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NASA NTRS2000

A Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Galactic Gamma-Ray Emission Resulting from Cosmic-Ray Interactions with the Interstellar Gas and Radiation Fields

The primary task objective is to construct a 3-D model for the distribution of high-energy (20 MeV - 30 GeV) gamma-ray emission in the Galactic disk. Under this task the contractor will utilize data from the EGRET instrument on the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, H I and CO surveys, radio-continuum surveys at 408 MHz, 1420 MHz, 5 GHz, and 19 GHz, the COBE Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) all-sky maps from 1 to 240 microns, and ground-based B, V, J, H, and K photometry. The respective contributions to the gamma-ray emission from cosmic ray/matter interactions, inverse Compton scattering, and extragalactic emission will be determined.

Sodroski, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Report on the Loss of the Mars Polar Lander and Deep Space 2 Missions

NASA's Mars Surveyor Program (MSP) began in 1994 with plans to send spacecraft to Mars every 26 months. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), a global mapping mission, was launched in 1996 and is currently orbiting Mars. Mars Surveyor '98 consisted of Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) and Mars Polar Lander (MPL). Lockheed Martin Astronautics (LMA) was the prime contractor for Mars Surveyor '98. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, manages the Mars Surveyor Program for NASA's Office of Space Science. MPL was developed under very tight funding constraints. The combined development cost of MPL and MCO, including the cost of the two launch vehicles, was approximately the same as the development cost of the Mars Pathfinder mission, including the cost of its single launch vehicle. The MPL project accepted the challenge to develop effective implementation methodologies consistent with programmatic requirements.

Albee, Arden↗
NASA NTRS1999

AIRES: An Airborne Infra-Red Echelle Spectrometer for SOFIA

SOFIA will enable astronomical observations with unprecedented angular resolution at infrared wavelengths obscured from the ground. To help open this new chapter in the exploration of the infrared universe, we are building AIRES, an Airborne Infra-Red Echelle Spectrometer. AIRES will be operated as a first generation, general purpose facility instrument by USRA, NASA's prime contractor for SOFIA. AIRES is a long slit spectrograph operating from 17 - 210 microns. In high resolution mode the spectral resolving power is approx. 10(exp 6) microns/A or approx. 10(exp 4) at 100 microns. Unfortunately, since the conference, a low resolution mode with resolving power about 100 times lower has been deleted due to budgetary constraints. AIRES includes a slit viewing camera which operates in broad bands at 18 and 25 microns.

Dotson, Jessie J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Application of Rapid Prototyping to the Investment Casting of Test Hardware (MSFC Center Director's Discretionary Fund Final Report, Project No. 98-08)

Investment casting masters of a selected propulsion hardware component, a fuel pump housing, were rapid prototyped on the several processes in-house, along with the new Z-Corp process acquired through this project. Also, tensile samples were prototyped and cast using the same significant parameters. The models were then shelled in-house using a commercial grade zircon-based slurry and stucco technique. Next, the shelled models were fired and cast by our in-house foundry contractor (IITRI), with NASA-23, a commonly used test hardware metal. The cast models are compared by their surface finish and overall appearance (i.e., the occurrence of pitting, warping, etc.), as well as dimensional accuracy.

Cooper, K. G.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Vibration and Acoustic Testing for Mars Micromission Spacecraft

