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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 1,639 records · Page 91
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

The Space Shuttle - Key considerations

Typical Space Shuttle flight operations, including launch/insertion, on-orbit operations, de-orbit, and ground turnaround, are summarized. The orbiter, main engine, and solid rocket boosters will be reusable. The Shuttle will be able to abort ascent and return the orbiter plus payload to the launch site if necessary. Mission capabilities include a 7-30 day duration, crew of 4-7 (with 1-4 payload specialists), and 14,500-29,500 kg payloads. Payload accommodations, including cabin, crew provisions, pointing and position stability, thermal constraints, electric power, communications, payload deployment and retrieval, contamination control, and kits for extended missions, are considered. The Thermal Protection System, utilizing pyrolized carbon and silica tiles, is described. The Space Shuttle Main Engine design and performance are considered and compared to those of the J-2 engine used on Saturn/Apollo missions.

Malkin, M. S.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of solid rocket motor for space shuttle booster. Volume 4: Cost

The cost data for solid propellant rocket engines for use with the space shuttle are presented. The data are based on the selected 156 inch parallel and series burn configurations. Summary cost data are provided for the production of the 120 inch and 260 inch configurations. Graphs depicting parametric cost estimating relationships are included.

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NASA NTRS1975

General purpose simulation system of the data management system for space shuttle mission 18

The simulation program of the science and engineering data management system for the space shuttle is presented. The programming language used was General Purpose Simulation System V (OS). The data flow was modeled from its origin at the experiments or subsystems to transmission from the space shuttle. Mission 18 was the particular flight chosen for simulation. First, the general structure of the program is presented and the trade studies which were performed are identified. Inputs required to make runs are discussed followed by identification of the output statistics. Some areas for model modifications are pointed out. A detailed model configuration, program listing and results are included.

Bengtson, N. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Space Shuttle Technical Conference, part 1

Articles providing a retrospective presentation and documentation of the key scientific and engineering achievements of the Space Shuttle Program are compiled. Topics areas include: (1) integrated avionics; (2) guidance, navigation, and control; (3) aerodynamics; (4) structures; (5) life support; environmental control; and crew station; and (6) ground operations.

Chaffee, N.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Building the RS-25 Engine for NASA’s Next Generation of Exploration.

NASA is aggressively pursuing a human lunar return to the Moon with the Artemis Program. The Space Launch System (SLS) is critical to the transportation architecture, providing both crew and cargo capability. To accelerate SLS development, NASA settled on space shuttle heritage propulsion technologies. Early missions will use repurposed RS-25 engines from the Shuttle Program adapted to SLS requirements. For future missions, however, NASA and engine contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne are restarting RS-25 production with a goal of using the latest manufacturing technologies to produce an RS-25 variant that will cost at least 30 percent less than the shuttle-era engines developed and flown for almost 30 years. The prospect of restarting the production line on these engines after many years and modifying the engine to reduce cost and better match the needs of the SLS vehicle presented unique challenges and opportunities for NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne. NASA and AR are now deep into the process of adapting 16 RS-25 engines for the first four SLS Artemis flights and building the first RS-25 “Restart” engines for future Artemis missions. In addition to navigating programmatic, technical, and logistical challenges with the current RS-25 production work, NASA and AR have partnered to pursue new methods of building this engine through advanced manufacturing techniques to further reduce the cost and schedule required to build each RS-25 engine to contribute to the long-term affordability of the SLS vehicle. This presentation will discuss the goals for the restart program, the challenges, and results to date.

Jessica Jean Wood↗
NASA NTRS2007

Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing: open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable and sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous system, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered system are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are mde to refine model details.

O'Neil, Graham↗
NASA NTRS2005

Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable md sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (8) robust communication between heterogeneous systems, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, end verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered systems are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are made to refine model details.

