PACE OCI Lessons Learned (Through Phase C & Into Phase D)
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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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NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Infrastructure and Astromaterials Acquisition & Curation Office completed construction and commissioning of the OSIRIS-REx (OREx) Deintegration portable cleanroom at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). The new portable cleanroom was designed to receive the OREx sample return capsule from the landing point on the range to an ISO7 environment. Scientists used the portable clean-room to deintegrate the sample canister from the sample return capsule. Once separated, the sample canister was put in a container under nitrogen purge for transportation to B31 at the Johnson Space Center for astromaterial sample extraction, preliminary analysis, and long-term curation. The portable cleanroom was built by a subcontractor at their facility and then deconstructed to be transported to the remote location at UTTR. Since construction was completed in a remote location all tools and materials had to be transported from contractor site in Dallas, TX. The cleanroom was constructed within an existing facility, which provided conditioned air, electric power, and protection from the elements. Careful coordination was required between the host facility, cleanroom contractor, mission scientists, and JSC facilities and curation personnel. An existing anteroom at JSC was transported to UTTR and added to the portable cleanroom after there was concern about contamination without one for personnel entry/exit. The scientific study of organics is critical for the mission, so a stringent contamination control plan was implemented for low organics. Given these mission requirements the cleanroom construction materials were carefully selected to not hinder the scientific search for amino acids and the study of organics in the samples. The same cleanroom contractor that built the long-term astromaterial curation cleanroom back at JSC Houston, TX was selected to build the portable cleanroom and instructed to use the same materials. The cleanroom had double doors to open and allow the sample return capsule to fit into the cleanroom on its stand and be transferred to a clean stand already in the cleanroom. The portable cleanroom successfully completed its mission and the sample canister was safely deintegrated and transported to JSC under nitrogen purge.
This paper reviews the flight experiences of the BioSentinel propulsion and At-titude Determination and Control System (ADCS) teams. BioSentinel, a 6U CubeSat, launched as a secondary aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) maid-en flight in November of 2022 and is now operating in an Earth trailing helio-centric orbit. The development and performance of a novel approach to gyro bias estimation in the spacecraft’s Sun safe controller is discussed in detail. Further-more, the development and in-flight experience with the spacecraft’s propulsion system is discussed. Finally, we present the development and execution of an angular momentum management approach developed in flight after a propulsion system valve failure.
This presentation reviews the flight experiences of the BioSentinel propulsion and At-titude Determination and Control System (ADCS) teams. BioSentinel, a 6U CubeSat, launched as a secondary aboard the Space Launch System (SLS) maid-en flight in November of 2022 and is now operating in an Earth trailing helio-centric orbit. The development and performance of a novel approach to gyro bias estimation in the spacecraft’s Sun safe controller is discussed in detail. Further-more, the development and in-flight experience with the spacecraft’s propulsion system is discussed. Finally, we present the development and execution of an angular momentum management approach developed in flight after a propulsion system valve failure.
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The X-57 Maxwell is an electric aircraft based on a 4-passenger, twin engine Tecnam P2006T General Aviation aircraft. The X-57 project originally envisioned a straightforward integration of commercial-off-the-shelf hardware components and software into a novel configuration to demonstrate the aerodynamic and performance benefits of Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP). The project was initially started with a high-risk venture capitalist approach under NASA’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project, which led to an initial philosophy of Project Management “light” (which was then interpreted as Systems Engineering (SE) “light”). As the project matured, it was forced to transition to one with increasing SE-rigor as the project scope changed, hardware and software deficiencies were found, and the team realized the magnitude of the technical and integration challenges. In hindsight, these technical challenges came in part from an overly optimistic technology readiness assessment (TRA) at the beginning of the project, which resulted in the project assuming that little to no subsystem development would be required. The project’s approach to systems engineering evolved throughout three separate informal phases of the project as it underwent two key transitions as a result of the team wrestling with the technical challenges and resultant changing project scope. This paper discusses the assumptions, approaches, and challenges encountered from a Systems Engineering standpoint in each of the three informal phases of the X-57 project. This paper also provides recommendations on how future projects can apply Systems Engineering best practices upfront along with a realistic TRA to aid projects that find themselves with similar challenges.
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This report accompanies is a set of charts that will be presented at the 2024 LEARN Forum. This report is the result of an activity sponsored by Dr. Wanda Peters, Deputy Associate Administrator of Programs, who tasked Florence Tan and Carolyn Mercer with gathering insights from SmallSat/ Class D missions that could be extrapolated to enhance Class A-C missions.
Climate resilience can emerge from a combination of (1) climate projections that enable future-oriented planning and (2) contemporary observations that can be used for adaptation in the face of realized climate. NASA is uniquely positioned to provide global climate projections and satellite-based observations to users who must take a global perspective on climate risk (e.g., supply chain managers). Here, we will share the capabilities and experiences of three NASA projects. The first project, the NASA Earth eXchange (NEX) provides two downscaled climate projections, NEX-GDDP-CMIP6, a global 25 km resolution product, and NEX-DCP30-CMIP6, an 800 m resolution product covering the coterminous U.S. specifically designed for U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA). NEX also offers land surface products that mirror the twice-daily products provided by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) but are derived from operational geostationary weather satellite data collected at 5-10 minutes intervals. The second project, the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (SPoRT), was established in 2002 to transition unique NASA satellite products and capabilities to stakeholders to improve decision-making that benefits society. SPoRT provides products and capabilities derived from NASA observations and models to end users in government, academia, and the private sector. SPoRT translates NASA Earth science into actionable solutions reaching over 400 stakeholders across 80 organizations. Finally, the Regional Climate Model Evaluation System (RCMES) is designed to facilitate regional-scale evaluations of climate models by providing standardized access to a vast and comprehensive set of observations, such as satellite, in-situ, and reanalyses, and modeling resources such as CMIP & CORDEX. These three projects form part of the core capabilities at the NASA Centers deliver climate information under the new NASA Earth Science to Action (ES2A) strategy.
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Online conferences simplify planning needs, lower barriers to participation for a global audience, and reduce environmental footprints, but scheduling, pacing, and moderating sessions can be challenging.