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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 109 records · Page 6

Pilot land data system

The full realization of the potential of satellite remote sensing would require the utilization of information systems which are currently not available. However, technological advances make it now possible to design a data system for meeting the land scientists' most critical information needs. A working group has been assembled to examine the need for a Pilot Data System (PLDS). The pilot program is to establish a limited-scale, distributed information system to explore approaches to satisfy the needs of the land science research community. Aspects and objectives considered by the working group are discussed, taking into account science scenarios, required functions, the characteristics of a land data system, and questions of pilot land data system development.

Estes, J. E.↗

Instellar Exploration: Propulsion Options for Precursors and Beyond

NASA is considering a mission to explore near-interstellar space early in the next decade as the first step toward a vigorous interstellar exploration program. A key enabling technology for such an ambitious science and exploration effort is the development of propulsion systems capable of providing fast trip times; mission duration should not exceed the professional lifetime of the investigative team. Advanced propulsion technologies that might support an interstellar precursor mission early in the next century include some combination of solar sails, nuclear electric propulsion systems, and aerogravity assists. Follow-on missions to far beyond the heliopause will require the development of propulsion technologies that are only at the conceptual stage today. These include 1) matter-antimatter annihilation, 2) beamed-energy sails, and 3) fusion systems. For years, the scientific community has been interested in the development of solar sail technology to support exploration of the inner and outer planets. Progress in thin-film technology and the development of technologies that may enable the remote assembly of large sails in space are only now maturing to the point where ambitious interstellar precursor missions can be considered. Electric propulsion is now being demonstrated for planetary exploration by the Deep Space 1 mission. The primary issues for it's adaptation to interstellar precursor applications include the nuclear reactor that would be required and the engine lifetime. For further term interstellar missions, matter-antimatter annihilation propulsion system concepts have the highest energy density of any propulsion systems using onboard propellants. However, there are numerous challenges to production and storage of antimatter that must be overcome before it can be seriously considered for interstellar flight. Off-board energy systems (laser sails) are candidates for long-distance interstellar flight but development of component technologies and necessary infrastructure have not begun.. Fusion propulsion has been studied extensively. However, fusion technology is still considered immature, even after many decades of well-funded research. Furthermore, fusion alone does not offer high enough energy density to make it a viable candidate for interstellar propulsion unless propellant can be collected in situ, as was considered by R. Bussard for his interstellar ramjet concept. The current research in investigating these propulsion systems will be described, and the range of application of each technology will be explored.

Johnson, Charles Les↗

Transportation System Options For The Interstellar Probe Mission

NASA is considering a mission to explore near-interstellar space early in the next decade as the first step toward a vigorous interstellar exploration program. A key enabling technology for such an ambitious science and exploration effort is the development of propulsion systems capable of providing fast trip times. Advanced propulsion technologies that might support an interstellar precursor mission early in the next century include some combination of solar sails, nuclear electric propulsion systems, and aerogravity assists. For years, the scientific community has been interested in the development of solar sail technology to support exploration of the inner and outer planets. Progress in thin-film technology and the development of technologies that may enable the remote assembly of lar2e sails in space are only now maturing to the point where ambitious interstellar precursor missions can be considered. Electric propulsion is now being demonstrated for planetary exploration by the Deep Space I mission. The primary issues for it's adaptation to interstellar precursor applications include the nuclear reactor that would be required and the engine lifetime. A propulsion system concept for the proposed Interstellar Probe mission will be described for each.

Johnson, Charles Les↗

ANTARES: Spacecraft Simulation for Multiple User Communities and Facilities

The Advanced NASA Technology Architecture for Exploration Studies (ANTARES) simulation is the primary tool being used for requirements assessment of the NASA Orion spacecraft by the Guidance Navigation and Control (GN&C) teams at Johnson Space Center (JSC). ANTARES is a collection of packages and model libraries that are assembled and executed by the Trick simulation environment. Currently, ANTARES is being used for spacecraft design assessment, performance analysis, requirements validation, Hardware In the Loop (HWIL) and Human In the Loop (HIL) testing.

