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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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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Test and Evaluation of Radiofrequency Tamper Indicating Devices for Remote Monitoring of Advanced/Small Modular Reactors

Advanced and small modular reactors (A/SMRs), due to their versatile nature, are likely to be used in remote locations to provide electrical power or other services in regions that are difficult to access or have limited transportation infrastructure. This will result in limited on-site staff, therefore driving A/SMR vendors to consider remote monitoring as a solution to support nuclear security. Maintaining Continuity of Knowledge (CoK) of nuclear material quantities and locations is vital to nuclear security, and remote monitoring of active tamper indicating devices (TIDs) has been well established as a component of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards since the early 2000s. Active TIDs, such as radiofrequency TIDs (RFTIDs), immediately alarm upon unauthorized access attempts, promoting timely detection. In contrast, passive TIDs require a surveillance regime and offer delayed detection. Active TIDs deter insiders and enable prompt detection of malicious acts. They can be used on nuclear material containers and controlled entry points like vaults and toolboxes. Therefore, the implementation of RFTIDs into security programs bolsters overall nuclear material control, and provides a visible deterrent, with primary efficacy in mitigating the insider threat and potentially allowing for Security by Design considerations. They are a strong candidate technology for maintaining nuclear security of A/SMRs but need to be evaluated for feasibility and implementation into the wider physical protection system.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1985

Protecting intellectual property in space; Proceedings of the Aerospace Computer Security Conference, McLean, VA, March 20, 1985

The primary purpose of the Aerospace Computer Security Conference was to bring together people and organizations which have a common interest in protecting intellectual property generated in space. Operational concerns are discussed, taking into account security implications of the space station information system, Space Shuttle security policies and programs, potential uses of probabilistic risk assessment techniques for space station development, key considerations in contingency planning for secure space flight ground control centers, a systematic method for evaluating security requirements compliance, and security engineering of secure ground stations. Subjects related to security technologies are also explored, giving attention to processing requirements of secure C3/I and battle management systems and the development of the Gemini trusted multiple microcomputer base, the Restricted Access Processor system as a security guard designed to protect classified information, and observations on local area network security.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2024

Renewable Energy and Storage Cybersecurity Research (RESCue) Pilot Final Report

The Renewable Energy and Storage Cybersecurity Research (RESCue) project is a collaborative effort aimed at securing the rapidly growing deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) and transmission-connected hybrid renewable energy systems against escalating cyber threats. This project brings together major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of wind, solar, and energy storage, along with major asset owners and DOE National Laboratories, to collectively identify cyber threats, assess risks, and develop robust cybersecurity strategies and solutions. This publication the final report for the first year of the project.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Transmission Technologies – GETs and HPCs Session 1: ATT Foundations and Dynamic Line Ratings (DLRs)

The INL TADA GETs Cohort Session 1, held on November 4, 2025, convened experts to address the integration of advanced transmission technologies, including Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs) and High Performance Conductors (HPCs), with a focus on digital assurance challenges. The session highlighted the growing importance of cybersecurity, supply chain transparency, reliability, and business risk management in deploying GETs, especially Dynamic Line Ratings (DLRs). Participants examined how expanded attack surfaces, limited vendor pools, and new regulatory requirements—such as FERC Orders 881, 2023, and 1920—are influencing utilities and technology providers. The workshop underscored the need for cyber-informed engineering, secure-by-design principles, and practical risk management strategies, while fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing among industry peers. Technical discussions covered the evolution from static to dynamic line ratings, complexities of cloud-based architectures, and NERC CIP compliance challenges. The session concluded with a collaborative risk exercise and a preview of future workshops on advanced power flow control and transmission topology optimization, reinforcing the cohort’s commitment to advancing digital assurance in the energy sector.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2003

Development of a Dynamically Configurable, Object-Oriented Framework for Distributed, Multi-modal Computational Aerospace Systems Simulation

The following reports are presented on this project:A first year progress report on: Development of a Dynamically Configurable,Object-Oriented Framework for Distributed, Multi-modal Computational Aerospace Systems Simulation; A second year progress report on: Development of a Dynamically Configurable, Object-Oriented Framework for Distributed, Multi-modal Computational Aerospace Systems Simulation; An Extensible, Interchangeable and Sharable Database Model for Improving Multidisciplinary Aircraft Design; Interactive, Secure Web-enabled Aircraft Engine Simulation Using XML Databinding Integration; and Improving the Aircraft Design Process Using Web-based Modeling and Simulation.

