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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 1,225 records · Page 68
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Introduction: Back to The Moon and on to Mars

On July 20, 1989, President George Bush proposed that the United States undertake as the long range objective of its civil space program an initiative that would lead to the establishment of a permanent base on the moon and a human expedition to Mars. His speech, delivered from the steps of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., on the 20th anniversary of the first landing on the moon, gave official blessing to what had long been the unapproved purpose of the American civilian space.

McCurdy, Howard E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA Advisory Council: Fact-Finding Session

The principal agenda item for this fact-finding meeting of the NASA Advisory Council was NASA's preliminary planning of options to implement the President's initiative for establishing a base on the Moon and launching a human expedition to Mars. NASA's presentation (1) reviewed the key elements in the President's speech of July 20, 1989, summoning the Nation to launch a new exploration initiative to the Moon and Mars; (2) outlined five candidate options analyzed in terms of schedule and scale of effort (for a return to the Moon and for a voyage to Mars); (3) outlined tentative robotic mission milestones for both a 'vigorous deployment' option and a 'paced deployment' option; (4) reviewed Earth-to-orbit delivery requirements for a lunar heavy-lift launch vehicle, the National Space Transportation System, and a Mars heavy-lift launch vehicle; (5) summarized the associated Space Station Freedom requirements; (6) outlined the technology as well as human factors requirements for the candidate options; and (7) summarized the themes and approaches that could be employed for the science aspects of a national Moon/Mars exploration program.

Cohen, Aaron↗
NASA NTRS2001

STS-104 Post Flight Presentation

The crewmembers of STS-104, Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Mike Gernhardt, Jim Reilly, and Janet Kavandi, are heard narrating this video as footage is shown from various points in the mission. The crew is seen during suit-up, boarding the Shuttle, during launch, and performing many on-orbit activities, including the rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) (live and a computer animation), the three spacewalks (installing Quest Airlock and three external gas tanks), and the opening and outfitting of Quest. As the mission ends the crew bids farewell to the Expedition 2 crew (Commander Yuriy Usachev and Flight Engineers James Voss and Susan Helms) and the Atlantis Orbiter undocks from ISS, performs the fly-around of the space station, and lands.

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NASA NTRS2001

STS-108 Crew Training Clip

This video shows the crew of STS-108, Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Mark Kelly, and Mission Specialists Linda Godwin and Daniel Tani, during various parts of their training, including T-38 operations at Ellington, bail-out training (with the Expedition 4 crew: Commander Yuri Onufrienko and Flight Engineers Carl Walz and Daniel Bursch) in CCT2, extravehicular activity (EVA) preparations, Space Station Mockup and Test/Training Facility (SSMTF) transfer and hands-on familiarization (also with E4), Remote Manipulator System training, EVA training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, and in a payload training class.

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NASA NTRS2001

Node Resource Tape

This video shows footage from the construction of the International Space Station's Node 1 at Marshall Space Flight Center. The Expedition 1 crew, William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev, inspects the Node.

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NASA NTRS1998

ISS General Resource Reel

This video is a collection of computer animations and live footage showing the construction and assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). Computer animations show the following: (1) ISS fly around; (2) ISS over a sunrise seen from space; (3) the launch of the Zarya Control Module; (4) a Proton rocket launch; (5) the Space Shuttle docking with Zarya and attaching Zarya to the Unity Node; (6) the docking of the Service Module, Zarya, and Unity to Soyuz; (7) the Space Shuttle docking to ISS and installing the Z1 Truss segment and the Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA); (8) Soyuz docking to the ISS; (9) the Transhab components; and (10) a complete ISS assembly. Live footage shows the construction of Zarya, the Proton rocket, Unity Node, PMA, Service Module, US Laboratory, Italian Multipurpose Logistics Module, US Airlock, and the US Habitation Module. STS-88 Mission Specialists Jerry Ross and James Newman are seen training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL). The Expedition 1 crewmembers, William Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko, and Sergei Krikalev, are shown training in the Black Sea and at Johnson Space Flight Center for water survival.

