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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

Helicopter Airborne Laser Positioning System (HALPS)

The theory of operation, configuration, laboratory, and ground test results obtained with an HALPS developed by Princeton University is presented. The HALPS measures the relative position between two aircraft in three dimensions using two orthogonal fan-shaped laser beams sweeping across an array of four detectors. Specifically, the HALPS calculates the relative range, elevation, and azimuth between an observation aircraft and a test helicopter with a high degree of accuracy. The detector array provides a wide field of view in the presence of solar interference due to compound parabolic concentrators and spectral filtering of the detector pulses. The detected pulses and their associated time delays are processed by the electronics and are sent as position errors to the helicopter pilot who repositions the aircraft as part of the closed loop system. Accuracies obtained in the laboratory at a range of 80 ft in the absence of sunlight were + or - 1 deg in elevation; +0.5 to -1.5 deg in azimuth; +0.5 to -1.0 ft in range; while elevation varied from 0 to +28 deg and the azimuth varied from 0 to + or - 45 deg. Accuracies in sunlight were approximately 40 deg (+ or - 20 deg) in direct sunlight.

Eppel, Joseph C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ultrasonic Detection Of Transverse Cracks In Composites

Conventional ultrasonic C scan used to detect flaws in graphite/epoxy composite panels modified to enhance sensitivity to transverse cracks. Modification involves reorientation and repositioning of ultrasonic transmitter and receiver to take advantage of mode-conversion phenomena at interfaces between liquid couplant and panel to be probed. Angle of incidence chosen so only shear waves propagate obliquely through panel. Although mode-conversion equations solved to take full advantage of technique somewhat complicated, they are straightforward, and technique implemented easily in practice.

Pereira, J. Michael↗
NASA NTRS1990

LLM: An L-band multibeam land mobile payload for Europe

The European Space Agency is developing, in the context of the ARTEMIS program, a multibeam reconfigurable mobile payload to provide pre-operational land-mobile satellite services at the L-band over Europe. The L-band Land-Mobile (LLM) payload features high capacity at L-band, efficient use of the L-band spectrum resources, and flexibility in reconfiguring the allocation of bandwith and RF power resources to the different beams. Additionally, a number of features were added to the payload purely for experimental purposes, like the provision of one steerable spot beam which can be repositioned anywhere within the coverage area, and the possibility to reuse L-band frequencies by spatial discrimination between non-adjacent beams, or via orthogonal polarizations. The architecture of the payload and the hardware implementation of the most critical subsystems are described.

Benedicto, J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A study of the control problem of the shoot side environment delivery system of a closed crop growth research chamber

The details of our initial study of the control problem of the crop shoot environment of a hypothetical closed crop growth research chamber (CGRC) are presented in this report. The configuration of the CGRC is hypothetical because neither a physical subject nor a design existed at the time the study began, a circumstance which is typical of large scale systems control studies. The basis of the control study is a mathematical model which was judged to adequately mimic the relevant dynamics of the system components considered necessary to provide acceptable realism in the representation. Control of pressure, temperature, and flow rate of the crop shoot environment, along with its oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water concentration is addressed. To account for mass exchange, the group of plants is represented in the model by a source of oxygen, a source of water vapor, and a sink for carbon dioxide. In terms of the thermal energy exchange, the group of plants is represented by a surface with an appropriate temperature. Most of the primitive equations about an experimental operating condition and a state variable representation which was extracted from the linearized equations are presented. Next, we present the results of a real Jordan decomposition and the repositioning of an undesirable eigenvalue via full state feedback. The state variable representation of the modeling system is of the nineteenth order and reflects the eleven control variables and eight system disturbances. Five real eigenvalues are very near zero, with one at zero, three having small magnitude positive values, and one having a small magnitude negative value. A Singular Value Decomposition analysis indicates that these non-zero eigenvalues are not results of numerical error.

Blackwell, C. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Development of arcjet and ion propulsion for spacecraft stationkeeping

Near term flight applications of arcjet and ion thruster satellite station-keeping systems as well as development activities in Europe, Japan, and the United States are reviewed. At least two arcjet and three ion propulsion flights are scheduled during the 1992 - 1995 period. Ground demonstration technology programs are focusing on the development of kW-class hydrazine and ammonia arcjets and xenon ion thrusters. Recent work at NASA Lewis Research Center on electric thruster and system integration technologies relating to satellite stationkeeping and repositioning will also be summarized.

Sovey, James S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Ion Thruster Development at NASA Lewis Research Center

Recent ion propulsion technology efforts at NASA's Lewis Research Center including development of kW-class xenon ion thrusters, high power xenon and krypton ion thrusters, and power processors are reviewed. Thruster physical characteristics, performance data, life projections, and power processor component technology are summarized. The ion propulsion technology program is structured to address a broad set of mission applications from satellite stationkeeping and repositioning to primary propulsion using solar or nuclear power systems.

