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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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Meter probes incorporating integral fuse holder which contains limitation fuse of 600 V, 5A, with interruption rating of 50,000 KVA. provide required protection and minimize danger incurred by defective or improperly operated meter.
A hybrid microelectronics solid state relay was developed in a TO-116 package for the MINX project. The relay provides 2500 Vdc input to output isolation and operated from a MHTL logic signal to switch a load of 400 Vdc at 2 mA. The relay is designed to operate in space and survive 1000 thermal cycles of 120 C to 80 C. The use of X-rays for failure analysis in small hybrid circuits proved valuable and the applications of vacuum deposited Parylene as a dielectric coating proved extremely valuable.
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A feasibility study to design and demonstrate solid-state switchgear composed of circuit breakers and a power transfer switch is described. The switchgear operates on a nominal 270 Vdc circuit and controls power to a load up to 15 A. One circuit breaker may be interconnected to a second to form a power transfer switch. Breaker or switch on-off and transfer functions can be remotely controlled. Automatic overload trip-out is provided through an ultimate current trip and an I squared t trip for transient overcurrents lower than the ultimate current trip level. A number of reclosures with variable time delay between trip-out and reclosure are programmed and controlled by integrated analog and COSMOS logic circuits. A commutation circuit that creates minimal transient disturbances to either source or load was developed to interrupt current flow through the main SCR switching element.-
A feasibility study to design and demonstrate solid state switchgear in the form of circuit breakers and a power transfer switch is described. The switchgear operates on a nominal 270 V dc circuit and controls power to a load of up to 15 amperes. One circuit breaker may be interconnected to a second breaker to form a power transfer switch. On-off and transfer functions of the breakers or the transfer switch are remotely controlled. A number of reclosures with variable time delay between tripout and reclosure are programmed and controlled by integrated analog and COSMOS logic circuits. A unique commutation circuit, that generates only minimal transient disturbance to either source or load, was developed to interrupt current flow through the main SCR switching element. Laboratory tests demonstrated performance of the solid state circuit breakers over specified voltage and temperature ranges.
The importance of some of the features observed among the nighttime equatorial data of Explorer 31 is discussed with respect to the nighttime thermal structure of the topside ionosphere. The very short-lived photoelectrons being absent, the nighttime measurements represent the background flux due to magnetospheric particles.
A large area imaging gas scintillation proportional counter (IGSPC) was constructed for use in X-ray astronomy. The IGSPC consists of a gas scintillation proportional counted (GSPC) with a micron polyprotylene window coupled to a multiwire proportional counter (MWPC) via a calcium fluoride window. Over a sensitive area of 21 cu cm the instrument has a measured energy resolution of 17.5% (FWHM) and 1.9 mm (FWHM) spatial resolution at 1.5 keV.
A large-area, imaging gas scintillation proportional counter (IGSPC) has been constructed for use in X-ray astronomy. The IGSPC consists of a gas scintillation proportional counter (GSPC) with a 1-micron polypropylene window coupled to a multiwire proportional counter (MWPC) via a calcium fluoride window. The MWPC, filled with a mixture of argon, methane, and tetrakis (dimethylamino) ethylene, detects the UV photons emitted by the xenon gas in the GSPC. Over a sensitive area of 21 sq cm, the instrument has a measured energy resolution of 17.5% (FWHM) and 1.9 mm (FWHM) spatial resolution at 1.5 keV.
The interaction of a high-voltage solar array with the space plasma environment is investigated in a laboratory simulation experiment. Discharges are observed to occur when the solar array is at a sufficiently high negative bias with respect to the plasma. The frequency of occurrence of discharge is found to depend critically on the plasma density and on the geometry of the array. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) associated with a discharge is also measured. The amplitude of EMI increases with the magnitude of the high voltage. Since the discharge-generated EMI is of significant amplitude, its effect on the performance of systems in space must be evaluated.
In July, l986, a high-voltage nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled at the NASA Lewis Research Center. This battery incorporated bipolar construction techniques to build a 50-cell stack with approximately 1.0 A-hr capacity (C) and an open-circuit voltage of 65 V. The battery was characterized at both low and high current rates prior to pulsed and nonpulsed discharges. Pulse discharges at 5 and 10 C were performed before placing the battery on over 1400, 40% depth-of-discharge, low-earth-orbit cycles. The successful demonstration of a high-voltage bipolar battery in one containment vessel has advanced the technology to where nickel-hydrogen high-voltage systems can be constructed of several modules instead of hundreds of individual cells.
In July 1986, a high-voltage nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled at the NASA Lewis Research Center. This battery incorporated bipolar construction techniques to build a 50-cell stack with approximately 1.0 A-hr capacity (C) and an open-circuit voltage of 65 V. The battery was characterized at both low and high current rates prior to pulsed and nonpulsed discharges. Pulse discharges at 5 and 10 C were performed before placing the battery on over 1400, 40-percent depth-of-discharge, low-earth-orbit cycles. The successful demonstration of a high-voltage bipolar battery in one containment vessel has advanced the technology to where nickel-hydrogen high-voltage systems can be constructed of several modules instead of hundreds of individual cells.
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This paper reports measurements of absolute differential cross sections for electron capture and loss for fast hydrogen atoms incident on H2, N2, O2, Ar, and He. Cross sections have been determined in the 2.0- to 5.0-keV energy range over the laboratory angular range 0.02-2 deg, with an angular, resolution of 0.02 deg. The high angular resolution allows observation of the structure at small angles in some of the cross sections. Comparison of the present results with those of other authors generally shows very good agreement.
