracts were plated onto specialized media to identify Escherichia coli/coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella sp. Results indicate that bacterial and fungal counts were higher in plants grown in red-rich lightin VEG-04A, while the opposite was true in the Veg-04B third harvest. Microbial counts increased with the repeated harvest method used in Veg-04B. These data support the understanding of environmental and horticultural practices that can affect the microbiological quality of space-grown produce grown and aid in identification of critical control points for the development of a hazard analysis critical control point plan for ISS-grown crops. This research was co-funded by the NASA’s Human Research Program and Space Biology.

Mary E Hummerick↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Landing Humans and Human-Class Cargo on the Moon and Mars

For more than a decade, efforts have been ongoing at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, to land humans and large, human-rated cargo on planetary bodies like the Moon and Mars. This work continues today under the Center’s Lander Programs (LP) office. Recognizing MSFC’s heritage, NASA stood up the Human Landing System program at the Center in August 2019 to be responsible for spacecrafts that will land the next American astronauts on the Moon under Artemis. With work well underway for the historic Artemis III mission to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface through the Appendix H Option A contract with SpaceX, LP is focused on the development of landers that will support the Agency’s long-term Artemis efforts at the Moon and NASA’s future at Mars. In March 2022, NASA announced its plan to solicit a second industry provider in addition to SpaceX to develop and demonstrate a lander that meets the program’s extended set of requirements for missions beyond Artemis III. Under the umbrella of Sustaining Lunar Development, these requirements will meet NASA’s needs for recurring, long-term access to the lunar surface, such as accommodating an increased crew size and delivering more mass to the surface. Additionally, NASA plans to leverage crewed lander development activities to procure and certify the design of landers capable of human-class cargo delivery. This paper will examine how the Lander Program office at MSFC is bridging from the initial demonstration phase of development for the Human Landing System program to the Sustaining Lunar Development phase and feeding forward to Mars. The requirements and lines of effort for landing humans and human class cargo will be discussed, as well as near-term and future milestones for the program.

Lemuel Carpenter↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Commercial Crew Program and Medical Operational Challenges

This abstract is submitted as part of the USSPACECOM Command Surgeon’s panel demonstrating the medical capabilities and challenges involved in human space flight support operations. BACKGROUND: NASA embarked on the Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts into low-earth orbit from US soil and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The eventual industry providers selected were SpaceX (SpX) and Boeing. These commercial transportation systems are vital to ensure crew availability on ISS for research and discovery. OVERVIEW: NASA/SpaceX Demo-2 (DM2) mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2020 as the historic first crewed test-flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two NASA Astronauts onboard. DM2 represented the first flight in 9-years from US soil since STS-135 in 2011. The 63-day mission ended with splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the first US water recovery in 45-years since Apollo-Soyuz. Validation of system hardware and operations allowed four-person crews to launch on subsequently missions (Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-3, Crew-4, Crew-5 to date), which included International Partner crewmembers. DISCUSSION: A multitude of operational, training, medical, and technical issues needed to be addressed between NASA Medical Operations, the commercial provider SpaceX, and the Department of Defense. These included Flight rule development, occupant protection, pressurized suit testing, communication plans during mission phases, and emergency simulations for supporting Flight Surgeons and Biomedical Engineers. In providing crew experience with expected launch and entry G-force profile, Centrifuge training was established. Preventive health measures via the Health Stabilization Program were especially vital during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unique aspects arise for SpX Dragon parachute splashdown and shipboard recovery operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The new Commercial Crew Program is indeed a wonderfully challenging and exciting era for human spaceflight.

