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NASA NTRS2018

Nozzle Plume/Shock Interaction Experimental and Computational Sonic Boom Analyses from the NASA Ames 9- by 7-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

A wind tunnel test and a computational study were conducted to investigate the complex interactions between a supersonic nozzle plume and shock waves of differing strengths generated from various aft surfaces typical of supersonic aircraft. These analytically-defined aft surfaces were representative of horizontal tails of various sizes, and an aft deck. CFD simulations of many proposed model configurations allowed for assessments of the detailed flow interactions of components in close proximity to the nozzle, as well as assessments of the nozzle jet flow itself. The evaluation of the computational results for many candidate configurations guided the design of model components. The interactions of the waveforms from these surfaces with the jet exhaust plume can have significant adverse effects on the loudness of the sonic boom if the surfaces are not carefully integrated into an aircraft design. The greatest discrepancy in estimating sonic boom loudness for low-boom flight vehicles is currently in predicting the signatures from the aft part of an aircraft, including the interactions with the plume flow. The objectives of this test were to gain a better understanding of these interactions, and to provide a detailed experimental database from multiple sources for use as validation cases for CFD tool development. The subject test was run in the NASA Ames 9- by 7-Ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel in February 2016 at Mach numbers of 1.6 and 2.0, and was funded by the NASA Commercial Supersonics Technology (CST) Project. The nozzle flow was provided by high-pressure air (HPA) pumped through the model, and pressure signature data were acquired with the NASA 14-inch sonic boom pressure rail. The rail measured the locations of the shocks and expansions at various distances and off-track angles from the model. This enabled the impact of the nozzle plume/shock interactions on the near- and mid-field sonic boom pressure waveforms to be quantified. Schlieren images of the flow field around and behind the model were obtained with an RBOS (Retroreflective Background-Oriented Schlieren) technique to determine the origins of the shock and expansion waves, to identify the shape and boundaries of the plume, and to determine the changes in incoming and exiting waveforms within the plume. A total pressure rake was positioned closely behind the model nozzle in order to measure the total pressure profiles of the flow above, within, and below the nozzle exhaust. Model angles and positions in the tunnel were measured by photogrammetry using two cameras since the lack of a model force balance prevented the measurement of model deflections under load.Navier-Stokes computations using two different CFD codes were compared to the experimental sonic boom pressure signature data, and the rake total pressure data in the plume. A computational schlieren technique was used to compare the computed flow field with the RBOS images. The computational results were also used to complement the test data with flow field quantities that could not be measured, such as Mach number and pressure distributions to distinguish shock waves and expansion waves.

sonic boom↗
NASA NTRS1982

The Shuttle Student Involvement Project for Secondary Schools - Reports on first flights

During the 1980-81 academic year, NASA established the Shuttle Student Involvement Project for Secondary Schools (SSIP), an annual competition which invites students to propose experiments suitable for flight aboard the Space Shuttle. The purpose of the project is to stimulate the teaching and study of science and engineering among students in grades 9 through 12. Results of the first year of the project have been reported. The second competition was announced in September 1981. With a February 1, 1982 deadline, 2,800 proposals were submitted. Twenty national winners were announced in May 1982. NASA is now pairing the 20 winners with a corporate sponsor and with a NASA scientist or engineer to work with the student. Most SSIP experiments are performed in the Orbiter's mid-deck, and receive up to one hour of crew time. Attention is given to the desired outcomes of SSIP, and the SSIP experiments.

Ladwig, A.↗
NASA NTRS2005

STS-114 Flight Day 10 Highlights

On Flight Day 10 of the STS-114 mission the International Space Station (ISS) is seen in low lighting while the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), also known as Canadarm 2 grapples the Raffaello Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) in preparation for its undocking the following day. Members of the shuttle crew (Commander Eileen Collins, Pilot James Kelly, Mission Specialists Soichi Noguchi, Stephen Robinson, Andrew Thomas, Wendy Lawrence, and Charles Camarda) and the Expedition 11 crew (Commander Sergei Krikalev and NASA ISS Science Officer and Flight Engineer John Phillips) of the ISS read statements in English and Russian in a ceremony for astronauts who gave their lives. Interview segments include one of Collins, Robinson, and Camarda, wearing red shirts to commemorate the STS-107 Columbia crew, and one of Collins and Noguchi on board the ISS, which features voice over from an interpreter translating questions from the Japanese prime minister. The video also features a segment showing gap fillers on board Discovery after being removed from underneath the orbiter, and another segment which explains an experimental plug for future shuttle repairs being tested onboard the mid deck.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2018

