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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 1,405 records · Page 78
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NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Flight Day 9

On this ninth day of the STS-79 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz having completed five days of joint operations between the American astronauts and the Russian cosmonauts are seen flying solo once again after undocking from the Mir Space Station. As Atlantis/Mir flew over the Ural Mountains of central Asia, the docking hooks and latches that joined the vehicles together were commanded open and Atlantis drifted slowly away from Mir. Wilcutt then initiated a tail-forward fly-around of the Russian space station. After one and one-half revolutions around Mir, Atlantis' jets were fired in a separation maneuver to enable Atlantis to break away from Mir. On board Atlantis, the six-member crew is settling back into its normal routine with a fairly light schedule for the remainder of the day. Early in the morning as Atlantis flew over the United States, the crew took time to talk with anchors for the CBS Up to the Minute' network news broadcast.

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NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Flight Day 6

On this sixth day of the STS-79 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz, continue activities aboard Atlantis/Mir as the nine astronauts and cosmonauts work in their second full day of docked operations. The continuing transfer of logistical supplies and scientific hardware can be seen proceeding smoothly. Apt and Walz once again worked with the Active Rack Isolation System experiment to replace a broken pushrod. With that complete, Apt monitors the ARIS experiment as Readdy and Korzun fire small maneuvering jets on their spacecraft to test the ability of ARIS to damp out any disturbances created by the firings. Walz also is continuing his work with the Mechanics of Granular Materials experiment in Atlantis' double Spacehab module. The astronauts used the large format IMAX camera to conduct a photographic survey of Mir from the Shuttle's flight deck windows while Akers shot IMAX movie scenes of Readdy, Wilcutt, and Korzun in the Spektr module.

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NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Flight Day 11

On this eleventh day of the STS-79 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis glided into the Kennedy Space Center to mark the ending of the fourth docking flight with Mir and the end of Shannon Lucid's record setting 188 day stay on board the Russian space station.

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NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Flight Day 7

On this seventh day of the STS-79 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz, share a brief video tour of the Mir Space Station with flight controllers, taking a break from the transfer activities that has occupied the astronauts' time during three days of docked operations. Readdy and Apt floated through several of Mir's modules and back into Atlantis' double Spacehab module during the tour pointing out the numerous transfer items stowed on both spacecraft. Readdy, Wilcutt, Lucid and Blaha are seen discussing their mission in an interview with CNN's John Holliman.

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NASA NTRS1996

Flight Test Results from Real-Time Relative Global Positioning System Flight Experiment on STS-69

A real-time global positioning system (GPS) Kalman filter has been developed to support automated rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS). The filter is integrated with existing Shuttle rendezvous software running on a 486 laptop computer under Windows. In this work, we present real-time and postflight results achieved with the filter on STS-69. The experiment used GPS data from an Osborne/Jet propulsion Laboratory TurboRouge receiver carried on the Wake Shield Facility (WSF) free flyer and a Rockwell Collins 3M receiver carried on the Orbiter. Real time filter results, processed onboard the Shuttle and replayed in near-time on the ground, are based on single vehicle mode operation and on 5 to 20 minute snapshots of telemetry provided by WSF for dual-vehicle mode operation. The Orbiter and WSF state vectors calculated using our filter compare favorably with precise reference orbits determined by the University of Texas Center for Space Research. The lessons learned from this experiment will be used in conjunction with future experiments to mitigate the technology risk posed by automated rendezvous and docking to the ISS.