Acevedo, Amanda↗

Mechanism for Self-Reacted Friction Stir Welding

A mechanism has been designed to apply the loads (the stirring and the resection forces and torques) in self-reacted friction stir welding. This mechanism differs somewhat from mechanisms used in conventional friction stir welding, as described below. The tooling needed to apply the large reaction loads in conventional friction stir welding can be complex. Self-reacted friction stir welding has become popular in the solid-state welding community as a means of reducing the complexity of tooling and to reduce costs. The main problems inherent in self-reacted friction stir welding originate in the high stresses encountered by the pin-and-shoulder assembly that produces the weld. The design of the present mechanism solves the problems. The mechanism includes a redesigned pin-and-shoulder assembly. The welding torque is transmitted into the welding pin by a square pin that fits into a square bushing with set-screws. The opposite or back shoulder is held in place by a Woodruff key and high-strength nut on a threaded shaft. The Woodruff key reacts the torque, while the nut reacts the tensile load on the shaft.

Venable, Richard↗

NASA’s Exploration and In-Space Services (NExIS) Division OSAM-1 Propellant Transfer Subsystem Progress through FY 2024

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration and In-Space Services (NExIS) Division of Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has been developing technology to robotically refuel both heritage and recently developed satellites on-orbit funded through NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) mission, formerly known as Restore-L, developed a system to refuel a satellite in space and assemble a communications antenna. By demonstrating these capabilities, the mission would advance never-before tested technologies for use in future missions (by NASA, other government organizations, and private industries). The purpose of this paper is to capture the lessons learned from the hardware development of the OSAM-1 Propellant Transfer System (PTS) that are highly relevant for the ISAM community. This paper covers a review of in-space servicing extensibility and critical technologies that were being developed within NExIS, focusing on the fluid transfer refueling technology within the framework of the OSAM-1 PTS. An overview of the technology demonstration servicing mission via the OSAM-1 Space Vehicle is provided as an extension of the technology development progress reported in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The general objectives, challenges, and key technologies are presented as an introduction to the context of the OSAM-1 mission, and a precursor to the OSAM-1 PTS specific development status. Final assembly, qualification, and functional tests along with installation and acceptance testing of the Hose Management Assembly (HMA) and Propellant Transfer Assembly (PTA) are discussed. Technology development, challenges, lessons learned, along with installation and testing results are discussed, with particular focus on the OSAM-1 assemblies including the PTA and HMA. In addition, testing utilizing the integrated flight simulator test setups will be summarized. The OSAM-1 PTS made great strides in advancing in-space refueling technology; however, there are unfinished development efforts remaining. This paper concludes with a brief summary of the technology shortfalls (gaps) that remain in the key areas of in-space fluid transfer.

ISAM↗

Representation of the Auroral and Polar Ionosphere in the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI)

This issue of Advances in Space Research presents a selection of papers that document the progress in developing and improving the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI), a widely used standard for the parameters that describe the Earths ionosphere. The core set of papers was presented during the 2010 General Assembly of the Committee on Space Research in Bremen, Germany in a session that focused on the representation of the auroral and polar ionosphere in the IRI model. In addition, papers were solicited and submitted from the scientific community in a general call for appropriate papers.

IRI↗

Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) report to the GHRSST Science Team

In 2017-2018 the Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) at NASA’s Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) provided ingest, archive, distribution and user services for GHRSST operational data streams with improved and evolved tools, services, and tutorials and interfaced with the user community to address technical inquiries. The GDAC provided access to new GHRSST datasets as well retired a significant number of deprecated GHRSST datasets from its discovery services. The following sections summarize and document the specific achievements of the GDAC to the GHRSST community.

Finch, Chris↗

Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) Report to the GHRSST Science Team

In 2017-2018 the Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) at NASA’s Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) provided ingest, archive, distribution and user services for GHRSST operational data streams with improved and evolved tools, services, and tutorials and interfaced with the user community to address technical inquiries. The GDAC provided access to new GHRSST datasets as well retired a significant number of deprecated GHRSST datasets from its discovery services. The following sections summarize and document the specific achievements of the GDAC to the GHRSST community.

Finch, Chris↗

Global Data Assembly Center (gdac) Report to the GHRSST Science Team

In 2019-2020 the Global Data Assembly Center (GDAC) at NASA’s Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC) provided ingest, archive, distribution and user services for GHRSST operational data streams with improved and evolved tools, services, and tutorials, and interfaced with the user community to address technical inquiries. Several new GHRSST datasets including reprocessed MODIS Aqua/Terra L2P with improved cloud screening were made available. The PO.DAAC participated in the evolving GHRSST data management re architecture and development activities. GHRSST Science Team member Edward Armstrong assumed the role of co-leader of the CEOS SST Virtual Constellation. The following sections summarize and document the specific achievements of the GDAC to the GHRSST community.

