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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
NASA NTRS2015

Accelerated Test Method for Corrosion Protective Coatings Project

This project seeks to develop a new accelerated corrosion test method that predicts the long-term corrosion protection performance of spaceport structure coatings as accurately and reliably as current long-term atmospheric exposure tests. This new accelerated test method will shorten the time needed to evaluate the corrosion protection performance of coatings for NASA's critical ground support structures. Lifetime prediction for spaceport structure coatings has a 5-year qualification cycle using atmospheric exposure. Current accelerated corrosion tests often provide false positives and negatives for coating performance, do not correlate to atmospheric corrosion exposure results, and do not correlate with atmospheric exposure timescales for lifetime prediction.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Voxel Advanced Digital-Manufacturing for Earth and Regolith in Space Project

A voxel is a discrete three-dimensional (3D) element of material that is used to construct a larger 3D object. It is the 3D equivalent of a pixel. This project will conceptualize and study various approaches in order to develop a proof of concept 3D printing device that utilizes regolith as the material of the voxels. The goal is to develop a digital printer head capable of placing discrete self-aligning voxels in additive layers in order to fabricate small parts that can be given structural integrity through a post-printing sintering or other binding process. The quicker speeds possible with the voxel 3D printing approach along with the utilization of regolith material as the substrate will advance the use of this technology to applications for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which is key to reducing logistics from Earth to Space, thus making long-duration human exploration missions to other celestial bodies more possible.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Autonomous Navigation, Dynamic Path and Work Flow Planning in Multi-Agent Robotic Swarms Project

Kennedy Space Center has teamed up with the Biological Computation Lab at the University of New Mexico to create a swarm of small, low-cost, autonomous robots, called Swarmies, to be used as a ground-based research platform for in-situ resource utilization missions. The behavior of the robot swarm mimics the central-place foraging strategy of ants to find and collect resources in an unknown environment and return those resources to a central site.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Self Healing Coating/Film Project

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has been developing self healing materials and technologies. This project seeks to further develop self healing functionality in thin films for applications such as corrosion protective coatings, inflatable structures, space suit materials, and electrical wire insulation.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Visible-Light-Responsive Catalyst Development for Volatile Organic Carbon Remediation Project

Photocatalysis is a process in which light energy is used to 'activate' oxidation/reduction reactions. Unmodified titanium dioxide (TiO2), a common photocatalyst, requires high-energy UV light for activation due to its large band gap (3.2 eV). Modification of TiO2 can reduce this band gap, leading to visible-light-responsive (VLR) photocatalysts. These catalysts can utilize solar and/or visible wavelength LED lamps as an activation source, replacing mercury-containing UV lamps, to create a "greener," more energy-efficient means for air and water revitalization. Recently, KSC developed several VLR catalysts that, on preliminary evaluation, possessed high catalytic activity within the visible spectrum; these samples out-performed existing commercial VLR catalysts.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Asteroid and Lava Tube In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Prospecting Free Flyer Project

This project seeks to develop a small free flyer that can be used to safely and effectively prospect on an Asteroid while being controlled by the crew. This will enable the characterization of the Asteroid for the In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Lava tubes can be explored remotely from the outside Asteroids can contain vast amounts of resources such as water for propellants and metals for feed stocks. Lava Tubes on Mars and the Moon may contain frozen volatile resources. Before the resources can be used, they must be found with a prospecting method. The NASA Agency Asteroid Grand Challenge seeks new ideas for Asteroid retrieval mission technologies for exploration and utilization of asteroids in a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO). This project will develop a small free flying platform that can be used to safely and effectively prospect on an Asteroid with limited autonomy while being controlled by the crew. This will enable the characterization of the Asteroid for ISRU. Lava tubes can be explored remotely from the outside as well using this same technology.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Fabrication of Regolith-Derived Radiation Shield Project

Mars and asteroids have little or no atmosphere, and do not possess a magnetosphere that can protect humans, mechanisms and electronics from damaging Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE) as does the Earth. These types of space radiation present one of the highest risks to a human crew during interplanetary journeys and to onboard electronics. This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of carbonaceous asteroid materials as a potential radiation shielding material.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Ground Operations Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen (GODU LH2)