NASA Lewis Research Center and associated contractors have conducted a program to assess the potential requirements for a high-current switch to conceptually design a switch using the best existing technology, and to build and demonstrate a breadboard which meets the requirements. The result is the high current remote bus isolator (HRBI). The HRBI is rated at 180 V dc, 335 A continuous with a 1200 A interrupt rating. It also incorporates remote-control and protective features called for by the Space Station Freedom PMAD dc test bed design. Two breadboard 335 A circuit breakers were built and tested that demonstrate a promising concept of paralleled current-limiting modules. The units incorporated all control and protective features required by advanced aerospace power systems. Component stresses in each unit were determined by design, and are consistent with a life of many thousands of fault operations.
The charge-transfer rate coefficient for the reaction Si(3+)(3s(sup 2)S) + He yields products is measured by means of a combined technique of laser ablation and ion storage. A cylindrical radio-frequency ion trap was used to store Si(3+) ions produced by laser ablation of solid silicon targets. The rate coefficient of the reaction was derived from the decay rate of the ion signal. The measured rate coefficient is 6.27(exp +0.68)(sub -0.52) x 10(exp -10)cu cm/s at T(sub equiv) = 3.9 x 10(exp 3)K. This value is about 30% higher than the Landau-Zener calculation of Butler and Dalgarno and is larger by about a factor of 3 than the recent full quantal calculation of Honvault et al.
The charge transfer rate coefficient for the reaction N(2+)(2p(sup 2)P(sup 0)) + He yields products is measured by recording the time dependence of the N(2+) ions stored in an ion trap. A cylindrical radio-frequency ion trap was used to store N(2+) ions produced by laser ablation of a solid titanium nitride target. The decay of the ion signals was analyzed by single exponential least-squares fits to the data. The measured rate coefficient is 8.67(0.76) x 10(exp -11)sq cm/s. The N(2+) ions were at a mean energy of 2.7 eV while He gas was at room temperature, corresponding to an equivalent temperature of 3.9 x 10(exp 3) K. The measured value is in good agreement with a recent calculation.
The charge-transfer rate coefficients for reactions of N(2+)(2 S(sup 2)2p(sup 2)P(sup 0)) with H2, N2, and CO are measured using ion storage. A cylindrical rf ion trap was used to store N(2+) ions produced by laser ablation of a solid titanium nitride target. The rate coefficients were derived from the decay rate of the ion signal. The rate coefficients for the above three reactions are 3.38(0.35) x 10(exp -11)sq sm/s at T(sub equiv.)=2.9 x 10(exp 3) K, 2.10(0.18) x 10(exp -9)sq sm/s at T(sub equiv.) = 1.3 x 10(exp 4) K, and 3.37(0.29) x 10(exp -9)sq cm/s at T(sub equiv.) = 1.3 x 10(exp 4) K, respectively. No theoretical or other experimental values are available at this energy range.
Built by the Lockheed-Martin Corporation, the Earth Observing System (EOS) TERRA spacecraft represents the first orbiting application of a 120 Vdc high voltage spacecraft electrical power system implemented by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The EOS TERRA spacecraft's launch provided a major contribution to the NASA Mission to Planet Earth program while incorporating many state of the art electrical power system technologies to achieve its mission goals. The EOS TERRA spacecraft was designed around five state-of-the-art scientific instrument packages designed to monitor key parameters associated with the earth's climate. The development focus of the TERRA electrical power system (EPS) resulted from a need for high power distribution to the EOS TERRA spacecraft subsystems and instruments and minimizing mass and parasitic losses. Also important as a design goal of the EPS was maintaining tight regulation on voltage and achieving low conducted bus noise characteristics. This paper outlines the major requirements for the EPS as well as the resulting hardware implementation approach adopted to meet the demands of the EOS TERRA low earth orbit mission. The selected orbit, based on scientific needs, to achieve the EOS TERRA mission goals is a sun-synchronous circular 98.2degree inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with a near circular average altitude of 705 kilometers. The nominal spacecraft orbit is approximately 99 minutes with an average eclipse period of about 34 minutes. The scientific goal of the selected orbit is to maintain a repeated 10:30 a.m. +/- 15 minute descending equatorial crossing which provides a fairly clear view of the earth's surface and relatively low cloud interference for the instrument observation measurements. The major EOS TERRA EPS design requirements are single fault tolerant, average orbit power delivery of 2, 530 watts with a defined minimum lifetime of five years (EOL). To meet these mission requirements, while minimizing mass and parasitic power losses, the EOS TERRA project relies on 36, 096 high efficiency Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) on Germanium solar cells adhered to a deployable flexible solar array designed to provide over 5,000 watts of power at EOL. To meet the eclipse power demands of the spacecraft, EOS TERRA selected an application of two 54-cell series connected Individual Pressure Vessel (IPV) Nickel-Hydrogen (NiH2) 50 Ampere-Hour batteries. All of the spacecraft observatory electrical power is controlled via the TERRA Power Distribution Unit (PDU) which is designed to provide main bus regulation of 120 Vdc +/- -4% at all load interfaces through the implementation of majority voter control of both the spacecraft's solar array sequential shunt unit (SSU) and the two battery bi-directional charge and discharge regulators. This paper will review the major electrical power system requirement drivers for the EOS TERRA mission as well as some of the challenges encountered during the development, testing, and implementation of the power system. In addition, spacecraft test and early on orbit performance results will also be covered.