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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 1,009 records · Page 56
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NASA NTRS2017

Current Status of NASA's NEXT-C Ion Propulsion System Development Project

NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) is a 7-kW class gridded ion thruster-based propulsion system that was initially developed from 2002 to 2012 under NASAs In-Space Propulsion Technology Program to meet future science mission requirements. In 2015, a contract was awarded to Aerojet Rocketdyne, with subcontractor ZIN Technologies, to design, build and test two NEXT flight thrusters and two power processing units that would be available for use on future NASA science missions. Because an additional goal of this contract is to take steps towards offering NEXT as a commercialized system, it is called the NEXT-Commercial project, or NEXT-C. This paper reviews the capabilities of the NEXT-C system, status of the NEXT-C project, and the forward plan to build, test, and deliver flight hardware in support of future NASA and commercial applications. It also briefly addresses some of the potential applications that could utilize the hardware developed and built by the project.

Shastry, Rohit↗
NASA NTRS2018

ACE Objectives, Current Status and the 2017 Decadal Survey

In this talk we present an overview of the Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystems (ACE) preformulation studies, a tier-2 satellite mission recommended by the 2007 Decadal Survey. We discuss the current status of ACE measurement concepts and associated retrieval algorithms. We conclude with a brief discussion of the recommendations by the 2017 Decadal Survey and how ACE accomplishments can inform the future Aerosol and Cloud, Convection & Precipitation Designated Observables.

ACE↗
NASA NTRS2017

Nowcasting and Forecasting of the Magnetopause and Bow Shock - A Status Update

There has long been interest in knowing the shape and location of the Earth's magnetopause and of the standing fast-mode bow shock upstream of the Earth's magnetosphere. This quest for knowledge spans both the research and operations arenas. Pertinent to the latter, nowcasting and near-term forecasting are important for determining the extent to which the magnetosphere is compressed or expanded due to the influence of the solar wind bulk plasma and fields and the coupling to other magnetosphere-ionosphere processes with possible effects on assets. This article provides an update to a previous article on the same topic published 15 years earlier, with focus on studies that have been conducted, the current status of nowcasting and forecasting of geophysical boundaries, and future endeavors.

Magnetospheric Modeling↗
NASA NTRS2018

The James Webb Space Telescope: Observatory Status and Preparations for Launch

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large (6.5 meter) segmented aperture telescope equipped with near- and mid-infrared instruments (0.6-28 microns), all of which are passively cooled to approximately 40 degrees Kelvin by a 5-layer sunshield while the mid-infrared instrument is actively cooled to 7 degrees Kelvin. The JWST telescope recently completed its cryogenic test program and the sunshield has been fully integrated and deployed. JWST is currently in the final stages of the test program at the Observatory level. The current estimated JWST performance metrics will be presented, such as the image quality, pointing stability, sensitivity, and stray light backgrounds. The JWST development status and future plans will be described for the final testing, launch, and commissioning.

McElwain, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2018

Mission Status for Earth Science Constellation MOWG Meeting @ Sioux Falls SD EOS Aura

This presentation provides mission operations status for the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite for the past six-months (December 2017 through May 2018). It only contains information that is of interest to the International Earth Science Constellation (ESC) Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) member missions. It will be presented at the bi-annual MOWG Meeting at the USGS EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Wednesday, June 12, 2018. These meetings have been occurring twice a year since the MOWG was formed in 2003. The presentation has been reviewed and approved by Eric Moyer, ESMO Deputy Project Manager Technical.

Aura satellite↗
NASA NTRS2018

Status of and Scientific Results from the ISIS-I Topside Digital Ionogram Data Enhancement Project

Selected original analog telemetry tapes from three of the topside-sounder satellites of the International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies (ISIS) program, namely Alouette 2, ISIS I, and ISIS II, were used in an earlier project to produce more than million digital topside ionograms; the resulting digital topside ionograms from ISIS II were used to produce morethan 86,000 globally-distributed vertical topside ionospheric electron density profiles Ne(h)that cover a time span of more than a solar cycle. These Ne(h) were produced using the TOPIST auto-scaling software. Before attempting to automatically process Alouette-2 orISIS-I ionograms a data-enhancement project was initiated so as to increase the auto processing success rate. These enhancements were mainly to correct problems that often occurred during the analog-to-digital conversion of the original telemetry tapes. Here we present the status of, and results from, this ongoing enhancement effort.

topside ionosphere↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Lynx X-Ray Observatory: Concept Study Overview and Status

Lynx, one of four strategic mission concepts under study for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey, will provide leaps in capability over previous and planned X-ray missions, and will provide synergistic observations in the 2030s to a multitude of space- and ground-based observatories across all wavelengths. Lynx will have orders of magnitude improvement in sensitivity, on-axis sub-arcsecond imaging with arcsecond angular resolution over a large field of view, and high-resolution spectroscopy for point-like and extended sources. The Lynx architecture enables a broad range of unique and compelling science, to be carried out mainly through a General Observer Program. This Program is envisioned to include detecting the very first supermassive black holes, revealing the high-energy drivers of galaxy and structure formation, characterizing the mechanisms that govern stellar activity - including effects on planet habitability, and exploring the highest redshift galaxy clusters. An overview and status of the Lynx concept are summarized.