Finch, Chris↗

The Assembly, Test, and Integration of LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelera-tor)

R.J. Bodkin Biography Mr. Bodkin worked in industry for a rapid prototype company focusing on UAVs and manned experimental aircraft. Later he served as the Inflation System Lead on IRVE-II and 3 and the Re-Entry Vehicle Lead for LOFTID at NASA Langley Research Center. Introduction: The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and flown in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite, demonstrated Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) technology has progressed and is ready for mission infusion. LOFTID’s success demonstrates that aeroshells are not limited to the internal diame-ter of the launch vehicle payload fairing, allowing larger payloads to be deployed to the surfaces of planetary bodies with atmospheres. The challenges of assembling, integrating, and testing this revolutionary spacecraft will be dis-cussed as well as issues associated with doing this with a fixed launch date the project did not control. Assembly: Because LOFTID flew as a rideshare partner with JPSS-2, it was constrained with addi-tional schedule, milestone, and technical require-ments that were beyond the project’s control. As-sembly of the LOFTID hardware was challenged with the normal mechanical fit issues while also having to navigate the SARS-COVID-II pandemic. Challenges ranged from availability of team per-sonnel required on-site for vehicle assembly to dif-ficulties associated with team collaboration while working remotely and increased costs and lead times of components due to supply chain con-straints. Numerous additional challenges cascaded from the additional time required. Integration: LOFTID flew as a secondary pay-load to JPSS-2 in a mission-unique configuration, directly under JPSS-2 primary payload, inside the Payload Adapter that integrated JPSS-2 to the Atlas V launch vehicle. A mission unique Payload Adapt-er Separation System (PASS) was required to sepa-rate the Payload Adapter from the Launch Vehicle prior to the start of the LOFTID flight demonstra-tion. Development of this system was challenging due to a shortened development schedule resulting from the iterative nature of Payload Adapter devel-opment with the partners at ULA. Preparations to integrate the main segments of the LOFTID vehicle posed unique challenges of having to accommodate issues with a fixed launch date that led to some cre-ative solutions to the integration. The partnership agreement with ULA and JPSS-2 resulted in a mass simulator designed to be installed late in the inte-gration in the event the LOFTID vehicle was not ready in time.. Test: LOFTID testing was carried out in several phases. Some components were tested at the com-ponent level, others at the sub-system levels and then finally the integrated vehicle level. This culmi-nated with the Complete Systems Test (CST) per-formed in a vacuum chamber as one of the final checkouts prior to disassembly for re-packing of the aeroshell. CST challenges will be discussed as well as obstacles encountered post-CST. After CST, the vehicle was disassembled so the HIAD could be repacked, and the vehicle was reassembled for ac-ceptance vibration testing. Testing concluded with the fully assembled vehicle being shipped to the launch site for final testing and integrations with the Payload Adapter to JPSS-2 for launch and opera-tions. Conclusion: The challenges posed by the AI&T for LOFTID could inform the planetary community of some of the opportunities and challenges of de-veloping technologies on a rideshare with a rela-tively small budget.

R.J. Bodkin↗

Telemedicine: An expanding new science on land and sea

Several medical and technical men in San Diego County are concerned with the need in many rural communities for a 24-hour day, 7-days a week access to adequate medical care. People isolated from urban areas by travel-times of 40-minutes tend to delay seeking early and effective medical care. The authors were able to assemble quality technology which permits narrow-band video-pictures, better known in the CB trade as ROBOT slow-scan television (SSTV), to be transmitted over telephone lines, by micro-wave, through satellite-bounce, or by HF-radio. These 'ROBOT' pictures can be accompanied with explanatory audio communication and with diagnostic signals from electronic instruments.

Jackman, K. R.↗

A Year in the Life of International Space Station

The past twelve months (October 2005 to September 2006) have been among the busiest in the life of the International Space Station (ISS), both in terms of on-orbit operations as well as future planning, for both ISS systems and research. The Expedition 12 and 13 crews completed their missions successfully, carrying out research for Russia, the United States, Europe and Japan, and bringing continuous ISS occupancy to nearly six years. The European Space Agency's (ESA) first Long Duration Mission on ISS is underway, involving significant international research. The Expedition 14 crew completed its training and is embarking on its own 6-month mission with a full slate of international research. Future crews are in training for their respective assembly and research missions. Shuttle flights resumed after a 10-month hiatus, delivering new research facilities and resuming assembly of ISS. ESA's Columbus research module was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center, joining Japan's Kibo research module already there. Following preflight testing, the two modules will launch in 2007 and 2008, respectively, joining Destiny as ISS's research infrastructure. A revised ISS configuration and assembly sequence were endorsed by all the Partners, with a reduced number of Shuttle flights, but for the first time including plans for post-Shuttle ISS operations after 2010. The new plan will pose significant challenges to the ISS research community. As Europe and Japan build their on-orbit research infrastructure, and long-term plans become firmer, the next 12 months should prove to be equally challenging and exciting.