O'Neil, Graham↗
NASA NTRS2013

Shuttle Topography Data Inform Solar Power Analysis

The next time you flip on a light switch, there s a chance that you could be benefitting from data originally acquired during the Space Shuttle Program. An effort spearheaded by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in 2000 put together the first near-global elevation map of the Earth ever assembled, which has found use in everything from 3D terrain maps to models that inform solar power production. For the project, called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), engineers at JPL designed a 60-meter mast that was fitted onto Shuttle Endeavour. Once deployed in space, an antenna attached to the end of the mast worked in combination with another antenna on the shuttle to simultaneously collect data from two perspectives. Just as having two eyes makes depth perception possible, the SRTM data sets could be combined to form an accurate picture of the Earth s surface elevations, the first hight-detail, near-global elevation map ever assembled. What made SRTM unique was not just its surface mapping capabilities but the completeness of the data it acquired. Over the course of 11 days, the shuttle orbited the Earth nearly 180 times, covering everything between the 60deg north and 54deg south latitudes, or roughly 80 percent of the world s total landmass. Of that targeted land area, 95 percent was mapped at least twice, and 24 percent was mapped at least four times. Following several years of processing, NASA released the data to the public in partnership with NGA. Robert Crippen, a member of the SRTM science team, says that the data have proven useful in a variety of fields. "Satellites have produced vast amounts of remote sensing data, which over the years have been mostly two-dimensional. But the Earth s surface is three-dimensional. Detailed topographic data give us the means to visualize and analyze remote sensing data in their natural three-dimensional structure, facilitating a greater understanding of the features and processes taking place on Earth."

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NASA NTRS2011

Space Shuttle GN and C Development History and Evolution

Completion of the final Space Shuttle flight marks the end of a significant era in Human Spaceflight. Developed in the 1970 s, first launched in 1981, the Space Shuttle embodies many significant engineering achievements. One of these is the development and operation of the first extensive fly-by-wire human space transportation Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) System. Development of the Space Shuttle GN&C represented first time inclusions of modern techniques for electronics, software, algorithms, systems and management in a complex system. Numerous technical design trades and lessons learned continue to drive current vehicle development. For example, the Space Shuttle GN&C system incorporated redundant systems, complex algorithms and flight software rigorously verified through integrated vehicle simulations and avionics integration testing techniques. Over the past thirty years, the Shuttle GN&C continued to go through a series of upgrades to improve safety, performance and to enable the complex flight operations required for assembly of the international space station. Upgrades to the GN&C ranged from the addition of nose wheel steering to modifications that extend capabilities to control of the large flexible configurations while being docked to the Space Station. This paper provides a history of the development and evolution of the Space Shuttle GN&C system. Emphasis is placed on key architecture decisions, design trades and the lessons learned for future complex space transportation system developments. Finally, some of the interesting flight operations experience is provided to inform future developers of flight experiences.

Zimpfer, Douglas↗
NASA NTRS2015

SSME to RS-25: Challenges of Adapting a Heritage Engine to a New Vehicle Architecture

Following the cancellation of the Constellation program and retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA initiated the Space Launch System (SLS) program to provide next-generation heavy lift cargo and crew access to space. A key constituent of the SLS architecture is the RS-25 engine, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). The RS-25 was selected to serve as the main propulsion system for the SLS core stage in conjunction with the solid rocket boosters. This selection was largely based on the maturity and extensive experience gained through 135 missions, 3000+ ground tests, and over a million seconds total accumulated hot-fire time. In addition, there were also over a dozen functional flight assets remaining from the Space Shuttle program that could be leveraged to support the first four flights. However, while the RS-25 is a highly mature system, simply unbolting it from the Space Shuttle boat-tail and installing it on the new SLS vehicle is not a "plug-and-play" operation. In addition to numerous technical integration details involving changes to significant areas such as the environments, interface conditions, technical performance requirements, operational constraints and so on, there were other challenges to be overcome in the area of replacing the obsolete engine control system (ECS). While the magnitude of accomplishing this effort was less than that needed to develop and field a new clean-sheet engine system, the path to the first flight of SLS has not been without unexpected challenges.

Ballard, Richard O.↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Art and Science of Systems Engineering

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958, and its Marshall Space Flight Center was founded in 1960, as space-related work was transferred from the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at Redstone Arsenal, where Marshall is located. With this heritage, Marshall contributes almost 50 years of systems engineering experience with human-rated launch vehicles and scientific spacecraft to fulfill NASA's mission exploration and discovery. These complex, highly specialized systems have provided vital platforms for expanding the knowledge base about Earth, the solar system, and cosmos; developing new technologies that also benefit life on Earth; and opening new frontiers for America's strategic space goals. From Mercury and Gemini, to Apollo and the Space Shuttle, Marshall's systems engineering expertise is an unsurpassed foundational competency for NASA and the nation. Current assignments comprise managing Space Shuttle Propulsion systems; developing environmental control and life support systems and coordinating science operations on the International Space Station; and a number of exploration-related responsibilities. These include managing and performing science missions, such as the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter slated to launch for the Moon in April 2009, to developing the Ares I crew launch vehicle upper stage and integrating the vehicle stack in house, as well as designing the Ares V cargo launch vehicle and contributing to the development of the Altair Lunar Lander and an International Lunar Network with communications nodes and other infrastructure.