Gaskin, Jessica A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) Status Update

In the "Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) Status Update" talk we will give an update on the recent and upcoming HDF5 software releases, and how to upgrade HDF5-based software to the new major releases HDF5 1.10.* to assure backward and forward compatibility for the files produces with the newest versions of the HDF5 software. We will also focus on a compression feature of HDF5 and will talk about new mechanism for storing HDF5 data in Object Store.

Virtual File Driver↗
NASA NTRS2018

ORDEM 3.1 Development Status

In this presentation we shall review NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) scope, intended use, and version history; development of the latest version, v. 3.1; provide a current development status; and discuss current deployment plans. We will also place ORDEM in context with other NASA and US models as well as the ESA MASTER model, ORDEM’s closest analogue model.

Anz-Meador, P.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Status of ISS Water Management and Recovery

Water management on ISS is responsible for the provision of water to the crew for drinking water, food preparation, and hygiene, to the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) for oxygen production via electrolysis, to the Waste & Hygiene Compartment (WHC) for flush water, and for experiments on ISS. This paper summarizes water management activities on the ISS US Segment as of May 2018 and provides a status of the performance and issues related to the operation of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and Urine Processor Assembly (UPA).

Carter, Layne↗
NASA NTRS2017

Orbit Determination of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter: Status After Seven Years

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been orbiting the Moon since 2009, obtaining unique and foundational datasets important to understanding the evolution of the Moon and the Solar System. The high-resolution data acquired by LRO benefit from precise orbit determination (OD), limiting the need for geolocation and co-registration tasks. The initial position knowledge requirement (50 m) was met with radio tracking from ground stations, after combination with LOLA altimetric crossovers. LRO-specific gravity field solutions were determined and allowed radio-only OD to perform at the level of 20 m, although secular inclination changes required frequent updates. The high-accuracy gravity fields from GRAIL, with <10 km spatial resolution, further improved the radio-only orbit reconstruction quality (<10 m). However, orbit reconstruction is in part limited by the 0.3-0.5 mm/s measurement noise level in S-band tracking. One-way tracking through Laser Ranging can supplement the tracking available for OD with 28-Hz ranges with 20-cm single-shot precision, but is available only on the nearside (the lunar hemisphere facing the Earth due to tidal locking). Here, we report on the status of the OD effort since the beginning of the mission, a period spanning more than seven years. We describe modeling improvements and the use of new measurements. In particular, the LOLA altimetric data give accurate, uniform, and independent information about LRO's orbit, with a different sensitivity and geometry which includes coverage over the lunar farside and is not tied to ground-based assets. With SLDEM2015 (a combination of the LOLA topographic profiles and the Kaguya Terrain Camera stereo images), another use of altimetry is possible for OD. We extend the 'direct altimetry' technique developed for the ICESat mission to perform OD and adjust spacecraft position to minimize discrepancies between LOLA tracks and SLDEM2015. Comparisons with the radio-only orbits are used to evaluate this new tracking type, of interest for the OD of future lunar orbiters carrying a laser altimeter. LROC NAC images also provide independent accuracy estimation, through the repeated views taken of anthropogenic features for instance.

Erwan Mazarico↗
NASA NTRS2018

History and Status of ALSEP and the Apollo Lunar Data Project

A suite of automated scientific instruments (the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package, or ALSEP) was installed at each of the landing sites of Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16, and 17 from 1969 to 1972. They operated from deployment until decommissioning on 30 September 1977. These data were continuously transmitted to Earth and saved on the Range Tapes, which were recorded at the Manned Space Flight Network stations. These data were also broken out by experiment and sent to the experiment Principal Investigators on what were called the P.I. Tapes. Starting in April 1973 the Range Tape data were stored in digital format on 7-track magnetic tapes, the ARCSAV Tapes. In February 1976, the handling of the Range Tapes was transferred to UT Galveston. They produced 9-track tapes referred to as the Work Tapes. Following the Apollo program the Range and ARCSAV tapes, which were never archived, were lost. The Work Tapes were archived at the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC). Some investigators archived their individual experiment data with NSSDC as well, but much of the data had minimal documentation, were not in digital form, or were stored in difficult to translate formats. Data from many experiments were never delivered to the NSSDC. The Lunar Data Project was started to address the problem of both missing and not readily usable data. Our effort has resulted in recovery of some of the ARCSAV tapes, recovery and digitization of a large volume of Apollo scientific and technical documentation, and restoration of many ALSEP and other Apollo data collections. Restoration involves deciphering formats, assembling necessary ancillary data (metadata), and packaging data in digital format to be archived with the Planetary Data System (PDS). Recovery of the data from the ARCSAV tapes involved having the tapes read on special equipment and extracting the individual experiment data out of the integrated data stream. We will report on the history and status of the various recovery efforts.