Park, Young W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

STS-76 Space Shuttle Mission Report

The STS-76 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report summarizes the Payload activities as well as the Orbiter, External Tank (ET), Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM), and the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) systems performance during the seventy-sixth flight of the Space Shuttle Program, the fifty-first flight since the return-to-flight, and the sixteenth flight of the Orbiter Atlantis (OV-104). In addition to the Orbiter, the flight vehicle consisted of an ET that was designated ET-77; three SSME's that were designated as serial numbers 2035, 2109, and 2019 in positions 1, 2, and 3, respectively; and two SRB's that were designated BI-079. The RSRM's, designated RSRM-46, were installed in each SRB and the individual RSRM's were designated as 360TO46A for the left SRB, and 360TO46B for the right SRB. The primary objectives of this flight were to rendezvous and dock with the Mir Space Station and transfer one U.S. Astronaut to the Mir. A single Spacehab module carried science equipment and hardware, Risk Mitigation Experiments (RME's), and Russian Logistics in support of the Phase 1 Program requirements. In addition, the European Space Agency (ESA) Biorack operations were performed. Appendix A lists the sources of data, both formal and informal, that were used to prepare this report. Appendix B provides the definition of acronyms and abbreviations used throughout the report. All times during the flight are given in Greenwich mean time (GMT) and mission elapsed time (MET).

Fricke, Robert W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Space-Related Applications of Intelligent Control: Which Algorithm to Choose? (Theoretical Analysis of the Problem)

For a space mission to be successful it is vitally important to have a good control strategy. For example, with the Space Shuttle it is necessary to guarantee the success and smoothness of docking, the smoothness and fuel efficiency of trajectory control, etc. For an automated planetary mission it is important to control the spacecraft's trajectory, and after that, to control the planetary rover so that it would be operable for the longest possible period of time. In many complicated control situations, traditional methods of control theory are difficult or even impossible to apply. In general, in uncertain situations, where no routine methods are directly applicable, we must rely on the creativity and skill of the human operators. In order to simulate these experts, an intelligent control methodology must be developed. The research objectives of this project were: to analyze existing control techniques; to find out which of these techniques is the best with respect to the basic optimality criteria (stability, smoothness, robustness); and, if for some problems, none of the existing techniques is satisfactory, to design new, better intelligent control techniques.

Kreinovich, Vladik↗
NASA NTRS1996

STS-79 Mission Highlight Presentation

The flight crew of STS-79, Cmdr. William F. Readdy, Pilot Terrence W. Wilcutt, Mission Specialists, Thomas D. Akers, Shannon Lucid, Jay Apt, and Carl E. Walz can be seen performing pre-launch activities such as eating the traditional breakfast, crew suit-up, and the ride out to the launch pad. Also, included are various panoramic views of the shuttle on the pad. The crew can be seen being readied in the 'white room' for their mission. After the closing of the hatch and arm retraction, launch activities are shown including countdown, engine ignition, launch, and the separation of the Solid Rocket Boosters. STS-79 is the second Shuttle-Mir mission to carry a SPACEHAB module on board, and the first to carry a double module. The forward portion of the double module will house experiments conducted by the crew before, during and after Atlantis is docked to the Russian space station. The aft portion of the double module primarily houses the logistics equipment to be transferred to the Russian space station. Logistics include food, clothing, experiment supplies, and spare equipment for Mir.

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NASA NTRS1997

STS-81 Space Shuttle Mission Report

STS-81 was the fifth of nine planned missions to dock with the Russian Mir Space Station and the fourth crewmember transfer mission. The double Spacehab module was carried for the second time, and it housed experiments that were performed by the crew and logistics equipment that was transferred to the Mir.

Fricke, Robert W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1997

SAMS Acceleration Measurements on Mir from November 1995 to March 1996

The NASA Microgravity Science and Applications Division (MSAD) sponsors science experiments on a variety of microgravity carriers, including Orbiter missions and Russia's Mir space station. The MSAD sponsors the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) at the NASA Lewis Research Center (LERC) to support these science experiments by providing acceleration measurements to characterize the microgravity environment to which the experiments were exposed. The LeRC Principal Investigator Microgravity Services (PIMS) project supports principal investigations of microgravity science experiments as they evaluate the effects of varying acceleration levels on their experiments. In 1994, a SAMS unit was installed on the Mir space station. In a manner similar to Orbiter mission support, the SAMS unit supports science experiments from the U.S. and Russia by measuring the microgravity environment during experiment operations. Previous reports have summarized the SAMS data acquired during the period from September 1994 to November 1995. During the time period from November 1995 to March 1996, the primary SAMS-supported experiment was a Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiment. SAMS data were obtained during the PCG operations on Mir in accordance with the requirements specified by the PCG Principal Investigator. Also included in this data are mission events of interest, such as the undocking of STS-74 from Mir (November 1995) and the docking of Atlantis (STS-76) to Mir in March 1996. This report presents an overview of the SAMS data recorded in the interval from November 1995 to March 1996.