Joseph Dervay↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Conjunction Assessment and Deconfliction Paradigm for Co-Located Satellite Constellations With on-Spacecraft “Autonomous” Flight Dynamics Control

Satellite constellations that employ on-spacecraft flight dynamics and conjunction assessment (CA) approaches face particular challenges. First, they must arrange to obtain and upload to the constellation satellite close approach information, such as Conjunction Data Messages, so that their on-board systems will have the data they need to make informed CA decisions. Second, given current latencies in obtaining CA screening information, such systems often cannot obtain dedicated screenings of their proposed maneuvers before they are executed. Third, they usually cannot engage in real time with owner/operators (O/Os) with whom they may come into conjunction, relying instead on pre-arranged courses of action that may or may not fit a given situation well. Despite these difficulties, it is nonetheless possible, as operators such as SpaceX have demonstrated, to operate safely using on-board CA calculations, in the presence of a largely collaborative operating environment. The situation breaks down, however, when two constellations that operate with such a paradigm are placed in the same orbital region and will experience conjunctions with each other. Each may have a vague idea of where the other’s satellites are, or perhaps even a somewhat precise idea if they exchange O/O ephemerides, but neither will know the other’s more immediate maneuver intentions, especially for situations in which they are in a high-risk conjunction with each other and a mitigation maneuver is required. As there is no formalized way for these automated systems to ascertain each other’s intentions for this type of conjunction, it is quite possible that each spacecraft may choose a maneuver that results in the two objects’ colliding. An opportunity to develop a solution to this problem was presented by the NASA “Starling” project, a small experimental constellation developed to demonstrate autonomous satellite control and constellation reconfiguration and for which a launch was obtained that, serendipitously, will place this constellation close to the SpaceX Starlink constellation. Because the NASA constellation is experimental, an extended mission part of the mission has been negotiated to implement and test mechanisms for resolving the problem of co-located constellations with on-board flight dynamics control. For the last eighteen months, a consortium among NASA Ames (the Starling satellite providers), NASA CARA (the Agency organization responsible for conjunction assessment), Space X, and the Department of Commerce (in observer status) has met regularly to assemble a concept of operations for a robust solution to this problem and has developed a prototype ground node that will serve as a needed CA screening and information dispensary. The approach and methods, as well as the active employment of the developed ground node, will be tested both in simulation before actual use and then in actual spacecraft operations, which are anticipated to begin in January 2024. This paper will describe the co-located autonomously-controlled constellation problem and the developed solution in detail, outlining what ground node (i.e., government) infrastructure and features are required, what particular capabilities are needed by the constellations themselves in order to make use of this deconfliction paradigm, and the migration path forward to allow such a capability set to be incorporated by the Department of Commerce’s space traffic coordination system.

Conjunction Assessment↗

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NASA Commercial Crew Program and Medical Operational Challenges

BACKGROUND: NASA embarked on the Commercial Crew Program to launch astronauts into low-earth orbit from US soil and dock with the International Space Station (ISS). The eventual industry providers selected were SpaceX (SpX) and Boeing. These commercial transportation systems are vital to ensure crew availability on ISS for research and discovery. OVERVIEW: NASA/SpaceX Demo-2 (DM2) mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in 2020 as the historic first crewed test-flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft with two NASA Astronauts onboard. DM2 represented the first flight in 9-years from US soil since STS-135 in 2011. The 63-day mission ended with splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, the first US water recovery in 45-years since Apollo-Soyuz. Validation of system hardware and operations allowed four-person crews to launch on subsequently missions (Crew-1, Crew-2, Crew-3, Crew-4, Crew-5 to date), which included International Partner crewmembers. DISCUSSION: A multitude of operational, training, medical, and technical issues needed to be addressed between NASA Medical Operations, the commercial provider SpaceX, and the Department of Defense. These included Flight rule development, occupant protection, pressurized suit testing, communication plans during mission phases, and emergency simulations for supporting Flight Surgeons and Biomedical Engineers. In providing crew experience with expected launch and entry G-force profile, Centrifuge training was established. Preventive health measures via the Health Stabilization Program were especially vital during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Unique aspects arise for SpX Dragon parachute splashdown and shipboard recovery operations in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The new Commercial Crew Program is indeed a wonderfully challenging and exciting era for human spaceflight.

Joseph P Dervay↗