Sovey, James S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Quick acting gimbal joint

An improved linkage assembly provides for locking the pivotable position of one member relative to another member. The linkage assembly permits the unlocking of these members, their subsequent repositioning, and the reliable relocking in a desired position without utilizing tooling. The first member includes a pair of spaced apart support flanges each having a through aperture therein defining a flange female spline. The second member has an end positioned between the pair of support flanges and also includes a through aperture defining a pair of second member female splines. A pair of control members are each slidably moveable along the common axis and extend through the respective flanges. Each control member has a male splined portion which normally engages both the respective flange female spline and the second member female spline to lock the rotatable position of the first and second members. When each of the control members are pressed inward simultaneously, the male splined portions disengage the flange female splines to permit rotation of the first member about the common axis with respect to the second member.

William B Wood↗
NASA NTRS1992

Development of arcjet and ion propulsion for spacecraft stationkeeping

Near term flight applications of arc jet and ion thruster satellite station-keeping systems as well as development activities in Europe, Japan, and the United States are reviewed. At least two arc jet and three ion propulsion flights are scheduled during the 1992-1995 period. Ground demonstration technology programs are focusing on the development of kW-class hydrazine and ammonia arc jets and xenon ion thrusters. Recent work at NASA LeRC on electric thruster and system integration technologies relating to satellite station keeping and repositioning will also be summarized.

Sovey, James S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Phase II simulation evaluation of the flying qualities of two tilt-wing flap control concepts

A simulation study was initiated to investigate alternative wing and flap controls for tilt-wing aircraft. The initial phase of the study compared the flying qualities of both a conventional (programmed) flap and an innovative geared flap. The second phase of the study, reported in this paper, introduced an alternate method for pilot control of the geared flap and further studied the flying qualities of the programmed flap, and two geared flap configurations. The results showed little difference among the three flap control configurations except during a longitudinal reposition task where the programmed flap configuration was the best. The addition of pitch attitude stabilization greatly enhanced the aircraft handling qualities. This paper describes the tilt-wing aircraft and the flap control concepts, and presents the results of the second simulation experiment.

Birckelbaw, Lourdes G.↗
NASA NTRS1993

BMDO electric space-propulsion program

Electric propulsion (EP) applications being considered include: orbit insertion, orbit repositioning, station keeping, and elusive maneuvering. Typically, 1 to 5 kW are available for EP. A class of thrusters, the Hall-effect thrusters, is extensively researched, developed and flown by Russia. These thrusters, using xenon propellant, perform reliably, e.g., at 1.35 kW, 600 s specific impulse, 50 percent efficiency and greater than 2000 hr life. This specific impulse and efficiency combination is superior to the present arcjets for several Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) applications. Three versions of the Hall thrusters are part of the experimental evaluation. Since today's goals are within reach of available thrusters and power sources, emphasis is being placed on such topics as: thruster lifetime, spacecraft interactions, electromagnetic interference, and erosion product deposition. Facilities in U.S. laboratories are being specially configured to achieve these goals.

Caveny, Leonard H.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Performance of the NASA 30 cm Ion Thruster

A 30 cm diameter xenon ion thruster is under development at NASA to provide an ion propulsion option for missions of national interest, and is being proposed for use on the USAF/TRW Space Surveillance, Tracking and Autonomous Repositioning (SSTAR) platform to validate ion propulsion. The thruster incorporates innovations in design, materials, and fabrication techniques compared to those employed in conventional ion thrusters. Specific development efforts include thruster design optimizations, component life testing and validation, vibration testing, and performance characterizations. Under this test program, the ion thruster will be brought to engineering model development status. This paper discusses the performance and power throttling test data for the NASA 30 cm diameter xenon ion thruster over an input power envelope of 0.7 to 4.9 kW, and corresponding thruster lifetime expectations.

Patterson, Michael J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Small Satellite Propulsion Options

Advanced chemical and low power electric propulsion offer attractive options for small satellite propulsion. Applications include orbit raising, orbit maintenance, attitude control, repositioning, and deorbit of both Earth-space and planetary spacecraft. Potential propulsion technologies for these functions include high pressure Ir/Re bipropellant engines, very low power arcjets, Hall thrusters, and pulsed plasma thrusters, all of which have been shown to operate in manners consistent with currently planned small satellites. Mission analyses show that insertion of advanced propulsion technologies enables and/or greatly enhances many planned small satellite missions. Examples of commercial, DoD, and NASA missions are provided to illustrate the potential benefits of using advanced propulsion options on small satellites.

Myers, Roger M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Vibration (?) spikes during natural rain events

Limited analysis of optical rain gauge (ORG) data from shipboard and ground based sensors has shown the existence of spikes, possibly attributable to sensor vibration, while rain is occurring. An extreme example of this behavior was noted aboard the PRC#5 on the evening of December 24, 1992 as the ship began repositioning during a rain event in the TOGA/COARE IFA. The spikes are readily evident in the one-second resolution data, but may be indistinguishable from natural rain rate fluctuations in subsampled or averaged data. Such spikes result in increased rainfall totals.