DeLombard, Richard↗
NASA NTRS1997

STS-82 Mission Highlight Presentation

The STS-82 is the second in a series of planned service missions to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The flight crew of STS-82, Cmdr. Kenneth D. Bowersox, Pilot Scott J. Horowitz, Mission specialists, Mark C. Lee, Steven A. Hawley, Gregory J. Harbaugh, Steven L. Smith, and Joseph R. Tanner can be seen performing pre-launch activities preparing for the night launch. The crew meets the press for pre-launch photos before being transported to the launch pad. Several views can be seen of the final inspection team on the O level and the crew being readied in the 'white room'. Launch activities such as the oxygen vent hood retraction, liftoff, SRB separation, and personnel activities in the Houston Integrated Mission Control room are viewed. Subsequent footage is provided of the crew's activities during the HST rendezvous and docking, Extravehicular Activities (EVA's) preparation and EVA numbers 1, 3 and 5. During the first EVA the earth can be seen clearly in a reflection off of HST's offshroud during its 60th orbit crossing the equator. The HST deployment and views of the Hale-Bopp comet are clearly seen before Discovery's reentry and landing. After reentry a beautiful view of Discovery moving at 10,400 mph can be seen looking east from Mission Control. The ususal twin sonic boom precedes Discovery's touchdown on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center. This second HST service mission orbited Earth 150 times and traveled 1.4 million miles.

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NASA NTRS1997

STS-71 Mission Highlights Resources Tape

The flight crew of the STS-71 Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis Commander Robert L. Gibson, Pilot Charles J. Precourt, Mission Specialists, Ellen S. Baker, Bonnie J. Dunbar, Gregory J. Harbaugh, and Payload Specialists, Norman E. Thagard, Vladimir Dezhurov, and Gennadiy Strekalov present an overview of their mission. It's primary objective is the first Mir docking with a space shuttle and crew transfer. Video footage includes the following: prelaunch and launch activities; the crew eating breakfast; shuttle launch; on orbit activities; rendezvous with Mir; Shuttle/Mir joint activities; undocking; and the shuttle landing.

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NASA NTRS1995

STS-84 Day 04 Highlights

On this fourth day of the STS-84 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen M. Collins, Payload Cmdr, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Carlos I. Noriega, Elena V. Kondakova, Jerry M. Linenger (download), and C. Michael Foale (upload) spend their first full day of work together conducting science investigations and transferring equipment from one spacecraft to the other. The Spacehab double module at the rear of Atlantis' payload bay was the focus of activity today as crew members conducted science experiments in the Biorack facility and transferred items to and from the Mir Space Station. In an interview with CBS News, Precourt and Tsibliev praise the sixth joint docking mission between the U.S. and Russia, indicating it is serving as a worthwhile exercise to prepare for the assembly of the International Space Station. Precourt also said the Mir appears to be in good condition despite recent systems problems, and said Mir will be a perfectly safe home for Foale for his stay on orbit.

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NASA NTRS1995

STS-84 Day 03 Highlights

On this third day of the STS-84 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen M. Collins, Payload Cmdr, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Carlos I. Noriega, Elena V. Kondakova, Jerry M. Linenger (download), and C. Michael Foale (upload) guide Atlantis to its docking with the Mir to cap off a 42-hour chase. Precourt greets Mir 23 Commander Vasily Tsibliev and, after embraces and handshakes, the crew members make their way into the Mir Core Module for a brief welcoming ceremony. During the ceremony, the Shuttle crew give Tsibliev and Flight Engineer Alexander Lazutkin baseball caps emblazoned with the STS-84 crew insignia as well as the traditional Russian offering of bread, tea and salt. Then, the ten astronauts and cosmonauts get down to business, first conducting a joint safety briefing to familiarize themselves with each other's craft.