Results from ORACLES-2016: Observed Biomass Burning Aerosol Properties over the Southeast Atlantic Ocean and the Relationship to Meteorology

The Southeast Atlantic Ocean (SEA), with seasonal biomass burning (BB) smoke plumes overlying persistent stratocumulus cloud deck, offers an excellent natural laboratory to make the observations necessary to understand the complexities of aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions. The first field deployment of the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) campaign was conducted in September of 2016 out of Walvis Bay, Namibia. During this deployment, two NASA aircraft (a P-3 and an ER-2) were flown with a suite of aerosol, cloud, radiation, and meteorological instruments for remote-sensing and in-situ observations. In this talk, I will first present results from an intercomparison of the different instrument retrievals for the 2016 flights, with a specific focus on the measures of aerosol absorption. In ORACLES, data collected by eight different instrument teams are used to derive aerosol properties over this region by independent methods. We focus on the single scattering albedo (SSA), a measure of the relative absorption versus total extinction by aerosols, as the main comparable property between all methods. I will also discuss comparisons of the retrieved aerosol absorption parameters, as well as the agreement and the variability seen between different instruments, and spatially over the study region. Another important factor in understanding aerosol radiative effects is how the magnitude of these effects may be modified by meteorological conditions. I will next describe observations collected from the P-3 aircraft (from near-surface up to 6-7 kilometers) which show a strong correlation between the in-situ pollution indicators (carbon monoxide and aerosol properties) and atmospheric water vapor content, seen at all altitudes above the boundary layer. This condition is seen to persist over all flights, with minimal detrainment during advection from the continental source. In exploring the potential causal factors behind and implications of this relationship, we see indications that convective dynamics over the continent likely contribute to this elevated signal, but neither meteorological reanalysis nor trajectory analysis fully capture the magnitude and vertical structure of the observed elevated signal. Finally, I will discuss the radiative implications of the observed correlations, a topic of ongoing analysis in ORACLES: understanding the mechanisms which cause water vapor to covary with plume strength is important to quantifying the radiative effects (direct and semi-direct) of biomass burning aerosol in the region.

Pistone, Kristina↗
NASA NTRS1996

In-flight radiation measurements on STS-60

A joint investigation between the United States and Russia to study the radiation environment inside the Space Shuttle flight STS-60 was carried out as part of the Shuttle-Mir Science Program (Phase 1). This is the first direct comparison of a number of different dosimetric measurement techniques between the two countries. STS-60 was launched on 3 February 1994 in a nearly circular 57 degrees x 353 km orbit with five U.S. astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut for 8.3 days. A variety of instruments provided crew radiation exposure, absorbed doses at fixed locations, neutron fluence and dose equivalent, linear energy transfer (LET) spectra of trapped and galactic cosmic radiation, and energy spectra and angular distribution of trapped protons. In general, there is good agreement between the U.S. and Russian measurements. The AP8 Min trapped proton model predicts an average of 1.8 times the measured absorbed dose. The average quality factor determined from measured lineal energy, y, spectra using a tissue equivalent proportional counter (TEPC), is in good agreement with that derived from the high temperature peak in the 6LiF thermoluminescent detectors (TLDs). The radiation exposure in the mid-deck locker from neutrons below 1 MeV was 2.53 +/- 1.33 microSv/day. The absorbed dose rates measured using a tissue equivalent proportional counter, were 171.1 +/- 0.4 and 127.4 +/- 0.4 microGy/day for trapped particles and galactic cosmic rays, respectively. The combined dose rate of 298.5 +/- 0.82 microGy/day is about a factor of 1.4 higher than that measured using TLDs. The westward longitude drift of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is estimated to be 0.22 +/- 0.02 degrees/y. We evaluated the effects of spacecraft attitudes on TEPC dose rates due to the highly anisotropic low-earth orbit proton environment. Changes in spacecraft attitude resulted in dose-rate variations by factors of up to 2 at the location of the TEPC.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS1947