Singer, Christopher E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of solid rocket motor for space shuttle booster, volume 2, book 2

A technical analysis of the solid propellant rocket engines for use with the space shuttle is presented. The subjects discussed are: (1) solid rocket motor stage recovery, (2) environmental effects, (3) man rating of the solid propellant rocket engines, (4) system safety analysis, (5) ground support equipment, and (6) transportation, assembly, and checkout.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1982

Space Technology for Medical Aids

Under one of the earliest contracts awarded in the Apollo lunar landing program, Parker Hannifin Corporation developed and produced equipment for controlling the flow of propellants into the mammoth engines of the Saturn moonbooster. Today, Parker is supplying the huge valves that control propellant flow from the Space Shuttle's external fuel tank to the engines of the Shuttle Orbiter as well as the "peanut valve," named for its small size. In 1977, NASA, recognizing the company's special expertise in miniature systems, asked Parker to participate in the development of an implantable artificial sphincter for control of urinary incontinence. The company's peanut valve experience provided an ideal base for a new biomedical project, the Programmable Implantable Medication System (PIMS) for continuous, computer-directed delivery of precisely metered medication -- insulin, for example -- within a patient's body. The work on PIMS also inspired development of Micromed, a related programmable medication device for external, rather than implantable use. The Biomedical Products Division has also applied its fluid handling expertise to a drugless therapy system called Cryomax for the treatment of such disorders as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

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NASA NTRS1972

Upper-stage space shuttle propulsion by means of separate scramjet and rocket engines

A preliminary mission study of a reusable vehicle from staging to orbit indicates payload advantages for a dual-propulsion system consisting of separate scramjet and rocket engines. In the analysis the scramjet operated continuously and the initiation of rocket operation was varied. For a stage weight of 500,000 lb the payload was 10.4 percent of stage weight or 70 percent greater than that of a comparable all-rocket-powered stage. When compared with a reusable two-state rocket vehicle having 50,000 lb payload, the use of the dual propulsion system for the second stage resulted in significant decreases in lift-off weight and empty weight, indicating possible lower hardware costs.

Franciscus, L. C.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Engineering design manual of parachute decelerator characteristics for space shuttle solid rocket booster recovery

The design criteria and characteristics of parachutes for recovery of the solid rocket boosters used with the space shuttle launch are presented. A computer program for analyzing the requirements of the parachute decelerators is described. The computer inputs for both the drogue and main parachute decelerators are; (1) parachute size, (2) deployment conditions, (3) inflation times, (4) reefing times, (5) mass properties, (6) spring properties, and (7) aerodynamic coefficients. Graphs of the parachute performance are included.

Mansfield, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Liquid Rocket Engine Testing Overview

Contents include the following: Objectives and motivation for testing. Technology, Research and Development Test and Evaluation (RDT&E), evolutionary. Representative Liquid Rocket Engine (LRE) test compaigns. Apollo, shuttle, Expandable Launch Vehicles (ELV) propulsion. Overview of test facilities for liquid rocket engines. Boost, upper stage (sea-level and altitude). Statistics (historical) of Liquid Rocket Engine Testing. LOX/LH, LOX/RP, other development. Test project enablers: engineering tools, operations, processes, infrastructure.

Rahman, Shamim↗
NASA NTRS1972

The space shuttle and its uses.

The development of reusable space-shuttle vehicles has been made practical by the availability of improved staged-combustion engines and durable thermal protection systems. A two-state launch configuration with fully reusable booster and orbiter elements is considered to be the best design solution, and size specifications for such a vehicle are examined as a function of launch costs. Significant vehicle characteristics are explained in terms of cargo bay dimensions, cross-range maneuvering capability, mission duration requirements, engine characteristics, and acceleration constraints. Shuttle flight activities include satellite deployment and repair, sortie missions for short-duration research purposes, and space station support operations. Phases of the development program are outlined, and structural details of several candidate space shuttle concepts are illustrated.

Mathews, C. W.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Challenger Tradgedy was Caused by an Apollo Mistake, Terminating Risk Analysis

NASA’s attitude toward risk changed drastically between the Apollo and Space Shuttle design. [1]Apollo engineers were seriously alarmed about riskbecause of the fatal Apollo 1 fire and the fact that the estimated probability of another fatal accident was extremely high. The predictions were so appalling thatmanagement terminated risk analysis to avoid public apprehension. Because risk analysis was not done, the Space Shuttle design accepted excessively high andunknown risk. The immediate cause of the Challengertragedy was the mistaken decision to launch in coldweather that impaired the O-ring seals, but the fundamental cause was the high risk of the shuttle design. Before Challenger, management asserted that the probability of a fatal accident was 1 in 100,000.Probabilistic Risk Analysis (PRA) found a roughly 1 in 100 chance of a shuttle failure.

Harry W Jones↗