Uri, John J.↗

Data Integration Support for Data Served in the OPeNDAP and OGC Environments

NASA is coordinating a technology development project to construct a gateway between system components built upon the Open-source Project for a Network Data AcceSs Protocol (OPeNDAP) and those made available made available via interfaces specified by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). This project is funded though the Advanced Collaborative Connections for Earth-Sun System Science (ACCESS) Program and is a NASA contribution to the Committee on Earth Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS). The motivation for the project is the set of data integration needs that have been expressed by the Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period (CEOP), an international program that is addressing the study of the global water cycle. CEOP is assembling a large collection in situ and satellite data and mode1 results from a wide variety of sources covering 35 sites around the globe. The data are provided by systems based on either the OPeNDAP or OGC protocols but the research community desires access to the full range of data and associated services from a single client. This presentation will discuss the current status of the OPeNDAP/OGC Gateway Project. The project is building upon an early prototype that illustrated the feasibility of such a gateway and which was demonstrated to the CEOP science community. In its first year as an ACCESS project, the effort has been has focused on the design of the catalog and data services that will be provided by the gateway and the mappings between the metadata and services provided in the two environments.

McDonald, Kenneth R.↗

NASA-DoD Lower Process Temperature Lead-Free Solder Project Overview

This project is a follow-on effort to the Joint Council on Aging AircraftJoint Group on Pollution Prevention (JCAAJG-PP) Pb-free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project which were the first projects to test the reliability of Pb-free solder joints against the requirements of the aerospace and military community. This effort would continue to build on the results from the JCAAJG-PP Lead-Free Solder Project and NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project while focusing on a particular failure mechanism currently plaguing Pb-free assemblies, pad cratering.The NASA-DoD Lead-Free Electronics Project confirmed that pad cratering is one of the dominant failure modes that occur in various board level reliability tests, especially under dynamic loading. Pad Cratering is a latent defect that may occur during assembly, rework, and post assembly handling and testing.

electronics↗

Experiments in infrared multispectral mapping of earth resources

Two evolutionary infrared remote sensing experiments provide the basis for the development of an operational mapping capability for geology exploration. A 10-band radiometer scheduled for an early Shuttle flight has completed an aircraft flight program which demonstrated the utility of a number of narrow spectral channels. A multispectral mapper utilizing an infrared area array detector to acquire simultaneous images in multiple wavelengths is being assembled. A design concept for an operational sensor which employs area arrays for registered multispectral image data acquisition is under study. The sensor would utilize onboard spectral band selection, radiometric correction, and data compression to satisfy the demanding requirements of the user community.

Wellman, J. B.↗

The small community solar thermal power experiment

the objectives and current status of the Small Community Solar Thermal Power Experiment are discussed. The adjustments in programs goals made in response to the changing emphasis in the area of solar energy in national policy are addressed. Planned fabrication and testing activities for the test bed concentrator, power conversion assembly, and control system are outlined.

Kiceniuk, T.↗

UWB EMI To Aircraft Radios: Field Evaluation on Operational Commercial Transport Airplanes

Ultrawideband (UWB) transmitters may soon be integrated into a wide variety of portable electronic devices (PEDs) that passengers routinely carry on board commercial airplanes. Airlines and the FAA will have difficulty controlling passenger use of UWB transmitters during flights with current airline policies and existing wireless product standards. The aeronautical community is concerned as to whether evolving FCC UWB rules are adequate to protect legacy and emerging aeronautical radio systems from electromagnetic interference (EMI) from emerging UWB products. To address these concerns, the NASA Office of Space Communications and Chief Spectrum Managers assembled a multidisciplinary team from NASA LaRC, NASA JPL, NASA ARC, FAA, United Airlines, Sky West Airlines, and Eagles Wings Inc. to carry out a comprehensive series of tests aimed at determining the nature and extent of any EMI to aeronautical communication and navigation systems from UWB devices meeting FCCapproved and proposed levels for unlicensed handheld transmitters.

Oria, A. J.↗