Altitude-Wind-Tunnel Investigation of R-4360-18 Power-Plant Installation for XR60 Airplane: Performance of Induction and Exhaust Systems - 3

A study has been made of the performance of the induction and the exhaust systems on the XR60 power-plant installation as part of an investigation conducted in the Cleveland altitude wind tunnel. Altitude flight conditions from 5000 to 30,000 feet were simulated for a range of engine powers from 750 to 3000 brake horsepower. Slipstream rotation prevented normal pressure recoveries in the right side of the main duct in the region of the right intercooler cooling-air duct inlet. Total-pressure losses in the charge-air flow between the turbosupercharger and the intercoolers were as high as 2.1 inches of mercury. The total-pressure distribution of the charge air at the intercooler inlets was irregular and varied as much as 1.0 inch of mercury from the average value at extreme conditions, Total-pressure surveys at the carburetor top deck showed a variation from the average value of 0.3 inch of mercury at take-off power and 0.05 inch of mercury at maximum cruising power, The carburetor preheater system increased the temperature of the engine charge air a maximum of about 82 F at an average cowl-inlet air temperature of 9 F, a pressure altitude of 5000 feet, and a brake horsepower of 1240.

Dupree, David T.↗
NASA NTRS1995

STS-71 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

This video highlights the international cooperative Shuttle/Mir mission of the STS-71 flight. The STS-71 flightcrew consists of Cmdr. Robert Hoot' Gibson, Pilot Charles Precourt, and Mission Specialists Ellen Baker, Bonnie Dunbar, and Gregory Harbaugh. The Mir 18 flightcrew consisted of Cmdr. Vladamir Dezhurov, Flight Engineer Gennady Strekalov, and Cosmonaut-Research Dr. Norman Thagard. The Mir 18 crew consisted of Cmdr. Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. The prelaunch, launch, shuttle in-orbit, and in-orbit rendezvous and docking of the Mir Space Station to the Atlantis Space Shuttle are shown. The Mir 19 crew accompanied the STS-71 crew and will replace the Mir 18 crew upon undocking from the Mir Space Station. Shown is on-board footage from the Mir Space Station of the Mir 18 crew engaged in hardware testing and maintenance, medical and physiological tests, and a tour of the Mir. A spacewalk by the two Mir 18 cosmonauts is shown as they performed maintenance of the Mir Space Station. After the docking between Atlantis and Mir is completed, several mid-deck physiological experiments are performed along with a tour of Atlantis. Dr Thagard remained behind with the Shuttle after undocking to return to Earth with reports from his Mir experiments and observations. In-cabin experiments included the IMAX Camera Systems tests and the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-2 (SAREX-2). There is footage of the shuttle landing.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2005

STS-114: Discovery Mission Status Briefing

This video features mid-deck payloads being stowed at Pad 39B, a ribbon cutting ceremony at the NASA Shuttle Launch Facility (SLF) Air Traffic Control Tower and footage of the air traffic control radar constructed at Shiloh. The STS-114 Crewmembers, Commander, Eileen Collins, Pilot, James Kelly, Mission Specialist, Charles Camarda, Mission Specialist, Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist, Soichi Noguchi, JAXA, Mission Specialist, Stephen Robinson, and Mission Specialist Andrew Thomas are shown arriving at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. Eileen Collins introduces each crew member and talks to the news media about their role during this mission. The astronauts are also shown during their spacesuit fit check at the Operations and Control Center (O&C) and footage of a practice flight is presented. The start of the countdown clock in the firing room 3 of the launch control center is shown

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2018

A13H-2546: Intercomparison of biomass burning aerosol properties from in-situ and remote-sensing instruments in ORACLES-2016