Afjeh, Abdollah A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Space-based Science Operations Grid Prototype

Grid technology is the up and coming technology that is enabling widely disparate services to be offered to users that is very economical, easy to use and not available on a wide basis. Under the Grid concept disparate organizations generally defined as "virtual organizations" can share services i.e. sharing discipline specific computer applications, required to accomplish the specific scientific and engineering organizational goals and objectives. Grids are emerging as the new technology of the future. Grid technology has been enabled by the evolution of increasingly high speed networking. Without the evolution of high speed networking Grid technology would not have emerged. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) Flight Projects Directorate, Ground Systems Department is developing a Space-based Science Operations Grid prototype to provide to scientists and engineers the tools necessary to operate space-based science payloads/experiments and for scientists to conduct public and educational outreach. In addition Grid technology can provide new services not currently available to users. These services include mission voice and video, application sharing, telemetry management and display, payload and experiment commanding, data mining, high order data processing, discipline specific application sharing and data storage, all from a single grid portal. The Prototype will provide most of these services in a first step demonstration of integrated Grid and space-based science operations technologies. It will initially be based on the International Space Station science operational services located at the Payload Operations Integration Center at MSFC, but can be applied to many NASA projects including free flying satellites and future projects. The Prototype will use the Internet2 Abilene Research and Education Network that is currently a 10 Gb backbone network to reach the University of Alabama at Huntsville and several other, as yet unidentified, Space Station based science experimenters. There is an international aspect to the Grid involving the America's Pathway (AMPath) network, the Chilean REUNA Research and Education Network and the University of Chile in Santiago that will further demonstrate how extensive these services can be used. From the user's perspective, the Prototype will provide a single interface and logon to these varied services without the complexity of knowing the where's and how's of each service. There is a separate and deliberate emphasis on security. Security will be addressed by specifically outlining the different approaches and tools used. Grid technology, unlike the Internet, is being designed with security in mind. In addition we will show the locations, configurations and network paths associated with each service and virtual organization. We will discuss the separate virtual organizations that we define for the varied user communities. These will include certain, as yet undetermined, space-based science functions and/or processes and will include specific virtual organizations required for public and educational outreach and science and engineering collaboration. We will also discuss the Grid Prototype performance and the potential for further Grid applications both space-based and ground based projects and processes. In this paper and presentation we will detail each service and how they are integrated using Grid

Bradford, Robert N.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Securing Future Energy Supplies: From Renewables to Microreactors

This session will provide insight into how future energy deployments, critical to national-level programs focused on reducing carbon emissions, can be secured-by-design using lessons learned from current energy infrastructure. It will begin with an overview of current threats and risks associated with renewable energy assets and systems, primarily wind and solar, focusing on their control architecture and key system functions for both efficient and safe operations. This talk will then translate the key takeaways from current renewable infrastructure into applications for securing future energy systems, including microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs), based on planned concepts of operations and control. Microreactors and SMRs are intended to be factory-assembled with commercially available components and deployed in more remote or distributed environments, necessitating centralized control centers, remote monitoring, and offsite maintenance and technical support. All of these factors lead these assets to a security posture and controls more similar to today's renewable energy assets than today's nuclear reactors, which represents a significant shift in mindset for the nuclear industry. This talk will provide justification for this shift as well as a path forward to motivate securing these groundbreaking technologies from the outset of their design and deployment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS2014

The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer Mission

The Neutral Mass Spectrometer (NMS) of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Mission is designed to measure the composition and variability of the tenuous lunar atmosphere. The NMS complements two other instruments on the LADEE spacecraft designed to secure spectroscopic measurements of lunar composition and in situ measurement of lunar dust over the course of a 100-day mission in order to sample multiple lunation periods. The NMS utilizes a dual ion source designed to measure both surface reactive and inert species and a quadrupole analyzer. The NMS is expected to secure time resolved measurements of helium and argon and determine abundance or upper limits for many other species either sputtered or thermally evolved from the lunar surface.