When the technology associated with zero loss storage and transfer is implemented, NASA can reduce the LH2 losses and procurement costs by up to 30 compared to historical Shuttle numbers. This return on investment is based on the mission manifest and commodity use. LH2 densification can provide improved launch vehicle ascent performance by minimizing the size of the LH2 tanks or storing more mass of propellant in the given tank volume.

zero loss storage↗
NASA NTRS2015

Lightweight, High Strength Metals With Enhanced Radiation Shielding - Technology Advancing Partnerships Challenge Project

The Technology Advancing Partnership (TAP) Challenge will seek to foster innovation throughout the Center by allowing the KSC workforce to identify a specific technology idea that needs improvement and to then work with an external partner to develop that technology. This Challenge will enable competitive partnerships with outside entities that will increase the value by bringing leveraged resources. The selected proposal from the University of Florida will develop new lightweight technologies with radiation mitigation for spacecraft.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Alternative Nonvolatile Residue Analysis with Contaminant Identification Project

Cleanliness verification is required in numerous industries including spaceflight ground support, electronics, medical and aerospace. Currently at KSC requirement for cleanliness verification use solvents that environmentally unfriendly. This goal of this project is to produce an alternative cleanliness verification technique that is both environmentally friendly and more cost effective.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere for Planetary Protection Project

Earths stratosphere is similar to the surface of Mars: rarified air which is dry, cold, and irradiated. E-MIST is a balloon payload that has 4 independently rotating skewers that hold known quantities of spore-forming bacteria isolated from spacecraft assembly facilities at NASA. Knowing the survival profile of microbes in the stratosphere can uniquely contribute to NASA Planetary Protection for Mars.Objectives 1. Collect environmental data in the stratosphere to understand factors impacting microbial survival. 2. Determine of surviving microbes (compared to starting quantities). 3. Examine microbial DNA mutations induced by stratosphere exposure.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Large Scale Reduction of Graphite Oxide Project

This project seeks to develop an optical method to reduce graphite oxide into graphene efficiently and in larger formats than currently available. Current reduction methods are expensive, time-consuming or restricted to small, limited formats. Graphene has potential uses in ultracapacitors, energy storage, solar cells, flexible and light-weight circuits, touch screens, and chemical sensors. In addition, graphite oxide is a sustainable material that can be produced from any form of carbon, making this method environmentally friendly and adaptable for in-situ reduction.

Technology Portfolio System↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA's Habitat Outfitting Portfolio: Technology Development to Support Future Habitation Systems

Habitat outfitting generally refers to the supplies and equipment (and installation thereof) which provide crew with a livable, safe environment during a mission and enable the performance of mission tasks. Outfitting will be needed on future missions for habitation to provide the crew with a livable and safe environment. Both softgoods inflatable habitats, which are packaged and deployed/inflated at the point of use, and constructed habitats, which may be manufactured using in situ resource-derived materials on a planetary surface, will require more outfitting than traditional habitation approaches using rigid metallic structures (such as the International Space Station), where many elements can launch pre-integrated. For softgoods inflatable habitats, it is anticipated that much of the outfitting would be performed by crew, while in constructed habitation scenarios outfitting may be done by robotic systems as part of precursor missions. This paper provides an overview of future planned habitats and outfitting needs, technology gaps related to outfitting, and current work under NASA’s habitat systems development, in-space manufacturing, and habitat construction portfolios related to this topic.

space habitats↗
NASA NTRS2014

Cascade Distillation System Development

NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Life Support System (LSS) Project is chartered with de-veloping advanced life support systems that will ena-ble NASA human exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). The goal of AES is to increase the affordabil-ity of long-duration life support missions, and to re-duce the risk associated with integrating and infusing new enabling technologies required to ensure mission success. Because of the robust nature of distillation systems, the AES LSS Project is pursuing develop-ment of the Cascade Distillation Subsystem (CDS) as part of its technology portfolio. Currently, the system is being developed into a flight forward Generation 2.0 design.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Overview of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project's Propulsion Technology Portfolio

The NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) Project is focused on developing and demonstrating integrated systems technologies to TRL 4-6 by 2020 that enable reduced fuel burn, emissions, and noise for futuristic air vehicles. The specific goals aim to simultaneously reduce fuel burn by 50%, reduce Landing and Take-off Nitrous Oxides emissions by 75% relative to the CAEP 6 guidelines, and reduce cumulative noise by 42 Decibels relative to the Stage 4 guidelines. These goals apply to the integrated vehicle and propulsion system and are based on a reference mission of 3000nm flight of a Boeing 777-200 with GE90 engines. This paper will focus primarily on the ERA propulsion technology portfolio, which consists of advanced combustion, propulsor, and core technologies to enable these integrated air vehicle systems goals. An overview of the ERA propulsion technologies will be described and the status and results to date will be presented.

aircraft engines↗
NASA NTRS2001

New Propulsion Technologies For Exploration of the Solar System and Beyond

In order to implement the ambitious science and exploration missions planned over the next several decades, improvements in in-space transportation and propulsion technologies must be achieved. For robotic exploration and science missions, increased efficiencies of future propulsion systems are critical to reduce overall life-cycle costs. Future missions will require 2 to 3 times more total change in velocity over their mission lives than the NASA Solar Electric Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) demonstration on the Deep Space 1 mission. Rendezvous and return missions will require similar investments in in-space propulsion systems. New opportunities to explore beyond the outer planets and to the stars will require unparalleled technology advancement and innovation. The Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP) is investing in technologies to achieve a factor of 10 reduction in the cost of Earth orbital transportation and a factor of 2 reduction in propulsion system mass and travel time for planetary missions within the next 15 years. Since more than 70% of projected launches over the next 10 years will require propulsion systems capable of attaining destinations beyond Low Earth Orbit, investment in in-space technologies will benefit a large percentage of future missions. The ASTP technology portfolio includes many advanced propulsion systems. From the next generation ion propulsion system operating in the 5 - 10 kW range, to fission-powered multi-kilowatt systems, substantial advances in spacecraft propulsion performance are anticipated. Some of the most promising technologies for achieving these goals use the environment of space itself for energy and propulsion and are generically called, "propellantless" because they do not require on-board fuel to achieve thrust. An overview of the state-of-the-art in propellantless propulsion technologies such as solar and plasma sails, electrodynamic and momentum transfer tethers, and aeroassist and aerocapture will also be described. Results of recent earth-based technology demonstrations and space tests for many of these new propulsion technologies will be discussed.

Johnson, Les↗
NASA NTRS2009

Achieving a Prioritized Research and Technology Development Portfolio for the Dust Management Project

Mission architectures for human exploration of the lunar surface continue to advance as well as the definitions of capability needs, best practices and engineering design to mitigate the impact of lunar dust on exposed systems. The NASA DMP has been established as the agency focal point for dust characterization, technology, and simulant development. As described in this paper, the DMP has defined a process for selecting and justifying its R&T portfolio. The technology prioritization process, which is based on a ranking system according to weighted criteria, has been successfully applied to the current DMP dust mitigation technology portfolio. Several key findings emerged from this assessment. Within the dust removal and cleaning technologies group, there are critical technical challenges that must be overcome for these technologies to be implemented for lunar applications. For example, an in-situ source of CO2 on the moon is essential to the CO2 shower technology. Also, significant development effort is required to achieve technology readiness level TRL 6 for the electrostatic cleaning system for removal of particles smaller than 50 pm. The baseline materials related technologies require considerable development just to achieve TRL 6. It is also a nontrivial effort to integrate the materials in hardware for lunar application. At present, there are no terrestrial applications that are readily adaptable to lunar surface applications nor are there any obvious leading candidates. The unique requirements of dust sealing systems for lunar applications suggest an extensive development effort will be necessary to mature dust sealing systems to TRL 6 and beyond. As discussed here, several alternate materials and technologies have achieved high levels of maturity for terrestrial applications and warrant due diligence in ongoing assessment of the technology portfolio. The present assessment is the initial step in an ongoing effort to continually evaluate the DMP technology portfolio and external non-NASA relevant technology developments efforts to maintain an optimal investment profile. At the same time, there is an ongoing review of agency-wide dust-related R&T activities. The results of these ongoing assessments will be reported in future publications.

Hyatt, Mark J.↗