The magnitude of the cumulative effects of aerosols, both directly and on cloud properties, remains the biggest source of uncertainty in our understanding of anthropogenic radiative forcing on the climate. The magnitude of aerosol effects in any given region will depend on not just the aerosol concentration, but also on the characteristics of the aerosol under consideration. The NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) campaign was conducted in 2016-2018 over three deployments in the Southeast Atlantic Ocean (SEA), with the goal of making observations of seasonal biomass burning (BB) smoke plumes overlying persistent stratocumulus cloud decks. During the first ORACLES deployment (September 2016), two NASA aircraft (a P-3 and an ER-2) were flown with a suite of aerosol, cloud, radiation, and meteorological instruments for remote-sensing and in-situ observations. In ORACLES, data collected by eight different instrument teams are used to derive aerosol properties over this region by independent methods. Here we present a comparison of results from the different instrument retrievals with a focus on the measures of aerosol absorption. We focus on specific cases with near-coincident measurements from in-situ (PSAP or PTI for aerosol absorption combined with a nephelometer for aerosol scattering) and remote sensing (4STAR, AirMSPI, RSP, and SSFR) instruments from coordinated flights between the two aircraft. We use the single scattering albedo (SSA), a measure of the relative absorption versus total extinction by aerosols, as the main comparable property between the various remote sensing and in-situ methods. For the remote sensing instruments, we see general good agreement in the total aerosol loading (aerosol optical depth, AOD), though see some differences in the absorbing component (AAOD). We report values for the retrieved aerosol parameters measured in the ORACLES flights and comment upon the observed variability between different instruments. Finally, we discuss these ORACLES results in the context of previous measurements of BB aerosol over the SEA.

Kristina Pistone↗
NASA NTRS1977

Air Safety Spinoffs

Weight saving-even a matter of a few pounds-is an important consideration in airplane design and . construction. Boeing saved 200 pounds simply by substituting a new type of compressed gas cylinder on their 747 commercial airliners. For quickly evacuating passengers in the event of a ground emergency the 747 escape chutes allow ' passengers to slide to safety from the two-story height of the cabin deck. The chutes pop out of exitways and are automatically inflated in seconds by compressed air stored in pressure vessels. Boeing's weight saving resulted from a recent changeover to a new type of pressure vessel built by Structural Composites Industries Inc. of Azusa, Cal. The company employs technology originally developed for rocket motor casings; the cylinders are constructed by winding fibers around an aluminum liner. This technique offers high strength for very low weight-in this case 60 percent less than the pressure vessels earlier used on the 747. Another contribution to improved air safety is an underwater locator device. Called the "Pinger," it uses sonar techniques to locate aircraft crashed in water-or, more specifically, to recover the flight recorder aboard the airplane. Its recovery provides clues as to what caused the accident and suggests measures to prevent similar future occurrences. Until recently, there was no way to recover flight recorders aboard aircraft lost in water crashes. The Pinger, now serving 95 percent of the airline industry, provides an answer. Key element of the Pinger system is a small, battery-powered transmitter, or homing beacon, included as part of the recorder package. For as long as 30 days, the transmitter sends out an acoustic signal from water depths up to 20,000 feet. The other element of the system is a receiver, used by search crews to home in on the transmitter's signal. Originating as a U.S. Navy project, this device was refined and further developed by NASA's Langley Research Center to retrieve submerged nose cones from research rockets. NASA's contractor for the transmitter portion of the system was Dukane Corp., St. Charles, Ill. who subsequently developed the commercial version.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2020

Modeling the smoky troposphere of the southeast Atlantic: a comparison to ORACLES airborne observations from September of 2016

In the southeast Atlantic, well-defined smoke plumes from Africa advect over marine boundary layer cloud decks; both are most extensive around September, when most of the smoke resides in the free troposphere. A framework is put forth for evaluating the performance of a range of global and regional atmospheric composition models against observations made during the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) airborne mission in September 2016. A strength of the comparison is a focus on the spatial distribution of a wider range of aerosol composition and optical properties than has been done previously. The sparse airborne observations are aggregated into approximately 2° grid boxes and into three vertical layers: 3–6 km, the layer from cloud top to 3 km, and the cloud-topped marine boundary layer. Simulated aerosol extensive properties suggest that the flight-day observations are reasonably representative of the regional monthly average, with systematic deviations of 30 % or less. Evaluation against observations indicates that all models have strengths and weaknesses, and there is no single model that is superior to all the others in all metrics evaluated. Whereas all six models typically place the top of the smoke layer within 0–500 m of the airborne lidar observations, the models tend to place the smoke layer bottom 300–1400 m lower than the observations. A spatial pattern emerges, in which most models underestimate the mean of most smoke quantities (black carbon, extinction, carbon monoxide) on the diagonal corridor between 16° S, 6° E, and 10° S, 0° E, in the 3–6 km layer, and overestimate them further south, closer to the coast, where less aerosol is present. Model representations of the above-cloud aerosol optical depth differ more widely. Most models overestimate the organic aerosol mass concentrations relative to those of black carbon, and with less skill, indicating model uncertainties in secondary organic aerosol processes. Regional-mean free-tropospheric model ambient single scattering albedos vary widely, between 0.83 and 0.93 compared with in situ dry measurements centered at 0.86, despite minimal impact of humidification on particulate scattering. The modeled ratios of the particulate extinction to the sum of the black carbon and organic aerosol mass concentrations (a mass extinction efficiency proxy) are typically too low and vary too little spatially, with significant inter-model differences. Most models overestimate the carbonaceous mass within the offshore boundary layer. Overall, the diversity in the model biases suggests that different model processes are responsible. The wide range of model optical properties requires further scrutiny because of their importance for radiative effect estimates.