The objective of the Mars Micromission program being managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA is to develop a common spacecraft that can carry telecommunications equipment and a variety of science payloads for exploration of Mars. The spacecraft will be capable of carrying robot landers and rovers, cameras, probes, balloons, gliders or aircraft, and telecommunications equipment to Mars at much lower cost than recent NASA Mars missions. The lightweight spacecraft (about 220 Kg mass) will be launched in a cooperative venture with CNES as a TWIN auxiliary payload on the Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Two or more Mars Micromission launches are planned for each Mars launch opportunity, which occur every 26 months. The Mars launch window for the first mission is November 1, 2002 through April 2003, which is planned to be a Mars airplane technology demonstration mission to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the Kittyhawk flight. Several subsequent launches will create a telecommunications network orbiting Mars, which will provide for continuous communication with lenders and rovers on the Martian surface. Dedicated science payload flights to Mars are slated to start in 2005. This new cheaper and faster approach to Mars exploration calls for innovative approaches to the qualification of the Mars Micromission spacecraft for the Ariane 5 launch vibration and acoustic environments. JPL has in recent years implemented new approaches to spacecraft testing that may be effectively applied to the Mars Micromission. These include 1) force limited vibration testing, 2) combined loads, vibration and modal testing, and 3) direct acoustic testing. JPL has performed nearly 200 force limited vibration tests in the past 9 years; several of the tests were on spacecraft and large instruments, including the Cassini and Deep Space One spacecraft. Force limiting, which measures and limits the spacecraft base reaction force using triaxial force gages sandwiched between the spacecraft and the test fixture, alleviates the severe overtest at spacecraft resonances inherent in rigid fixture vibration tests. It has the distinct advantage over response limiting that the method is not dependent on the accuracy of a detailed dynamic model of the spacecraft. Combined loads, vibration, and modal testing were recently performed on the QuikSCAT spacecraft. The combined tests were performed in a single test setup per axis on a vibration shaker, reducing test time by a factor of two or three. Force gages were employed to measure the true c.g. acceleration of the spacecraft for structural loads verification using a sine burst test, to automatically notch random vibration test input accelerations at spacecraft resonances based on predetermined force limits, and to directly measure modal masses in a base drive modal test. In addition to these combined tests on the shaker, the QuikSCAT spacecraft was subjected to a direct field acoustic test by surrounding the spacecraft, still on the vibration shaker, with rock concert type acoustic speakers. Since the spacecraft contractor does not have a reverberant field acoustic test facility, performing a direct field acoustic test -saved the program nearly two weeks schedule time that would have been required for packing / unpacking and shipping of the spacecraft. This paper discusses the rationale behind and advantages of the above test approaches and provides examples of their actual implementation and comparisons to flight data. The applicability of the test approaches to Mars Micromission spacecraft qualification is discussed.

Kern, Dennis L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

FY 1999 Scientific and Technical Reports, Articles, Papers, and Presentations

This document presents formal NASA technical reports, papers published in technical journals, and presentations by MSFC personnel in FY99. It also includes papers of MSFC contractors. All of the NASA series reports may be obtained from the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI), 7121 Standard Drive, Hanover, MD 21076-1320 The information in this report may be of value to the scientific and engineering community in determining what information has been published and what is available.

Waits, J.oyce E.Turner↗
NASA NTRS2000

Simulation of a Flywheel Electrical System for Aerospace Applications

A Flywheel Energy Storage Demonstration Project was initiated at the NASA Glenn Research Center as a possible replacement for the battery energy storage system on the International Space Station (ISS). While the hardware fabrication work was being performed at a university and contractor's facility, the related simulation activity was begun at Glenn. At the top level, Glenn researchers simulated the operation of the ISS primary electrical system (as described in another paper) with the Flywheel Energy Storage Unit (FESU) replacing one Battery Charge and Discharge Unit (BCDU). The FESU consists of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor/Generator (PMSM), which is connected to the flywheel; the power electronics that connects the PMSM to the ISS direct-current bus; and the associated controller. The PMSM model is still under development, but this paper describes the rest of the FESU model-the simulation of the converter and the associated control system that regulates energy transfer to and from the flywheel.

Truong, Long V.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Internet Technology on Spacecraft

The Operating Missions as Nodes on the Internet (OMNI) project has shown that Internet technology works in space missions through a demonstration using the UoSAT-12 spacecraft. An Internet Protocol (IP) stack was installed on the orbiting UoSAT-12 spacecraft and tests were run to demonstrate Internet connectivity and measure performance. This also forms the basis for demonstrating subsequent scenarios. This approach provides capabilities heretofore either too expensive or simply not feasible such as reconfiguration on orbit. The OMNI project recognized the need to reduce the risk perceived by mission managers and did this with a multi-phase strategy. In the initial phase, the concepts were implemented in a prototype system that includes space similar components communicating over the TDRS (space network) and the terrestrial Internet. The demonstration system includes a simulated spacecraft with sample instruments. Over 25 demonstrations have been given to mission and project managers, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), contractor technologists and other decisions makers, This initial phase reached a high point with an OMNI demonstration given from a booth at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Inspection Day 99 exhibition. The proof to mission managers is provided during this second phase with year 2000 accomplishments: testing the use of Internet technologies onboard an actual spacecraft. This was done with a series of tests performed using the UoSAT-12 spacecraft. This spacecraft was reconfigured on orbit at very low cost. The total period between concept and the first tests was only 6 months! On board software was modified to add an IP stack to support basic IP communications. Also added was support for ping, traceroute and network timing protocol (NTP) tests. These tests show that basic Internet functionality can be used onboard spacecraft. The performance of data was measured to show no degradation from current approaches. The cost to implement is much less than current approaches due to the availability of highly reliable and standard Internet tools. Use of standard Internet applications onboard reduces the risk of obsolescence inherent in custom protocols due to extremely wide use across all domains. These basic building blocks provide the framework for building onboard software to support direct user communication with payloads including payload control. Other benefits are payload to payload communication from dissimilar spacecraft, constellations of spacecraft, and reconfigurability on orbit. This work is funded through contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