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NASA NTRS1995

STS-84 Day 02 Highlights

On this second day of the STS-84 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Charles J. Precourt, Pilot Eileen M. Collins, Payload Cmdr, Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Mission Specialists Edward T. Lu, Carlos I. Noriega, Elena V. Kondakova, Jerry M. Linenger (download), and C. Michael Foale (upload) continues to close on the Mir Space Station in anticipation of the sixth linkup between the Shuttle and the Russian space complex. Preparations for the docking are nearly complete as Atlantis' seven astronauts worked around the clock to check out the rendezvous tools that will be used during the final phase of the approach to Mir.

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NASA NTRS1997

SAMS Acceleration Measurement on Mir From March to September 1996

During NASA Increment 2 (March to September 1996), over 15 gigabytes of acceleration data were collected by the Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) onboard the Russian Space Station, Mir. The data were recorded on 55 optical disks and were returned to Earth on STS-79. During this time, SAMS data were collected in the Kristall and Kvant modules, and in the Priroda module to support the following experiments: the Queen's University Experiments in Liquid Diffusion (QUELD), the Technological Evaluation of the MIM (TEM), the Forced Flow Flame Spreading Test (FFFT), and Candle Flames in Microgravity (CFM). This report points out some of the salient features of the microgravity environment to which these experiments were exposed. Also documented are mission events of interest such as the docked phase of STS-76 operations, an extravehicular activity (EVA) to install and deploy solar panels on the Kvant module, a Progress engine burn to raise Mir's altitude, and an on-orbit SAMS calibration procedure. Also included are a description of the Mir module orientations, and the panel notations within the modules. This report presents an overview of the SAMS acceleration measurements recorded by 10 Hz and 100 Hz sensor heads. Variations in the acceleration environment caused by unique activities such as crew exercise and life-support fans are presented. The analyses included herein complement those presented in previous mission summary reports published by the Principal Investigator Microgravity Services (PIMS) group.

Moskowitz, Milton E.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Comparison of Orbiter PRCS Plume Flow Fields Using CFD and Modified Source Flow Codes

The Space Shuttle Orbiter will use Reaction Control System (RCS) jets for docking with the planned International Space Station (ISS). During approach and backout maneuvers, plumes from these jets could cause high pressure, heating, and thermal loads on ISS components. The object of this paper is to present comparisons of RCS plume flow fields used to calculate these ISS environments. Because of the complexities of 3-D plumes with variable scarf-angle and multi-jet combinations, NASA/JSC developed a plume flow-field methodology for all of these Orbiter jets. The RCS Plume Model (RPM), which includes effects of scarfed nozzles and dual jets, was developed as a modified source-flow engineering tool to rapidly generate plume properties and impingement environments on ISS components. This paper presents flow-field properties from four PRCS jets: F3U low scarf-angle single jet, F3F high scarf-angle single jet, DTU zero scarf-angle dual jet, and F1F/F2F high scarf-angle dual jet. The RPM results compared well with plume flow fields using four CFD programs: General Aerodynamic Simulation Program (GASP), Cartesian (CART), Unified Solution Algorithm (USA), and Reacting and Multi-phase Program (RAMP). Good comparisons of predicted pressures are shown with STS 64 Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX) data.

Rochelle, Wm. C.↗
NASA NTRS1997

International Space Station (ISS) Accommodation of a Single US Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV)

The following report was generated to give the International Space Station (ISS) Program some additional insight into the operations and issues associated with accommodating a single U.S. developed Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV). During the generation of this report, changes in both the ISS and ACRV programs were factored into the analysis with the realization that most of the work performed will eventually need to be repeated once the two programs become more integrated. No significant issues associated with the ISS accommodating the ACRV were uncovered. Kinematic analysis of ACRV installation showed that there are viable methods of using Shuttle and Station robotic manipulators. Separation analysis demonstrated that the ACRV departure path clears the Station structure for all likely contingency scenarios. The payload bay packaging analysis identified trades that can be made between payload bay location, Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) reach and eventual designs of de-orbit stages and docking adapters.

Mazanek, Daniel D.↗