Yohei Shinozuka↗
NASA NTRS1994

An analysis of interplanetary space radiation exposure for various solar cycles

The radiation dose received by crew members in interplanetary space is influenced by the stage of the solar cycle. Using the recently developed models of the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) environment and the energy-dependent radiation transport code, we have calculated the dose at 0 and 5 cm water depth; using a computerized anatomical man (CAM) model, we have calculated the skin, eye and blood-forming organ (BFO) doses as a function of aluminum shielding for various solar minima and maxima between 1954 and 1989. These results show that the equivalent dose is within about 15% of the mean for the various solar minima (maxima). The maximum variation between solar minimum and maximum equivalent dose is about a factor of three. We have extended these calculations for the 1976-1977 solar minimum to five practical shielding geometries: Apollo Command Module, the least and most heavily shielded locations in the U.S. space shuttle mid-deck, center of the proposed Space Station Freedom cluster and sleeping compartment of the Skylab. These calculations, using the quality factor of ICRP 60, show that the average CAM BFO equivalent dose is 0.46 Sv/year. Based on an approach that takes fragmentation into account, we estimate a calculation uncertainty of 15% if the uncertainty in the quality factor is neglected.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS1985

STS-51G Mission Highlights Resource Tape

The STS-51G flight crew, Commander Daniel C. Brandenstein, Pilot John O. Creighton, Mission Specialists Shannon W. Lucid, John M. Fabian, and Steven R Nagel, and Payload Specialists Patrick, Baudry, and Sultan Salman Al-Saud are seen performing pre-launch activities such as eating of the traditional breakfast, ride out to the launch pad, and crew suit-up for an early morning launch. Also, included are various panoramic views of Discovery on the pad. The main objective of this mission is to deploy three communication satellites. The satellites being deployed are MORE LOS-A, for Mexico; ARABSAT-A, for the Arab Satellite Communications Organization; and TELSTAR-3D, for AT&T. The crew also retrieve the SPARTAN-1 satellite. Scenes include the crew in the mess deck via video link with Mission Control Center in celebration of the 100th American in space. Al-Saud also spoke with his father in Saudi Arabia via video link. Views of certain experiments are also seen. Al-Saud is seen conducting the postural experiment, and Baudry is seen conducting the equilibrium experiments. Panoramic views of the Hawaiian Island Archipelago, and Wadi Habawnah, Saudi Arabia are also visible from the shuttle. Live footage ends with the re-entry of the vehicle into the Earth's Atmosphere, an early morning touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base and crew departure from the craft.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Activation and proliferation of lymphocytes and other mammalian cells in microgravity