Rash, James↗
NASA NTRS2000

ERAST: Scientific Applications and Technology Commercialization

This is a conference publication for an event designed to inform potential contractors and appropriate personnel in various scientific disciplines that the ERAST (Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology) vehicles have reached a certain level of maturity and are available to perform a variety of missions ranging from data gathering to telecommunications. There are multiple applications of the technology and a great many potential commercial and governmental markets. As high altitude platforms, the ERAST vehicles can gather data at higher resolution than satellites and can do so continuously, whereas satellites pass over a particular area only once each orbit. Formal addresses are given by Rich Christiansen, (Director of Programs, NASA Aerospace Technology Ent.), Larry Roeder, (Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Dept. of State), and Dr. Marianne McCarthy, (DFRC Education Dept.). The Commercialization Workshop is chaired by Dale Tietz (President, New Vista International) and the Science Workshop is chaired by Steve Wegener, (Deputy Manager of NASA ERAST, NASA Ames Research Center.

Hunley, John D.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The 1999 NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop

This document contains the proceedings of the 32nd annual NASA Aerospace Battery Workshop, hosted by the Marshall Space Flight Center on November 16-18, 1999. The workshop was attended by scientists and engineers from various agencies of the US Government, aerospace contractors, and battery manufacturers, as well as international participation in like kind from a number of countries around the world. The subjects covered included nickel-hydrogen, nickel-cadmium, lithium-ion, and silver-zinc technologies.

Brewer, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2000

A Regeneratively-Cooled Thrust Chamber for the Fastrac Engine

This document consists of presentation slides about the development of the regeneratively cooled thrust chamber for the Fastrac engine. The Fastrac engine was originally developed to demonstrate low cost design and fabrication methods. It was intended to be used in an expendable booster. The regen thrust chamber enables a more cost efficient test program. Using the low cost design and fabrication methodology designed for the 12K regeneratively cooled chamber, the contractor designed, developed and fabricated a regeneratively cooled thrust chamber for the Fastrac engine.

Brown, Kendall↗
NASA NTRS1998

Proposed Mars Surveyor Landing Sites in Northern Meridiani Sinus, Southern Elysium Planitia, and Argyre Planitia

