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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 919 records · Page 51

Using Virtual and In-Person Engagement Opportunities to Connect K-12 Students, Teachers, and the Public With NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Assets

Engaging K-12 students, teachers, and the public with NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) assets provides an extraordinary opportunity to connect audiences with authentic aspects unique to our nation's space program. NASA ARES has effectively engaged audiences with 1) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) experts, 2) NASA specialized facilities, and 3) NASA astromaterial samples through both virtual and in-person engagement opportunities. These engagement opportunities help connect local and national audiences with STEM role models, promote the exciting work being facilitated through NASA's Science Mission Directorate, and expose our next generation of scientific explorers to science they may be inspired to pursue as a future STEM career.

Graff, P.↗

To Meet or Not To Meet Physical vs. Virtual Configuration Control Board

This presentation will define the CCB, discuss its functions and members. We will look into traditional processes of managing change control via the CCB meeting and advanced practices utilizing enhanced product tools and technologies. Well step through a summary of the feedback from the community of CM professionals at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center of best practices as well as pros and cons for facilitating both a physical CCB and managing stakeholder approvals in a virtual environment. Attendees will come away with current industry strategies to determine if process for managing change control and approvals can be streamlined within their local work environments.

tools↗

Virtual Exercise Training Software System

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a virtual exercise training software system (VETSS) capable of providing real-time instruction and exercise feedback during exploration missions. A resistive exercise instructional system was developed using a Microsoft Kinect depth-camera device, which provides markerless 3-D whole-body motion capture at a small form factor and minimal setup effort. It was hypothesized that subjects using the newly developed instructional software tool would perform the deadlift exercise with more optimal kinematics and consistent technique than those without the instructional software. Following a comprehensive evaluation in the laboratory, the system was deployed for testing and refinement in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) analog.

Vu, L.↗

Combining Progressive Nodal Release with the Virtual Crack Closure Technique to Model Fatigue Delamination Growth Without Re-Meshing

The present work summarizes an approach to model mixed-mode 3D fatigue crack growth using the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) without requiring re-meshing. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach can be used to simulate crack shapes that do not conform to the underlying mesh. The proposed approach relies solely on Paris Law characterization data to model delamination growth. Growth is determined as a post-processing step at the end of each increment, and hence no convergence issues associated with the progressive nodal release are encountered. This approach can be readily applied using standard solid element formulations and is implemented via an interface user element in Abaqus/Standard.

Carvalho, N. V. De↗

Application of PoF Based Virtual Qualification Methods for Reliability Assessment of Mission Critical PCBs

Reliability is the ability of a product to perform the function for which it was intended for a specified period of time (or cycles) for a given set of life cycle conditions. In today's compressed mission development cycles where designing, building and testing the physical models has to occur in a matter of months not years, Projects don't have the luxury of iteratively building and testing those models. Physics of failure (PoF) is an engineering-based approach to reliability that begins with an understanding of materials, processes, physical interactions, degradation and failure mechanisms, as well as identifying failure models. The PoF approach uses modeling and simulation to qualify a design and manufacturing process, with the ultimate intent of eliminating failures early in the design process by addressing the root cause. The physics-of-failure analysis proactively incorporates reliability into the design process by establishing a scientific basis for evaluating new materials, structures and technologies. Virtual physics-of-failure modeling allows engineers to determine if new technological node can be added to an existing system. This presentation will illustrate an application of a PoF based tool during the initial phases of a printed circuit board assembly development and how the NASA GSFC team was able to dynamically study the effects of electronics parts and printed circuit board material configuration changes under simulated thermal and vibrational stresses

Electronics packaging↗

Virtual Stationary Satellites over Any Area of the Earth for a Continuous or Set Amount of Time

Various embodiments may provide systems and methods for achieving continuous measurements (e.g., continuous video images) of the same spot on the Earth using Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations and/or Middle Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite constellations. Various embodiments may provide a system of Virtual Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Stationary Satellites (VLSSs) over any area of the Earth for a continuous or a periodic amount of time.