The experimental findings reviewed in this chapter support the following conclusions: Proliferation. Human T-lymphocytes, associated with monocytes as accessory cells, show dramatic changes in the centrifuge, in the clinostat and in space. In free-floating cells the mitogenic response is depressed by 90% in microgravity, whereas in cells attached to a substratum activation is enhanced by 100% compared to 1-G ground and inflight controls. The duration of phase G1 of the mitotic cycle of HeLa cells is reduced in hypergravity, resulting in an increased proliferation rate. Other systems like Friend cells and WI38 human embryonic lung cells do not show significant changes. Genetic expression and signal transduction. T-lymphocytes and monocytes show important changes in the expression of cytokines like interleukin-1, interleukin-2, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor. The data from space experiments in Spacelab, Space Shuttle mid-deck, and Biokosmos have helped to clarify certain aspects of the mechanism of T-cell activation. Epidermoid A431 cells show changes in the genetic expression of the proto-oncogenes c-fos and c-jun in the clinostat and in sounding rockets. Membrane function, in particular the binding of ligates as first messengers of a signal, is not changed in most of the cell systems in microgravity. Morphology and Mortility. Free cells, lymphocytes in particular, are able to move and form aggregates in microgravity, indicating that cell-cell contacts and cell communications do take place in microgravity. Dramatic morphological and ultrastructural changes are not detected in cells cultured in microgravity. Important experiments with single mammalian cells, including immune cells, were carried out recently in three Spacelab flights, (SL-J, D-2, and IML-2 in 1992, 1993, and 1994, respectively). The results of the D-2 mission have been published in ref. 75; those of the IML-2 mission in ref. 76. Finally, many cell biology experiments in space have suffered in the past from a lack of adequate controls (like 1-G centrifuges) and of proper experimental conditions (like well-controlled temperature). In this respect the availability of Biorack, outfitted with proper incubators with 1-G control centrifuge as well as a glovebox with a microscope, is a great advantage. It is also desirable that cell biology experiments in space are accompanied or even preceded by a program of ground-based investigations in the fast rotating clinostat and in the centrifuge, and that preparatory experiments be done in parabolic flights and sounding rockets, whenever possible. Proper publication of the results of space experiments is another important need. A great number of data have been published in proceedings and reports that are not available to the broad scientific community. To guarantee the credibility and the international recognition of space biology it is important that the results be published in international, peer reviewed journals.

manned↗
NASA NTRS2022

Revealing the Mysteries of Venus: The DAVINCI Mission

The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) mission described herein has been selected for flight to Venus as part of the NASA Discovery Program. DAVINCI will be the first mission to Venus to incorporate science driven flybys and an instrumented descent sphere into a unified architecture. The anticipated scientific outcome will be a new understanding of the atmosphere, surface, and evolutionary path of Venus as a possibly once-habitable planet and analog to hot terrestrial exoplanets. The primary mission design for DAVINCI as selected features a preferred launch in summer/fall 2029, two flybys in 2030, and descent sphere atmospheric entry by the end of 2031. The in situ atmospheric descent phase subsequently delivers definitive chemical and isotopic composition of the Venus atmosphere during an atmospheric transect above Alpha Regio. These in situ investigations of the atmosphere and near infrared descent imaging of the surface will complement remote flyby observations of the dynamic atmosphere, cloud deck, and surface near infrared emissivity. The overall mission yield will be at least 60 Gbits (compressed) new data about the atmosphere and near surface, as well as the first unique characterization of the deep atmosphere environment and chemistry, including trace gases, key stable isotopes, oxygen fugacity, constraints on local rock compositions, and topography of a tessera.

James B Garvin↗
NASA NTRS2008

Propulsive Maneuver Design for the 2007 Mars Phoenix Lander Mission

On May 25, 2008, the Mars Phoenix Lander (PHX) successfully landed in the northern planes of Mars in order to continue and complement NASA's "follow the water" theme as its predecessor Mars missions, such as Mars Odyssey (ODY) and Mars Exploration Rovers, have done in recent years. Instruments on the lander, through a robotic arm able to deliver soil samples to the deck, will perform in-situ and remote-sensing investigations to characterize the chemistry of materials at the local surface, subsurface, and atmosphere. Lander instruments will also identify the potential history of key indicator elements of significance to the biological potential of Mars, including potential organics within any accessible water ice. Precise trajectory control and targeting were necessary in order to achieve the accurate atmospheric entry conditions required for arriving at the desired landing site. The challenge for the trajectory control maneuver design was to meet or exceed these requirements in the presence of spacecraft limitations as well as other mission constraints. This paper describes the strategies used, including the specialized targeting specifically developed for PHX, in order to design and successfully execute the propulsive maneuvers that delivered the spacecraft to its targeted landing site while satisfying the planetary protection requirements in the presence of flight system constraints.