Our objective is to propose two landing sites that the Mars Surveyor 2001 Lander and Athena Rover could go to on Mars that should meet the safety requirements of the spacecraft landing system and optimize surface operations (chiefly driven by power and communications requirements). An additional site within Argyre Planitia, initially proposed by Parker to the Mars Surveyor Landing Site program, is also proposed for potential consideration for post-2001 missions to Mars, as it is well outside the current latitude limits for the Athena Rover. All three sites are designed to be situated as close to a diversity of geologic units within a few kilometers of the landing site so that diversity can be placed in a geologic context. This objective is very different from the Mars Pathfinder requirement to land at a site with a maximum chance for containing a diversity of rocks within a few tens of meters of the lander. That requirement was driven by the Sojourner mobility limit of a few tens of meters. It can be argued that the Athena project, with its much larger mobility capability, might actually want to avoid such a site, because placing collected samples in geologic context would be difficult. While it has been argued, both before and after the Mars Pathfinder landing, that the provenance for local blocks may be determined by orbiter spectra, primarily from the MGS TES instrument, our ability to do so has yet to be demonstrated. Indeed, several months after conclusion of the Pathfinder mission, we have yet to reach a consensus on the composition of local materials. Our primary data set for selecting a landing site within the latitude and elevation constraints of the 2001 mission is the Viking Orbiter image archive. The site must be selected to place the landing ellipse so as to avoid obvious hazards, such as steep slopes, large or numerous craters, or abundant large knobs. For this purpose, we chose a resolution limit of better than 50 m/pixel. This necessarily excludes from the present study images from current and future orbiter spacecraft, until such data does become readily available. Within each proposed region, it may be possible to identify additional sites once these data become available. Second, the fine-component thermal inertia data, should be greater than about 5 or 6 cgs Units (10(exp -3) cal/sq cm s(exp -0.5)/K). Low thermal inertias imply dusty environments, which could pose a mobility hazard. Similarly, the albedo of the site should not be particularly high, which would also suggest dusty surfaces. Low albedos are preferred, as they often coincide with low Viking red:violet ratios and indicate less dusty surfaces. Next, the Modeled Block Abundance should also not be too high or too low. Based on the Viking Lander and Mars Pathfinder experiences, percentages of blocks should be on the order of 5-25%. Too many blocks could pose a hazard to the landing and mobility. Too few blocks could also indicate a dusty surface. Primary Landing Site: Northern Meridiani Sinus (Proposed by T. J. Parker and K., S. Edgett) Vital Statistics: (1) Latitude, Longitude: 0-3 N, 350-2 W. *Elevation (Viking): about0.5-1.5 Ian. (2) Viking Orbiter Image coverage: Excellent coverage by 15 - 25 m/pixel images (orbits 709A and 410B). Possible stereo coverage in region where two orbits overlap (probably small parallax angle, as these orbits are not listed in NASA Contractor Report 3501) (3) Albedo: about .18 -.26 (4) Block Abundance: 5-26% (5)Fine-Component Thermal Inertia: 5-9 cgs units This region consists of bright deposits similar to those described by Edgett et al, that also lie within a prominent dark albedo region. These deposits are flat-lying, to such a degree that they ramp against topography rather than draping over it. This led Edgett and Parker to suggest that they may be subaqueous sediments, possibly lacustrine or marine evaporites, laid down sometime from the late Noachian to middle Hesperian (age determination pending crater counts). A contact between this material and elevated, dissected highlands to the south was identified , and is described by Edgett et al. Our desire in proposing this landing site is to sample the edge of this deposit where it has been exposed through etching, presumably eolian deflation (the deposit, though in the highlands, is itself only lightly to moderately cratered). This should enable access to in situ stratigraphy. The actual landing site will be selected where slopes are not expected to be steep, such that the rover itself should be able to traverse them and sample layered materials on the way, either up or down the slope. Perhaps due to uncertainties at this time as to the friability or meter-scale roughness of the deposit, it might make sense to place the landing ellipse on the exhumed highland surface adjacent to the deflated margin of the deposit and plan on driving to the deposit rather than landing on it and driving downslope. This should also enable imaging the margin for evidence of layering should it prove too difficult to climb. A target ellipse on the highland surface should also allow Athena access to ancient Noachian highland materials, particularly if placed near crater ejecta or an inlier of knobby material. Secondary Landing Site: Southern Elysium Planitia (Proposed by T. J. Parker) Vital Statistics: (1) Latitude, Longitude: 1.5-3.5 S, 195-198 W. (2) Elevation (Viking): -1.0 km. (3) Viking Orbiter Image coverage: Excellent coverage by 15 - 25 m/pixel images (orbit 725). Possible stereo coverage between images from beginning and end of orbit that overlap (probably small parallax angle) (4) Albedo: about .27-.28 (5) Block Abundance: 4-7% (6) Fine-Component Thermal Inertia: about 3 cgs units This region consists of eroded knobby material, probably of Noachian age, though much of the crater population has been destroyed, that is onlapped at a sharp contact by an extensive plains unit in southern Elysium Planitia that is Amazonian in age. The plains materials have been attributed to unusually low-viscosity flood lavas from fissures south of the Elysium volcanic rise, or to lacustrine materials associated with a large, Amazonian lake at the source of Marte Vallis. Parker and Schenk presented evidence in support of the latter interpretation, though they attributed the putative shore morphology to an embayment of a northern plains ocean into the southern Elysium region. Detailed examination of the margin of the deposit, showing erosion, not simply burial, of small crater rims and fluidized ejecta blankets, also points to lacustrine or marine sedimentation rather than volcanic plains burial. The plains surface exhibits a "crusty" appearance that many researchers have attributed to pressure ridges in lava flows. In a lacustrine context, they also resemble pressure ridges in desiccated evaporite deposits and salt-rimmed pools (now dry) similar in scale and morphology to spectacular, hundred meter-scale pool rims in alkaline Lake Natron, East African Rift. The eroded highland margin surface adjacent to these plains appears to be fairly smooth, even at 15 m/pixel. Isolated knob inliers are scattered from a few kilometers to several tens of "kilometers apart. Heights of the knobs have not been measured yet but, based on experience with similar features in the Pathfinder landing ellipse, are probably typically on the order of several tens of meters high and smaller, though some of the largest knobs in the region are probably up to a few hundred meters high. Two craters larger than a kilometer in diameter, with fluidized deposits, lie nearby the proposed landing site. Very high-resolution images from MOC should help to determine whether a landing site navigable by the Athena rover could be placed in this region. The space between knobs and craters is large enough to enable placement of a target landing ellipse between them but still provide access to one or more of them and to the margin of the Elysium plains material. Post-2001 Mars Surveyor Landing Site: Argyre Planitia (Proposed by T. J. Parker) Vital Statistics: (1) Latitude, Longitude: 55-56 S, 41-43 W. (2) Elevation (Viking): 1.0 km. (3) Viking Orbiter Image coverage: Excellent coverage by 40 m/pixel images (orbits 567B, 568B, and 569B). Excellent stereo coverage with large parallax angles over the entire landing site region, and much of central and southern Argyre. (4) Albedo: about .23-.24 (5) Block Abundance: No data (6) Fine-Component Thermal Inertia: No data The floors of both the Argyre and Hellas basins contain etched layered materials that are probably thick accumulations of channel or lacustrine sediments. The deposits in Hellas are much more eroded than those in Argyre, and Hellas lacks a channel outlet. Argyre is unique in that Uzboi Vallis flowed out of the basin, requiring overflow of a standing body of water within Argyre. This makes it the largest impact basin on Mars with channels both draining into it and flowing out from it. Hellas' channels may be catastrophic flood channels, whereas Argyre was fed by modest-scale valley networks, though the outlet at Uzboi Vallis was a catastrophic flood Highland craters and basins of this kind should be high-priority landing targets for missions intended to focus on the search for either prebiotic organic materials or even simple fossil microorganisms. Basins with internally-draining valley networks should be preferred over flood channels, as they could have provided the long-term influx of water favorable to the origin of life. (Catastrophic floods are not conducive to fossil preservation, due to their very short durations and high transportation energies). They also afford an opportunity to study the evolution of the planet's climate and volatiles during the period of time between the late Noachian and early Hesperian, when a drastic change from a proposed early warm, wet climate to one more closely resembling the modern environment is thought to have occurred. Large basin