Moon↗
NASA NTRS1992

Orbital Transfer Vehicle Engine Technology High Velocity Ratio Diffusing Crossover

High speed, high efficiency head rise multistage pumps require continuous passage diffusing crossovers to effectively convey the pumped fluid from the exit of one impeller to the inlet of the next impeller. On Rocketdyne's Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV), the MK49-F, a three stage high pressure liquid hydrogen turbopump, utilizes a 6.23 velocity ratio diffusing crossover. This velocity ratio approaches the diffusion limits for stable and efficient flow over the operating conditions required by the OTV system. The design of the high velocity ratio diffusing crossover was based on advanced analytical techniques anchored by previous tests of stationary two-dimensional diffusers with steady flow. To secure the design and the analytical techniques, tests were required with the unsteady whirling characteristics produced by an impeller. A tester was designed and fabricated using a 2.85 times scale model of the MK49-F turbopumps first stage, including the inducer, impeller, and the diffusing crossover. Water and air tests were completed to evaluate the large scale turbulence, non-uniform velocity, and non-steady velocity on the pump and crossover head and efficiency. Suction performance tests from 80 percent to 124 percent of design flow were completed in water to assess these pump characteristics. Pump and diffuser performance from the water and air tests were compared with the actual MK49-F test data in liquid hydrogen.

Lariviere, Brian W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Edge ML for CAN bus intrusion detection in AVs

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are revolutionizing transportation, but their reliance on interconnected cyber-physical systems exposes them to unprecedented cybersecurity risks. This study addresses the critical challenge of detecting real-time cyber intrusions in self-driving vehicles by leveraging a dataset from the Udacity self-driving car project. We simulate four high-impact attack vectors, Denial of Service (DoS), spoofing, replay, and fuzzy attacks, by injecting noise into spatial features (e.g., bounding box coordinates) to replicate adversarial scenarios. We develop and evaluate two lightweight neural network architectures (NN-1 and NN-2) alongside a logistic regression baseline (LG-1) for intrusion detection. The models achieve exceptional performance, with NN-2 attaining an AUC score of 93.15% and 93.15% accuracy, demonstrating their suitability for edge deployment in AV environments. Through explainable AI techniques, we uncover unique forensic fingerprints of each attack type, such as spatial corruption in fuzzy attacks and temporal anomalies in replay attacks, offering actionable insights for feature engineering and proactive defense. Visual analytics, including confusion matrices, ROC curves, and feature importance plots, validate the models' robustness and interpretability. This research sets a new benchmark for AV cybersecurity, delivering a scalable, field-ready toolkit for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and policymakers. By aligning intrusion fingerprints with SAE J3061 automotive security standards, we provide a pathway for integrating machine learning into safety-critical AV systems. Our findings underscore the urgent need for security-by-design AI, ensuring that AVs not only drive autonomously but also defend autonomously. This work bridges the gap between theoretical cybersecurity and life-preserving engineering, offering a leap toward safer, more secure autonomous transportation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1983

The evolution of a release-engage mechanism for use on the orbiter

The Release-Engage Mechanism (REM) is designed to secure a deployable payload in the orbiter during launch and to enable the payload to be released, deployed, and reattached for re-entry. This paper presents the following: (1) the initial design concepts of the Release-Engage Mechanism; (2) the problems encountered during assembly, (3) the abnormalities that occurred during vibration testing, (4) the incompatibility of the Remote Manipulator System and REM operation, and (5) the resulting modifications to the REM that assured its successful performance on two Shuttle flights.

Calvert, J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Retaining Device for the Interior Structure of a Spacecraft Payload

A device denoted as a bumper assembly for a spacecraft payload container comprises an interior structure surrounded by skin or some other protective enclosure (see figure). When arranged with three or more like assemblies, this bumper assembly is designed to secure the interior structure within a payload s protective enclosure during the stresses endured in flight and, if required, recovery of the payload. Furthermore, proper use of this innovation facilitates the ability of designers and engineers to maximize the total placement area for components, thus increasing utilization of very valuable and limited space.

Fleming. Orville N., Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing a Cybersecurity Architecture for Extensible Traffic Management (xTM)

This paper explores the development of a cybersecurity architecture tailored for Extensible Traffic Management (xTM) to address emerging challenges in managing diverse aerial vehicles within the National Airspace System (NAS). Driven by technological advances and the rise of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), urban air mobility (UAM), and high-altitude traffic (ETM), the NAS is undergoing a paradigm shift. Traditional air traffic management, reliant on traditional Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) control, will give way to decentralized coordination among autonomous and semi-autonomous systems. The proposed xTM Security Architecture, designed as a high-level framework, focuses on ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and operations in this evolving ecosystem. Utilizing threat modeling, the research identifies potential risks across key flight phases, operations and use cases to offer security control recommendations. Key objectives include analyzing interactions between novel airspace entrants and existing NAS traffic, cataloging vulnerabilities, and developing mitigative strategies to ensure safety, operational stability, and secure data exchanges. This research lays the groundwork for regulatory and industry adaptation, providing critical insights into managing cybersecurity risks in this complex, multi-domain environment.