FPC↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Options for Offloading a 90-Ton Common Habitat from its Lander on the Surface of Mars

The Common Habitat is a large, long-duration habitat being explored as part of a conceptual study (not an active NASA program) that uses an SLS core stage liquid oxygen (LOX) tank as its primary structure. Measuring 8.4 meters in diameter and 15.6 meters in length, it is manufactured as a habitat and launched as such into space. It is intended for use on the Moon as part of a permanently occupied outpost, on Mars as part of an outpost that will be occupied for hundreds of days at a time, and in deep space as part of the Deep Space Exploration Vehicle where it will support crewed missions up to 1200 days in duration. A study of internal orientation and crew size resulted in a Common Habitat configuration sized for a crew of eight with a three-deck horizontal orientation. There are obvious challenges associated with the delivery of such a large habitat, which may mass as much as 90-tons when initially deployed. The Mars destination in particular imposes extreme challenges due to Martian gravity. This paper identifies initial options for the offloading of a 90-ton Common Habitat from a lander spacecraft on the surface of Mars. On Mars, the Common Habitat is part of a surface outpost where a Habitation Zone includes the Common Habitat docked to a two-chamber airlock node, up to two logistics modules, and up to two pressurized rovers. It is connected by underground conduit to a radiator farm and communications tower assembly. These elements and other surface infrastructure, including robotic systems for surface preparation, are landed prior to the Common Habitat. In the baseline Common Habitat Architecture, the Common Habitat is delivered on the third heavy cargo flight. The Habitation Zone configuration dictates that the Common Habitat needs to be offloaded from the lander. All of the docked elements require direct access to the surface and the Common Habitat must actually be placed in a trench to lower its docking ports to be level with those of the mated elements. Additionally, the habitat must be emplaced in a horizontal configuration, while for any conceivable Earth launch system it must be launched in a vertical configuration. It is true that the Common Habitat must be offloaded from its lander on both the Moon and Mars and a common offloading system must therefore work in both destinations. Mars, however, is considered the driving case for offloading in most, but not all, aspects. A four-day internal study in 2021 recommended that a modified Starship be used to land the Common Habitat on Mars and considered multiple approaches to offload the Common Habitat from the payload section and lower it to the surface. The topic was presented at a public hackathon organized by the Johnson Space Center’s Emerge Employee Resource Group. One team took on the challenge and proposed a concept in some ways similar to the previously considered jib crane. Despite the excellent innovation in the team’s work, a number of study refinements are necessary to truly establish feasibility. These and other future work needed to mature the concept are discussed in this work.

Lander Offloading↗
NASA NTRS2004

Manned Spacecraft Landing and Recovery

As recent history has tragically demonstrated, a successful space mission is not complete until the crew has safely returned to earth and has been successfully recovered. It is noted that a safe return to earth does not guarantee a successful recovery. The focus of this presentation will be a discussion of the ground operation assets involved in a successful recovery. The author's experience in land and water-based recovery of crewed vehicles and flight hardware at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Edwards Air Force Base, international landing sites, and the Atlantic Ocean provides for some unique insight into this topic. He has participated in many aspects of Space Shuttle landing and recovery operations including activation of Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) sites and Emergency Landing Sites (ELS) as an Operations Test Director, execution of post landing convoy operations as an Orbiter Move Director, Operations Test Director, and Landing and Recovery Director, and recovery of solid rocket boosters, frustum and their parachutes 140 miles offshore in a wide range of sea states as a Retrieval Diver/Engineer. The recovery operations for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo were similar from a landing and recovery perspective in th t they all were capsules with limited "flying" capability and had a planned End of Mission (EOM) in an ocean with a descent slowed by parachutes. The general process was to deploy swim teams via helicopters to prepare the capsule for recovery and assist with crew extraction when required. The capsule was then hoisted onto the deck of a naval vessel. This approach required the extensive use and deployment of military assets to support the primary landing zone as well as alternate and contingency locations. The Russian Soyuz capsule also has limited "flying" capability; however, the planned EOM is terrestrial. In addition to use of parachutes to slow the reentry descent, soft-landing rockets on the bottom of the vehicle are employed to cushion the landing. The recovery forces are deployed via helicopters and the capsule is transported by a specialized all-terrain vehicle. The Space Shuttle Orbiter landing and recovery process is considerably different. The added lift capability and maneuverability allow the Orbiter to land at an exact location/runway for a nominal EOM. This allows for a timely response of recovery/contingency rescue forces, centralized staging of personnel and equipment, and assured access by ground vehicles. The well defined landing zone also provides for far more options when selecting landing sites for EOM and emergency returns and the relatively large cross-range capability increases the number of landing opportunities at the preferred sites.

Hammel, Don↗