Parker, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Aeroacoustic Prediction Codes

This report describes work performed on Contract NAS3-27720AoI 13 as part of the NASA Advanced Subsonic Transport (AST) Noise Reduction Technology effort. Computer codes were developed to provide quantitative prediction, design, and analysis capability for several aircraft engine noise sources. The objective was to provide improved, physics-based tools for exploration of noise-reduction concepts and understanding of experimental results. Methods and codes focused on fan broadband and 'buzz saw' noise and on low-emissions combustor noise and compliment work done by other contractors under the NASA AST program to develop methods and codes for fan harmonic tone noise and jet noise. The methods and codes developed and reported herein employ a wide range of approaches, from the strictly empirical to the completely computational, with some being semiempirical analytical, and/or analytical/computational. Emphasis was on capturing the essential physics while still considering method or code utility as a practical design and analysis tool for everyday engineering use. Codes and prediction models were developed for: (1) an improved empirical correlation model for fan rotor exit flow mean and turbulence properties, for use in predicting broadband noise generated by rotor exit flow turbulence interaction with downstream stator vanes: (2) fan broadband noise models for rotor and stator/turbulence interaction sources including 3D effects, noncompact-source effects. directivity modeling, and extensions to the rotor supersonic tip-speed regime; (3) fan multiple-pure-tone in-duct sound pressure prediction methodology based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis; and (4) low-emissions combustor prediction methodology and computer code based on CFD and actuator disk theory. In addition. the relative importance of dipole and quadrupole source mechanisms was studied using direct CFD source computation for a simple cascadeigust interaction problem, and an empirical combustor-noise correlation model was developed from engine acoustic test results. This work provided several insights on potential approaches to reducing aircraft engine noise. Code development is described in this report, and those insights are discussed.