Regan, Curtis R.↗

Application of PoF Based Virtual Qualification Methods for Reliability Assessment of Mission Critical PCBs

Reliability is the ability of a product to perform the function for which it was intended for a specified period of time (or cycles) for a given set of life cycle conditions. In today's compressed mission development cycles where designing, building and testing the physical models has to occur in a matter of months not years, Projects don't have the luxury of iteratively building and testing those models. Physics of failure (PoF) is an engineering-based approach to reliability that begins with an understanding of materials, processes, physical interactions, degradation and failure mechanisms, as well as identifying failure models. The PoF approach uses modeling and simulation to qualify a design and manufacturing process, with the ultimate intent of eliminating failures early in the design process by addressing the root cause. The physics-of-failure analysis proactively incorporates reliability into the design process by establishing a scientific basis for evaluating new materials, structures and technologies. Virtual physics-of-failure modeling allows engineers to determine if new technological node can be added to an existing system. This presentation will illustrate an application of a PoF based tool during the initial phases of a printed circuit board assembly development and how the NASA GSFC team was able to dynamically study the effects of electronics parts and printed circuit board material configuration changes under simulated thermal and vibrational stresses.

Physics of Failure↗

Immersive Simulations and Engineering Environment (iSEE): Improving Fidelity of Virtual Reality Simulations

The Immersive Simulation and Engineering Environment (iSEE) provides Kennedy Space Center (KSC) with accurate Human Systems Integration (HSI) analysis of the stresses on a human body incurred from physical work, along with accessibility and reach factors. Human Factors engineers can observe the simulations conducted by iSEE and work with the gathered data to help make the working environment at KSC safer. The software that runs the HSI analysis, however, provides users with a low fidelity virtual environment. Previously, this led to the addition and implementation of other iSEE programs that were capable of higher-fidelity simulations. The difficulties of streamlining the workflow in the lab with these new programs is currently being addressed.

Sein, Alexandr↗

NASA's Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute and Small Spacecraft Enterprise

In January of 2017, NASA's Space Technology and Science Mission Directorates established the Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI). The mission of the agency-wide institute is to advance the field of small spacecraft systems and allied sciences by promoting innovation, exploring new concepts, identifying emerging technology opportunities, and establishing effective conduits for the collaboration and the dissemination of research results relevant to small spacecraft systems and subsystems. To achieve this, the S3VI serves as the common portal for NASA-related small spacecraft activities, hosts the Small Spacecraft Body of Knowledge as an online resource for the annual Small Spacecraft Technology State of the Art report, including a components and subsystems database, and also collects and organizes related knowledge such as small spacecraft reliability processes and best practices. The S3VI also serves as the front door for other governmental, non-governmental, and external agencies that wish to collaborate or interact with NASA small spacecraft organizations. NASA also presently has a growing number of small spacecraft related programs, projects, and efforts collectively termed the NASA Small Spacecraft Enterprise underway to advance the utility of small spacecraft instruments, technologies, and missions in order for NASA to achieve its exploration and science goals. These various activities will be outlined and described with a refocused emphasis on cis-lunar and deep space applications and supporting technologies.

Small spacecraft↗

RUMS - Realtime Visualization and Evaluation of Live, Virtual, Constructive Simulation Data

This paper describes the tools and display capabilities being developed to visualize aircraft flight and trajectory information that is produced during a distributed Live, Virtual, Constructive (LVC) simulation events involving a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft. This paper discusses the design approach and general software architecture of the Remote User Monitor Service (RUMS) application. The simulations and flight tests are conducted over a nationwide network with components communicating via software gateways that translate the messages and provide a location to access and collect data. The data collected is not only archived for post-processing and analysis, but also processed in real-time by RUMS, which allows dynamic viewing of the information via a web browser. This real-time dynamic viewing of the data allows test conductors and researchers to monitor the health of the distributed system and of the data being collected not only in situ where tests are conducted but also at remote locations.

distributed simulation↗

NASA's Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute and Small Spacecraft Enterprise