Work Tapes↗
NASA NTRS2016

PICA Status: New Frontiers and Discovery Missions

This is a set of slides for a 2 min talk at the OPAG meeting to update the community on the current status of PICA and future needs. The current vendor for manufacturing rayon for the heritage PICA has discontinued the production and as a result, the community needs to be aware of the efforts underway to consider options and demonstrate manufacturing as well as obtain properties and thermal response model of an alternate rayon based PICA that is sustainable for missions in support of upcoming New Frontiers and future Discovery Missions of Opportunity.

Thermal Protection System↗
NASA NTRS2015

Status of Shock Layer Radiation Validation Studies

This paper presents a status update for the shock layer radiation validation studies conducted at NASA. A review of the present capability for the simulation and validation of shock layer radiation is presented as well as providing an overview of the data obtained from the Electric Arc Shock Tube (EAST). The paper will include details covering updated convective and radiative heating correlations, provide an overview of the development of new kinetics for Mars entry and detail some recent work calculating after-body radiation. Furthermore, the paper will highlight conditions where there is high confidence in the validation of EAST data (e.g. Earth entry for speeds greater than approximately 10 kms and for many Mars entry conditions) and where further experimental data would be highly beneficial (e.g. lower speed Earth entry around 7.5 to 10 kms and higher speed CO2 entries relevant to Venus). Nominal test conditions for both Earth and Mars are provided for future potential facility-to-facility comparisons.

Entry systems modeling↗
NASA NTRS2013

Capabilities, Performance, and Status of the SOFIA Science Instrument Suite

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne observatory, carrying a 2.5 m telescope onboard a heavily modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. SOFIA is optimized for operation at infrared wavelengths, much of which is obscured for ground-based observatories by atmospheric water vapor. The SOFIA science instrument complement consists of seven instruments: FORCAST (Faint Object InfraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope), GREAT (German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies), HIPO (High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations), FLITECAM (First Light Infrared Test Experiment CAMera), FIFI-LS (Far-Infrared Field-Imaging Line Spectrometer), EXES (Echelon-Cross-Echelle Spectrograph), and HAWC (High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera). FORCAST is a 540 m imager with grism spectroscopy, developed at Cornell University. GREAT is a heterodyne spectrometer providing high-resolution spectroscopy in several bands from 60240 m, developed at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy. HIPO is a 0.31.1 m imager, developed at Lowell Observatory. FLITECAM is a 15 m wide-field imager with grism spectroscopy, developed at UCLA. FIFI-LS is a 42210 m integral field imaging grating spectrometer, developed at the University of Stuttgart. EXES is a 528 m high-resolution spectrograph, developed at UC Davis and NASA ARC. HAWC is a 50240 m imager, developed at the University of Chicago, and undergoing an upgrade at JPL to add polarimetry capability and substantially larger GSFC detectors. We describe the capabilities, performance, and status of each instrument, highlighting science results obtained using FORCAST, GREAT, and HIPO during SOFIA Early Science observations conducted in 2011.

SOFIA↗
NASA NTRS2018

Mission Status for Earth Science Constellation MOWG Meeting @ GSFC: EOS Aura

This presentation provides mission operations status for the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura satellite for the past six-months (June 2018 through November 2018). It only contains information that is of interest to the International Earth Science Constellation (ESC) Mission Operations Working Group (MOWG) member missions.

Fisher, Dominic↗
NASA NTRS2019

Status and Examples for the Version 06 IMERG Multi-Satellite Products

After five years of development following the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) missionCore Observatory, the GPM data products are now being extended across the joint Tropical Rainfall MeasuringMission (TRMM) and GPM eras. Version 06 of the U.S. GPM team's Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals forGPM (IMERG) merged precipitation product provides a consistent intercalibration for all precipitation productscomputed from individual satellites with the TRMM and GPM Core Observatory sensors as the TRMM- andGPM-era calibrators, respectively, and incorporates monthly surface gauge data. One major change in the basicIMERG algorithm for V06 is that precipitation motion vectors (used to drive the quasi-Lagrangian interpolation,or "morphing") are computed by tracking vertically integrated vapor (TQV) fields analyzed in MERRA2 andGEOS5. This innovation provides globally complete coverage, expanding IMERG's coverage beyond the 60N-Slatitude band previously provided by IR-based vectors, although precipitation over snowy/icy surfaces is stillmasked out as unreliable. A second innovation is that the Quality Index (QI) data field computed for the half-hourlydatasets has been refined to include estimates of correlation at microwave overpass times.We will summarize the processing status for V06 IMERG, for which the retrospective processing shouldbe actively advancing at meeting time. We will show early examples of performance. For example, the TQVmotion vectors are typically slightly better than the IR-based vectors at all latitudes. The transition across theTRMM/GPM data boundary will be discussed, including the necessity of filling in the TRMM-based calibrationsover the latitude band 35-65 in each hemisphere. The notional schedule for the eventual retirement of thepredecessor TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) multi-satellite dataset will be updated as well.

Huffman, George J.↗