Gliebe, P↗
NASA NTRS2001

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory is the X-ray component of NASA's Great observatories which also includes the recently decommissioned Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the soon to be launched Space Infra Red Telescope Facility. Chandra is a unique X-ray astronomy facility for high-resolution imaging and for high-resolution spectroscopy. Chandra's performance advantage over other X-ray observatories is analogous to that of the Hubble Space Telescope over ground-based observatories. Chandra is a NASA facility that provides scientific data to the international astronomical community in response to proposals for its use. Data becomes public one year after the observation. The Observatory is the product of the efforts of many commercial, academic, and government organizations in the United States and Europe. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) manages the Project and provides Project Science; TRW Space and Electronics Group served as prime contractor responsible for providing the spacecraft, the telescope, and assembling and testing the observatory; the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) provides technical support and is responsible for ground operations.

Weisskopf, M. C.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Scientific and Technical Reports, Articles, Papers, and Presentations

This document presents formal NASA technical reports, papers published in technical journals, and presentations by MSFC personnel in FY 2000. It also includes papers of MSFC contractors. After being announced in STAR, all the NASA series reports may be obtained from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161. The information in this report may be of value to the scientific and engineering community in determining what information has been published and what is available.

Waits, J. E. Turner↗
NASA NTRS2001

Accomplishments of the Advanced Reusable Technologies (ART) RBCC Project at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

The focus of the NASA / Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Advanced Reusable Technologies (ART) project is to advance and develop Rocket-Based Combined-Cycle (RBCC) technologies. The ART project began in 1996 as part of the Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP). The project is composed of several activities including RBCC engine ground testing, tool development, vehicle / mission studies, and component testing / development. The major contractors involved in the ART project are Aerojet and Rocketdyne. A large database of RBCC ground test data was generated for the air-augmented rocket (AAR), ramjet, scramjet, and ascent rocket modes of operation for both the Aerojet and Rocketdyne concepts. Transition between consecutive modes was also demonstrated as well as trajectory simulation. The Rocketdyne freejet tests were conducted at GASL in the Flight Acceleration Simulation Test (FAST) facility. During a single test, the FAST facility is capable of simulating both the enthalpy and aerodynamic conditions over a range of Mach numbers in a flight trajectory. Aerojet performed freejet testing in the Pebble Bed facility at GASL as well as direct-connect testing at GASL. Aerojet also performed sea-level static (SLS) testing at the Aerojet A-Zone facility in Sacramento, CA. Several flight-type flowpath components were developed under the ART project. Aerojet designed and fabricated ceramic scramjet injectors. The structural design of the injectors will be tested in a simulated scramjet environment where thermal effects and performance will be assessed. Rocketdyne will be replacing the cooled combustor in the A5 rig with a flight-weight combustor that is near completion. Aerojet's formed duct panel is currently being fabricated and will be tested in the SLS rig in Aerojet's A-Zone facility. Aerojet has already successfully tested a cooled cowl panel in the same facility. In addition to MSFC, other NASA centers have contributed to the ART project as well. Inlet testing and parametrics were performed at NASA / Glenn Research Center (GRC) and NASA / Langley Research Center (LaRC) for both the Aerojet and Rocketdyne concepts. LaRC conducted an Air-Breathing Launch Vehicle (ABLV) study for several vehicle concepts with RBCC propulsion systems. LaRC is also performing a CFD analysis of the ramjet mode for both flowpaths based on GASL test conditions. A study was performed in 1999 to investigate the feasibility of performing an RBCC flight test on the NASA / Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) SR-71 aircraft. Academia involvement in the ART project includes parametric RBCC flowpath testing by Pennsylvania State University (PSU). In addition to thrust and wall static pressure measurements, PSU is also using laser diagnostics to analyze the flowfield in the test rig. MSFC is performing CFD analysis of the PSU rig at select test conditions for model baseline and validation. Also, Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) conducted a vision vehicle study using the Aerojet RBCC concept. Overall, the ART project has been very successful in advancing RBCC technology. Along the way, several major milestones were achieved and "firsts" accomplished. For example, under the ART project, the first dynamic trajectory simulation testing was performed and the Rocketdyne engine A5 logged over one hour of accumulated test time. The next logical step is to develop and demonstrate a flight-weight RBCC engine system.

Nelson, Karl W.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1999

This document is intended to serve as a record of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) events and is a reference source for historians and other researchers. Arrangement is by day and month and individual articles are attributed to published sources. Materials were researched and described by the KSC Library Archivist for KSC Library Services Contractor InDyne, Inc.

Liston, Elaine E.↗