In January of 2017, NASA's Space Technology and Science Mission Directorates established the Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI). The mission of the agency-wide institute is to advance the field of small spacecraft systems to expand the capabilities and utility of small spacecraft to perform high-value science by promoting innovation, exploring new concepts, identifying emerging technology opportunities, and establishing effective conduits for the collaboration and the dissemination of research results relevant to small spacecraft systems and subsystems. To achieve this, the S3VI serves as the common portal for NASA-related small spacecraft activities, hosts the Small Spacecraft Body of Knowledge as an online resource for the annual Small Spacecraft Technology State of the Art report, including a components and subsystems database, and also collects and organizes related knowledge such as small spacecraft reliability processes and best practices. The S3VI also serves as the front door for other governmental, non-governmental, and external agencies that wish to collaborate or interact with NASA small spacecraft organizations. NASA also presently has a growing number of small spacecraft related programs, projects, and efforts underway to advance the utility of small spacecraft instruments, technologies, and missions to support NASA to achieve its exploration and science goals. These various activities will be outlined and described to include small spacecraft applications and supporting technologies for cis-lunar and deep space missions.

Small spacecraft↗

A New Approach to Model Delamination Growth in Fatigue Using the Virtual Crack Closure Technique Without Re-Meshing

A modeling approach is proposed to simulate delamination propagation in fatigue that combines the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) with a progressive nodal release strategy. The progressive nodal release alleviates the artificial stress concentrations found when using the VCCT with instantaneous release to model 3D delamination without re-meshing. This enables crack shapes that do not conform to the underlying mesh to be readily simulated. The progressive release is formulated such that no artificial growth or healing occurs as a result of a change in loading conditions. Furthermore, expressions for calculating energy release rates at partially released nodes are proposed and applied to arbitrarily shaped delamination fronts. The shape of the delamination front is considered explicitly in the energy release rate calculations, and is determined by considering the normalized crack positions associated with the partial nodal release. Contrary to previous implementations, the local delamination propagation direction is not assumed to follow mesh lines, but instead is computed as part of the iterative procedure proposed to determine the maximum energy release along the crack front. The results obtained suggest the approach can accurately simulate Mode I, Mixed Mode I/II and Mode II fatigue delamination growth and be used to simulate growth of arbitrarily shaped cracks that do not conform to the underlying mesh.

N V De Carvalho↗

Can OMPS and VIIRS Be Used as a Single Virtual Sensor for Aerosol Retrieval?

Satellite earth observation of aerosols using a single sensor have been done for more than three decades. The retrieved global distribution of column integrated aerosol optical depth (AOD) has been refined with higher accuracy and finer resolutions. However, the other aerosol properties, such as aerosol absorption and aerosol height, haven not been mapped as extensively using passive sensors. The detectors sensitive to these properties (UV-based sensors such as Aura-OMI) lack the adequate visible channels to tease out the absorption, height and loading contributions. In addition, their spatial resolution is prone to frequent cloud contamination impacting aerosol loading retrievals using only these spectral ranges. However, the deployment of the VIIRS and OMPS-NM sensors on the same Suomi NPP platform provides a first opportunity to carry out retrievals of aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) and AOD with little cloud contamination using an expanded spectral range from the UV to the near-IR wavelengths. After collocated VIIRS pixel within the large OMPS footprint during the high resolution OMPS observing mode, we compared the radiance from OMPS and VIIRS to ensure the calibration from individual sensors are comparable. Then a look up table (LUT) was created for a smoke case over central Africa. The LUT is generated using 10 channels from 0.357 to 2.1 micron with 44 combinations of aerosol models and 4 different aerosol heights. With CALIOP and AERONET observation nearby, the possibility of using OMPS and VIIRS radiance as a single virtual sensor to simultaneously and consistently retrieve AOD, SSA, and aerosol height is explored.

Shi, Yingxi↗

Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute - Presentation to the Committee of the Review of Progress Toward Implementing the Decadal Survey Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science

The Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) was established in 2017 to leverage the growing small spacecraft community, promote innovation, identify emerging technology opportunities, and provide an efficient channel for communication about small spacecraft systems with industry, academia, and other government agencies. This presentation offers an overview of the S3VI’s strategy to provide the first one-stop shop for technical knowledge in the rapidly burgeoning small spacecraft technology fields and outlines how the institute can support the planetary science decadal survey efforts.