UAM↗
DOE OSTI2025

5G Communications in Nuclear: Potential Use Cases and Security Considerations

As fifth-generation (5G) communications continues to revolutionize the future of wireless technology, there is growing demand to utilize its benefits for critical infrastructures such as nuclear power plants (NPPs). In regard to achieving full automation and control in the operation of existing and future nuclear reactors, the unique capabilities of 5G can bring several potential advantages over other wireless technologies. However, a deep investigation is needed for the availability and security of 5G communications under various NPP operational scenarios. This article examines how 5G security capabilities can be architecturally deployed in nuclear applications so as to replace existing communication infrastructures. We discuss the current use of all wireless technologies in NPPs with their key features. Consequently, we investigated several NPP use cases in which 5G offers potential advantages but entails specific security considerations. The present article covers the characteristics of 5G communications, general challenges to its application in nuclear, and the security gaps that need to be addressed. We also highlight certain 5G security-by-design features that can help addressing current stringent NPP requirements. In addition, we discuss some future research direction that can facilitate the implementation of 5G in a nuclear facility. The findings presented herein can help foster 5G deployment in NPPs, thus enabling secured data transmission, cost savings, and increased operational efficiency with enhanced reliability.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Decision Engines for Software Analysis Using Satisfiability Modulo Theories Solvers

The area of software analysis, testing and verification is now undergoing a revolution thanks to the use of automated and scalable support for logical methods. A well-recognized premise is that at the core of software analysis engines is invariably a component using logical formulas for describing states and transformations between system states. The process of using this information for discovering and checking program properties (including such important properties as safety and security) amounts to automatic theorem proving. In particular, theorem provers that directly support common software constructs offer a compelling basis. Such provers are commonly called satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solvers. Z3 is a state-of-the-art SMT solver. It is developed at Microsoft Research. It can be used to check the satisfiability of logical formulas over one or more theories such as arithmetic, bit-vectors, lists, records and arrays. The talk describes some of the technology behind modern SMT solvers, including the solver Z3. Z3 is currently mainly targeted at solving problems that arise in software analysis and verification. It has been applied to various contexts, such as systems for dynamic symbolic simulation (Pex, SAGE, Vigilante), for program verification and extended static checking (Spec#/Boggie, VCC, HAVOC), for software model checking (Yogi, SLAM), model-based design (FORMULA), security protocol code (F7), program run-time analysis and invariant generation (VS3). We will describe how it integrates support for a variety of theories that arise naturally in the context of the applications. There are several new promising avenues and the talk will touch on some of these and the challenges related to SMT solvers. Proceedings

Bjorner, Nikolaj↗
NASA NTRS2015

AgMIP Training in Multiple Crop Models and Tools

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has the goal of using multiple crop models to evaluate climate impacts on agricultural production and food security in developed and developing countries. There are several major limitations that must be overcome to achieve this goal, including the need to train AgMIP regional research team (RRT) crop modelers to use models other than the ones they are currently familiar with, plus the need to harmonize and interconvert the disparate input file formats used for the various models. Two activities were followed to address these shortcomings among AgMIP RRTs to enable them to use multiple models to evaluate climate impacts on crop production and food security. We designed and conducted courses in which participants trained on two different sets of crop models, with emphasis on the model of least experience. In a second activity, the AgMIP IT group created templates for inputting data on soils, management, weather, and crops into AgMIP harmonized databases, and developed translation tools for converting the harmonized data into files that are ready for multiple crop model simulations. The strategies for creating and conducting the multi-model course and developing entry and translation tools are reviewed in this chapter.

farm crops↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advanced Reactor Safeguards and Security - Advanced Delay Technologies

As a new generation of reactors is developed, reducing the cost of physical security without impacting the required system effectiveness will help to make new reactors economical. This report discusses several access delay technologies available to help improve the overall effectiveness of the physical security system. These technologies include both passive and active delay elements, as well as guidance on best practices related to security by design principles.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Autonomous Inverter Controls for Resilient and Secure Grid Operation: Vector Control Design for Grid Forming

The project addresses both fundamental and practical challenges of GFM/GFL inverter control for the power grids with high inverter based resources (IBRs) penetration. A data- driven modeling technique is applied to accurately model dynamics of PWM inverters, including electromagnetic-transient (EMT). Systematic and integrative designs of grid- forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) primary controls are developed to guarantee system performance under either normal or abnormal operating conditions without violating constraints. This modeling and control framework provides black-start capability in case of an outage without relying on rotating generators, and its secondary control is also shown to enhance resilience against cyber-physical attacks.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