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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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561 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Close Range Photogrammetry in Space - Measuring the On-Orbit Clearance between Hardware on the International Space Station

When photogrammetrists read an article entitled "Photogrammetry in Space" they immediately think of terrestrial mapping using satellite imagery. However in the last 19 years the roll of close range photogrammetry in support of the manned space flight program has grown exponentially. Management and engineers have repeatedly entrusted the safety of the vehicles and their crews to the results of photogrammetric analysis. In February 2010, the Node 3 module was attached to the port side Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) of the International Space Station (ISS). Since this was not the location at which the module was originally designed to be located on the ISS, coolant lines containing liquid ammonia, were installed externally from the US Lab to Node 3 during a spacewalk. During mission preparation I had developed a plan and a set of procedures to have the astronauts acquire stereo imagery of these coolant lines at the conclusion of the spacewalk to enable us to map their as-installed location relative to the rest of the space station. Unfortunately, the actual installation of the coolant lines took longer than expected and in an effort to wrap up the spacewalk on time, the mission director made a real-time call to drop the photography. My efforts to reschedule the photography on a later spacewalk never materialized, so rather than having an as-installed model for the location of coolant lines, the master ISS CAD database continued to display an as-designed model of the coolant lines. Fast forward to the summer of 2015, the ISS program planned to berth a Japanese cargo module to the nadir Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM), immediately adjacent to the Node 3 module. A CAD based clearance analysis revealed a negative four inch clearance between the ammonia lines and a thruster nozzle on the port side of the cargo vehicle. Recognizing that the model of the ammonia line used in the clearance analysis was "as-designed" rather than "as-installed", I was asked to determine the real clearance between the ammonia lines and expected position of the thruster bell using existing on-orbit imagery. Imagery of the area of interest, taken several years earlier from the Space Shuttle during a fly-around of the ISS, was found and used to set a stereo pair. Space Vision System Targets and Handrail bolts measured in the ISS analytical coordinate system (ISSACS) prior to launch, were used to obtain an absolute orientation so all photogrammetric measurement's would be in the ISSACS coordinate system. Coordinates for the design location of the edges of the thruster bell, when the cargo vehicle was fully berthed to the ISS, were displayed in 3-D relative to the as-installed ammonia lines. This immediately revealed a positive clearance, which was later quantified to be a minimum of 10" +/0.5". The analysis was completed over a single weekend by a single analyst. Using updated imagery, acquired from the station's robotic arm, a complete as-installed model of the coolant lines was generated from stereo photography and replaced the design model in the master ISS CAD database.

Liddle, Donn↗
NASA NTRS2004

Computing and combustion

Coming into the Combustion Branch of the Turbomachinery and Propulsion Systems Division, there was not any set project planned out for me to work on. This was understandable, considering I am only at my sophmore year in college. Also, my mentor was a division chief and it was expected that I would be passed down the line. It took about a week for me to be placed with somebody who could use me. My first project was to write a macro for TecPlot. Commonly, a person would have a 3D contour volume modeling something such as a combustion engine. This 3D volume needed to have slices extracted from it and made into 2D scientific plots with all of the appropriate axis and titles. This was very tedious to do by hand. My macro needed to automate the process. There was some education I needed before I could start, however. First, TecPlot ran on Unix and Linux, like a growing majority of scientific applications. I knew a little about Linux, but I would need to know more to use the software at hand. I took two classes at the Learning Center on Unix and am now comfortable with Linux and Unix. I already had taken Computer Science I and II, and had undergone the transformation from Computer Programmer to Procedural Epistemologist. I knew how to design efficient algorithms, I just needed to learn the macro language. After a little less than a week, I had learned the basics of the language. Like most languages, the best way to learn more of it was by using it. It was decided that it was best that I do the macro in layers, starting simple and adding features as I went. The macro started out slicing with respect to only one axis, and did not make 2D plots out of the slices. Instead, it lined them up inside the solid. Next, I allowed for more than one axis and placed each slice in a separate frame. After this, I added code that transformed each individual slice-frame into a scientific plot. I also made frames for composite volumes, which showed all of the slices in the same XYZ space. I then designed an addition companion macro that exported each frame into its own image file. I then distributed the macros to a test group, and am awaiting feedback. In the meantime, a am researching the possible applications of distributed computing on the National Combustor Code. Many of our Linux boxes were idle for most of the day. The department thinks that it would be wonderful if we could get all of these idle processors to work on a problem under the NCC code. The client software would have to be easily distributed, such as in screensaver format or as a program that only ran when the computer was not in use. This project proves to be an interesting challenge.