Small spacecraft↗

Trajectory Optimization for the Virtual Telescope for X-Ray Observations

The Virtual Telescope for X-Ray Observations (VTXO) is a long focal length telescope which promises to provide orders of magnitude improvement in angular resolution in the X-ray band. VTXO will include a Phased Fresnel Lens (PFL), which provides nearly diffraction-limited imaging, with a 1 km focal length. The PFL is carried by the Optics Spacecraft, which flies in a formation with the Detector Spacecraft, approximating a rigid telescope body. In order to maintain the formation requirements, while pointing the telescope axis at the desired astronomical targets, one spacecraft will be traveling on a non-natural trajectory, requiring the vehicle to maneuver regularly to maintain the telescope pointing. If care is not taken in the trajectory design, these paths result in large propellant consumption. However, there is an opportunity to optimize trajectories when re-arranging the formation between different astronomical targets. This paper presents an optimization scheme for re-pointing the telescope, utilizing a non-traditional path-based cost function to solve the propellant optimal trajectory. The resulting trajectories show a factor of four improvement in propellant consumption compared to the baseline. The optimization techniques developed for VTXO are applicable to orbits ranging from low-Earth orbit, to highly eccentric Earth orbits, and Lagrange point orbits.

Kyle Rankin↗

The Integration of Life Sciences in Space: Astrobiology and Space Biology Virtual Workshops Report

A series of virtual workshops was held during June 2020 to seek ways to integrate the efforts of the astrobiology and space biology research communities under a broad umbrella of space life sciences. The overall goal was to help inspire creativity that will guide us towards new synergistic ideas complementing these existing disciplines that are of such importance to NASA. Workshop participants aspired to: (1) Exploit synergies across the biological sciences at NASA, (2) Foster research, enabling technology, and mission concepts that support commonalities in space biology, astrobiology, synthetic biology, planetary protection, and relevant human health, performance, and habitation concerns, (3) Envision the development of an “Arc of Biology in Space” to encompass this multi-faceted joint research community. The focused objective of the workshop series was to explore and demonstrate how the integration of astrobiology and space biology could be achieved, identify strengths and weaknesses in the current state of the art, and recognize where our greatest challenges lay. Specifically, we seek to: (1) Establish a scientific framework for an integrated life sciences effort, (2) Pioneer discovery by creating unique opportunities in the fundamental biological sciences, (3) Explore novel combinations of existing technologies across the relevant disciplines, (4) Invent new technologies and applications in space life sciences, and (5) Creatively increase access to spaceflight, emerging and novel technologies, Earth analogs, and simulated natural and spaceflight environments. The community aims for a broad arc of biological competence in the context of space and planetary science, spaceflight, and habitation. We will present dominant themes and innovative ideas that resulted from this interchange of relevant communities.

astrobiology↗

The Integration of Life Sciences in Space: Astrobiology and Space Biology Virtual Workshops Report

A series of virtual workshops was held during June 2020 to seek ways to integrate the efforts of the astrobiology and space biology research communities under a broad umbrella of space life sciences. The overall goal was to help inspire creativity that will guide us towards new synergistic ideas complementing these existing disciplines that are of such importance to NASA. Workshop participants aspired to: (1) Exploit synergies across the biological sciences at NASA, (2) Foster research, enabling technology, and mission concepts that support commonalities in space biology, astrobiology, synthetic biology, planetary protection, and relevant human health, performance, and habitation concerns, (3) Envision the development of an “Arc of Biology in Space” to encompass this multi-faceted joint research community. The focused objective of the workshop series was to explore and demonstrate how the integration of astrobiology and space biology could be achieved, identify strengths and weaknesses in the current state of the art, and recognize where our greatest challenges lay. Specifically, we seek to: (1) Establish a scientific framework for an integrated life sciences effort, (2) Pioneer discovery by creating unique opportunities in the fundamental biological sciences, (3) Explore novel combinations of existing technologies across the relevant disciplines, (4) Invent new technologies and applications in space life sciences, and (5) Creatively increase access to spaceflight, emerging and novel technologies, Earth analogs, and simulated natural and spaceflight environments. The community aims for a broad arc of biological competence in the context of space and planetary science, spaceflight, and habitation. We will present dominant themes and innovative ideas that resulted from this interchange of relevant communities.

astrobiology↗