Short, David A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Very fast motion planning for highly dexterous-articulated robots

Due to the inherent danger of space exploration, the need for greater use of teleoperated and autonomous robotic systems in space-based applications has long been apparent. Autonomous and semi-autonomous robotic devices have been proposed for carrying out routine functions associated with scientific experiments aboard the shuttle and space station. Finally, research into the use of such devices for planetary exploration continues. To accomplish their assigned tasks, all such autonomous and semi-autonomous devices will require the ability to move themselves through space without hitting themselves or the objects which surround them. In space it is important to execute the necessary motions correctly when they are first attempted because repositioning is expensive in terms of both time and resources (e.g., fuel). Finally, such devices will have to function in a variety of different environments. Given these constraints, a means for fast motion planning to insure the correct movement of robotic devices would be ideal. Unfortunately, motion planning algorithms are rarely used in practice because of their computational complexity. Fast methods have been developed for detecting imminent collisions, but the more general problem of motion planning remains computationally intractable. However, in this paper we show how the use of multicomputers and appropriate parallel algorithms can substantially reduce the time required to synthesize paths for dexterous articulated robots with a large number of joints. We have developed a parallel formulation of the Randomized Path Planner proposed by Barraquand and Latombe. We have shown that our parallel formulation is capable of formulating plans in a few seconds or less on various parallel architectures including: the nCUBE2 multicomputer with up to 1024 processors (nCUBE2 is a registered trademark of the nCUBE corporation), and a network of workstations.

Challou, Daniel J.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Suspension system for gimbal supported scanning payloads

Gimballed scanning devices or instruments are the subject of this invention. Scanning is an important aspect of space science. To achieve a scan pattern some means must be provided which impart to the payload an oscillatory motion. Various forms of machines have been employed for controllably conferring on scanning instruments predetermined scan patterns. They include control moment gyroscopes, reaction wheels, torque motors, reaction control systems, and the like. But rotating unbalanced mass (RUM) devices are a new and efficient way to generate scans in gimballed payloads. RUM devices are superior to previous scanning apparatus, but they require power consuming and frequently complex auxiliary control systems to position and reposition the particular scan pattern relative to a target or a number of targets. Herein the control system is simplified. The most frequently employed method for achieving the various scan patterns is to gimbal the scanning device. Gimbals are suspended in such a way that they can be activated to generate the scan pattern. The suspension means described is for payloads supported in gimbals wherein the payload rotation is restricted by a flex pivot so that the payload oscillates, thereby moving in a scan pattern.

Polites, Michael E.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Evaluation of simulation motion fidelity criteria in the vertical and directional axes

An evaluation of existing motion fidelity criteria was conducted on the NASA Ames Vertical Motion Simulator. Experienced test pilots flew single-axis repositioning tasks in both the vertical and the directional axes. Using a first-order approximation of a hovering helicopter, tasks were flown with variations only in the filters that attenuate the commands to the simulator motion system. These filters had second-order high-pass characteristics, and the variations were made in the filter gain and natural frequency. The variations spanned motion response characteristics from nearly full math-model motion to fixed-base. Between configurations, pilots recalibrated their motion response perception by flying the task with full motion. Pilots subjectively rated the motion fidelity of subsequent configurations relative to this full motion case, which was considered the standard for comparison. The results suggested that the existing vertical-axis criterion was accurate for combinations of gain and natural frequency changes. However, if only the gain or the natural frequency was changed, the rated motion fidelity was better than the criterion predicted. In the vertical axis, the objective and subjective results indicated that a larger gain reduction was tolerated than the existing criterion allowed. The limited data collected in the yaw axis revealed that pilots had difficulty in distinguishing among the variations in the pure yaw motion cues.

Schroeder, Jeffery A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A dual purpose optical truss laser metrology system for a space-based far-IR segmented telescope: Figure maintenance and pointing control

To obtain imaging performance as for monolithic mirrors, large segmented reflectors used for astronomy must be actively aligned and pointed to extreme levels of precision. A system concept for a dual purpose optical truss laser metrology system is described which is used for both figure and alignment maintenance and telescope pointing. A two-stage figure active control approach was developed for several proposed spaceborne far infrared segmented telescopes, one of which is the 10-20 meters Large Deployable Reflector (LDR). The first active control stage, the figure initialization control system, aligns the optical elements (i.e., the primary segments, secondary and focal plane assembly) based on images obtained. The second stage, the figure maintenance control system, maintains the alignment between re-initializations using measurements provided by laser interferometers arranged in an optical truss configuration. It measures the relative positions and alignments of the telescope segments so that a controller can reposition them appropriately. The application of this optical truss for figure maintenance control is the subject of the first part of this paper. The second portion of this paper discusses the application of the optical truss to telescope pointing. Here, the laser metrology system is used to transfer pointing information from an external fine guidance sensor (FGS) to the telescope optical boresight as defined by the primary mirror, secondary mirror, and focal plane assembly. Thus, any alignment variations between the two boresights can be observed and accounted for.

Lau, Kenneth↗
NASA NTRS1995

End Effector Coupler/Decoupler

Coupling/decoupling device offers benefits of both stiffness and repositioning. Permits end effector to be released (decoupled) from robot arm while attached to workpiece, and realigned and recoupled to arm when end effector task completed. Relieves necessity for accurate positioning of robot and workpiece, and compensates for deformations initiated by changes in temperature as well as normal machining variations.

Smith, Russell W.↗