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NASA NTRS2001

Chemical Engineering in Space

The state of the art in launch systems uses chemical propulsion systems, primarily liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, to provide the energy necessary to achieve orbit and escape the bonds of Earth's gravity. In the future there may be other means available; however, currently few of these alternatives can compare to the speed or the ease of use provided by cryogenic chemical propulsion agents. Cryogenics, the science and art of producing cold operating conditions, has become increasingly important to our ability to travel within our solar system. The production and transport of cryogenic fuels as well as the long-term storage of these fluids are necessary for mankind to travel within our solar system. It is with great care and at a significant cost that gaseous compounds such as hydrogen and oxygen are liquified and become dense enough to use for rocket fuel. As our explorations move farther away from Earth, we need to address how to produce the necessary fuels to make a complete round-trip. The cost and the size of any expedition to another celestial body are extreme. If we are constrained by the need to take everything necessary (fuel, life support, etc.) for our survival and return, we greatly increase the risk of being able to go. As with the early explorers on Earth, we will need to harvest much of our energy and our life support from the celestial bodies. The in situ production of these energy sources is paramount to success. Due to the current propulsion system designs, the in-situ processes will require liquefaction and the application of cryogenics. The challenge we face for the near future is to increase our understanding of cryogenic long-term storage and off-world production of cryogenic fluids. We must do this all within the boundaries of very restricted size, weight, and robustness parameters so that we may launch these apparatus from Earth and utilize them elsewhere. Miniaturization, efficiency, and physically robust systems will all play a part in making space exploration possible; however, it is cryogenics that will enable all of this to occur.

Lobmeyer, Dennis A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

An overview of the STS-104 mission is given through footage of each flight day. Scenes from flight days one through three show activities such as astronaut prelaunch procedures (breakfast, suit-up, and boarding Atlantis), launch, and on-orbit activities such as the opening of the payload bay doors, rendezvous and docking of the Orbiter to the International Space Station (ISS), and the opening of the hatches separating the Orbiter from ISS. The STS-104 crew (Commander Steven Lindsey, Pilot Charles Hobaugh, and Mission Specialists Mike Gernhardt, Jim Reilly, and Janet Kavandi) greets the Expedition 2 crew (Commander Yuriy Usachev and Flight Engineers James Voss and Susan Helms). Footage from flight days four through twelve can be found on the following videos: 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 2 of 4' (internal ID 2001214902), 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 3 of 4' (internal ID 2001214906), and 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 4 of 4' (internal ID 2001214905).

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NASA NTRS2001

STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

A continuation of 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 1 of 4' (internal ID 2001214904) and 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 2 of 4' (internal ID 2001214902), this video shows footage from flight days seven (continued from part two) through ten. Mission Specialists Mike Gernhardt and Jim Reilly are seen during their spacewalks, and Expedition 2 Flight Engineer Jim Voss and STS-104 Commander Steven Lindsey replace a leaking intermodular valve in the vestibule between the Unity Module and Quest Airlock. Voss is seen checking for further leaks the next day. Flight day ten is continued on 'STS-104 Mission Highlights Resource Tape, Part 4 of 4' (internal ID 2001214905), which also shows flight days eleven and twelve.

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NASA NTRS2001

Interstellar Propulsion Research Within NASA

NASA is actively conducting advanced propulsion research and technology development in various in-space transportation technologies with potential application to interstellar missions and precursors. Within the last few years, interest in the scientific community in interstellar missions as well as outer heliospheric missions, which could function as interstellar precursor missions, has increased. A mission definition team was charted by NASA to define such a precursor, The Interstellar Probe, which resulted in a prioritization of relatively near-term transportation technologies to support its potential implementation. In addition, the goal of finding and ultimately imaging extra solar planets has raised the issue of our complete inability to mount an expedition to such as planet, should one be found. Even contemplating such a mission with today's technology is a stretch of the imagination. However, there are several propulsion concepts, based on known physics, that have promise to enable interstellar exploration in the future. NASA is making small, incremental investments in some key advanced propulsion technologies in an effort to advance their state-of-the-art in support potential future mission needs. These technologies, and their relative maturity, are described.