Thompson, Daniel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancing Dust Tolerant Mechanisms for a Sustained Exploration of the Moon

Introduction: “I think dust is probably one of our greatest inhibitors to a nominal operation on the Moon. I think we can overcome other physio-logical or physical or mechanical problems except dust.”– Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 Technical Debrief The Apollo missions revealed the impact of lu-nar dust on mechanisms. Lunar dust particles are jagged and electrostatically charged, giving them the ability to bind or damage mechanisms and alter thermal properties. Reports documented clogged equipment and jammed mechanisms in every mission, regardless of surface duration, as well as clogged mechanisms in the Extravehicular Mobility Suit (EMS), including zippers, wrist and hose locks, faceplates, and sunshades [1-2]. Several astronauts remarked they could not have sustained surface activity much longer because clogged joints would have frozen up completely [2]. Effective dust mitigation strategies are need-ed to support longer duration stays on the lunar surface [3-4]. State of the Art: Technology for mechanisms able to operate in dusty enviroments is advancing rapidly due to the needs of both Mars rovers and the Artemis program. Vacuum-tight connectors are essential for spacesuits and habitats, and their performance can be dependent on cleaning technologies, which have proven difficult on the lunar surface. Several TRL 3-5 technologies are undergoing tests with the expectation to reach TRL 6 within 1-2 years. Some mechanisms will be infused and tested on the VIPER (Volatiles Inves-tigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission planned for mid-2020s. NASA Funded Efforts: NASA has recognized the need for dust tolerant mechanisms, and has partnered with industry to advance the state-of-the-art. At NASA GRC, KSC, and JSC, the Dust Tolerant Mechanisms Project is working to devel-op advanced actuator seals for rotary joints and rotary bearing technologies for long-term sus-tained operation in lunar dust environments. An-other NASA project at NASA GRC, partnered with GSFC, JPL, and KSC is Motors for Dusty & Ex-treme Cold Environments (MDECE). MDECE is developing an unheated magnetically-geared mo-tor that can operate continuously for a long dura-tion at an ambient temperature of -243 ºC (33 K). NASA GRC has the capability to characterize the effects of dust on seals, mechanisms, and other mating surfaces and components under lunar conditions [5]. Through the SBIR/STTR program, NASA has funded several companies to advance dust toler-ant mechanisms via the Dust Tolerant Mecha-nisms sub-topic with applications in surface mobil-ity, spacesuits, connectors, joints, and more. LSIC and Community Efforts: The Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium (LSIC) Dust Miti-gation focus group has fostered collaborations across NASA, industry, and academia to develop solutions that minimizes the impact of lunar dust on robotic and human systems. Community ef-forts have included topical meetings on dust tol-erant mechanisms, featured technology presenta-tions, and feedback to NASA on potential gaps and needs. Testing: In 2021, NASA released NASA-STD-1008 [6]. This NASA Technical Standard estab-lishes minimum requirements and provides guid-ance for testing systems and hardware to be ex-posed to dust in planetary environments. The standard has specific sections dedicated to Mechanisms Testing (e.g. bearings, gears) as well as Seals and Mating Surfaces Testing (e.g. hatches, docking systems). Gaps and Needs: NASA is tracking dust tol-erant mechanisms as a gap in a cross-directorate analysis of capability areas needed to enable fu-ture human space-flight architectures. Two high-priority gap areas include additional facilities for testing mechanisms in lunar-surface conditions, and a better understanding of vulnerabilities to the smallest, nanometer-scale dust particles. Conclusion: Understanding and mitigating lu-nar dust is critical to successful, sustained opera-tions on the lunar surface – whether autonomous or otherwise. This presentation will discuss both the state-of-the-art and open needs in lunar dust tolerant mechanisms, technology impacts, mitiga-tion approaches, testing, LSIC community efforts, and more. References: [1] Gaier, J. R. (2020). The Im-pact of Dust on Lunar Surface Equipment During Apollo. Lunar Dust 2020. [2] GRC, & Gaier, J. R. (2005). The Effects of Lunar Dust on EVA Sys-tems During the Apollo Missions. [3] Johansen, M. R. (2020). An Update on NASA’s Lunar Dust Mitigation Strategy. Lunar Dust 2020. [4] ASI, CSA, ESA, JAXA, & NASA. (2016). Dust Mitiga-tion Gap Assessment Report. [5] Jimenez, N. et al (2022), LPSC Abstract 2572. [6] NASA-STD-1008, 2021.

J I Nunez↗