Johnson, Les↗
NASA NTRS2002

Space Research, Education, and Related Activities in the Space Sciences

The Universities Space Research Association received an award of Cooperative Agreement NCC5-356 on September 29, 1998. The mission of this activity, known as the Cooperative Program in Space Sciences (CPSS), is to conduct space science research and leading-edge instrumentation and technology development, enable research by the space sciences communities, and to expedite the effective dissemination of space science research, technology, data, and information to the educational community and the general public. To fulfill this mission, USRA recruits and maintains a staff of scientific researchers, operates a series of guest investigator facilities, organizes scientific meetings and workshops, and encourages various interactions with students and university faculty members.

Black, David↗
NASA NTRS2002

STS-108 Mission Highlights Resource Tape

This video is a continuation of 'STS-108 Mission Highlights Resource Tape: Part 1 of 3' (Internal ID 2002049331). Flight day four footage continues with a video tour of the International Space Station (ISS). During flight day five, an exterior view of the Multipurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) is seen, followed by the crew unloading the supplies and equipment from the MPLM. Commander Dominic Gorie and Mission Specialist Linda Godwin are seen making preparations for the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) scheduled for the following day. Footage of an exterior view of the ISS is also shown. Flight day six footage includes Godwin and Mission Specialist Daniel Tani suiting up for their EVA and the installation of thermal blankets around the solar array wings of the ISS. Expedition 3 Commander Frank Culbertson is seen working in the ISS laboratory during flight day seven. Views are shown of Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea, the western coast of Australia, Cuba and Florida, and Switzerland and Northern Italy. During flight day eight, the crew is seen stowing objects in the MPLM for return to earth. The video concludes with footage of the treadmill used by the astronauts for physical exercise. Flight days nine through twelve are included in 'STS-108 Mission Highlights Resource Tape: Part 3 of 3' (Internal ID 2002049329).

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NASA NTRS1995

Capturing the Value: Earth Applications of Space Human Factors Research

This paper details how the Space Human Factors/Life Sciences program at Ames Research Center (ARC) has provided, and continues to provide, a variety of Earth-based benefits. These benefits will be considered under five categories: aeronautics, space-like environments, general applications, human/automation interaction, and methodology. The human factors work at ARC includes a range of activities whose products serve the aerospace community. Some areas of research focus specifically on aeronautical requirements; others are driven by space needs. However, the symbiosis between these two domains allows a sharing of resources, and the insights and experimental results gathered in one domain can often be applied in the other. Aeronautics is an industry whose survival is generally viewed as critical to American competitiveness, and where benefits can result in a very high payoff. The ability to apply space-initiated research to aeronautical requirements represents one example of bringing space benefits down to Earth. The second-order value of space human factors research goes well beyond the aerospace community. Spaceflight shares with a number of other activities certain environmental characteristics that drive human factors engineering design and procedural specification. Spaceflight is an isolated activity, conducted under severely confined conditions, with a high level of risk, and where provisions are restricted and opportunities for outside help are limited. A number of Earth-based activities including submarines and other naval vessels, oil rigs, remote weather stations, and scientific and polar expeditions, share many of these characteristics. These activities serve as testbeds for space-related research and, in turn, space-related research provides beneficial insight to the conduct of these activities.

Connors, Mary M.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Physics of Colloids in Space: Flight Hardware Operations on ISS

The Physics of Colloids in Space (PCS) experiment was launched on Space Shuttle STS-100 in April 2001 and integrated into EXpedite the PRocess of Experiments to Space Station Rack 2 on the International Space Station (ISS). This microgravity fluid physics investigation is being conducted in the ISS U.S. Lab 'Destiny' Module over a period of approximately thirteen months during the ISS assembly period from flight 6A through flight 9A. PCS is gathering data on the basic physical properties of simple colloidal suspensions by studying the structures that form. A colloid is a micron or submicron particle, be it solid, liquid, or gas. A colloidal suspension consists of these fine particles suspended in another medium. Common colloidal suspensions include paints, milk, salad dressings, cosmetics, and aerosols. Though these products are routinely produced and used, we still have much to learn about their behavior as well as the underlying properties of colloids in general. The long-term goal of the PCS investigation is to learn how to steer the growth of colloidal structures to create new materials. This experiment is the first part of a two-stage investigation conceived by Professor David Weitz of Harvard University (the Principal Investigator) along with Professor Peter Pusey of the University of Edinburgh (the Co-Investigator). This paper describes the flight hardware, experiment operations, and initial science findings of the first fluid physics payload to be conducted on ISS: The Physics of Colloids in Space.

Doherty, Michael P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Science in the Wild: Technology Needs and Opportunities in Scientific Fieldwork

Considering that much contemporary natural science involves field expeditions, fieldwork is an under-studied topic. There is also little information technology specifically designed to support scientific fieldwork, aside from portable scientific instruments. This article describes a variety of fieldwork practices in an interdisciplinary research area, proposes a framework linking types of fieldwork to types of needs in information technology, and identifies promising opportunities for technology development. Technologies that are designed to support the integration of field observations and samples with laboratory work are likely to aid nearly all research teams who conduct fieldwork. However, technologies that support highly detailed representations of field sites will likely trigger the deepest changes in work practice. By way of illustration, we present brief case studies of how fieldwork is done today and how it might be conducted with the introduction of new information technologies.

Guice, Jon↗
NASA NTRS2001

Nanoklystron: A Monolithic Tube Approach to THz Power Generation

The authors propose a new approach to THz power generation: the nanoklystron. Utilizing silicon micromachining techniques, the design and fabrication concept of a monolithic THz vacuum-tube reflex-klystron source is described. The nanoklystron employs a separately fabricated cathode structure composed of densely packed carbon nanotube field emitters and an add-in repeller. The nanotube cathode is expected to increase the current density, extend the cathode life and decrease the required oscillation voltage to values below 100 V. The excitation cavity is based on ridged-waveguide and differs from the conventional cylindrical re-entrant structures found in lower frequency klystrons. A quasi-static field analysis of the cavity and output coupling structure show excellent control of the quality factor and desired field distribution. Output power is expected to occur through an iris coupled matched rectangular waveguide and integrated pyramidal feed horn. The entire circuit is designed so as to be formed monolithically from two thermocompression bonded silicon wafers processed using deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) techniques. To expedite prototyping, a 600 GHz mechanically machined structure has been designed and is in fabrication. A complete numeric analysis of the nanoklystron circuit, including the electron beam dynamics has just gotten underway. Separate evaluation of the nanotube cathodes is also ongoing. The authors will describe the progress to date as well as plans for the immediate implementation and testing of nanoklystron prototypes at 640 and 1250 GHz.

Siegel, Peter H.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Fluid Dynamics of a Pressure Reducing Inlet

Instruments for the monitoring of hazardous gases in and near the space shuttle collect sample gas at pressures on the order of one atmosphere and analyze their properties in an ultra-high vacuum by means of a quadrupole-mass-spectrometer partial pressure transducer. Sampling systems for such devices normally produce the required pressure reduction through combinations of vacuum pumps, fluid Tees and flow restrictors (e.g. orifices, sintered metal frits or capillaries). The present work presents an analytical model of the fluid dynamics of such a pressure reduction system which enables the calculation of the pressure in the receiver vessal in terms of system parameters known from the specifications for a given system (e.g. rated pumping speeds of the pumping hardware and the diameters of two orifices situated in two branches of a fluid Tee). The resulting formulas will expedite the fine tuning of instruments now under development and the design of later generations of such devices.

Russell, John M.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Overview of NASA Advanced Transportation Technologies Program

A General Overview of NASA Advanced Transportation Technologies Program is presented. The contents include: 1) Center-TRACON Automation System (CTAS) which provides automation tools to assist air traffic controllers in planning and controlling air traffic arriving into major airports; 2) Surface Movement Advisor (SMA) for expediting and optimizing aircraft operations on the airport surface; and 3) Terminal Area Productivity Program (TAP), which is aimed at improving airport throughput in instrument meteorological conditions to match that attainable in clear weather.

Ashford, Rose↗