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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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46 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2026

Application of Energy-efficient Electromagnetic Melt-Processing for the Upcycling of Recycled Polyphenylene Sulfide into Multifunctional Segregated Nanocomposites

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is widely used in structural and functional composites because of its thermal stability, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength. As circular manufacturing becomes increasingly important, extending the service life of recycled PPS (rPPS) is essential. However, conventional high-temperature reprocessing accelerates thermo-oxidative degradation, reducing recycled composite performance. This study proposes a rapid and potentially energy-saving upcycling strategy for rPPS using electromagnetic (EM) melt-processing to form segregated carbon nanotube (CNT) networks and produce EM-responsive nanocomposites. The aim was to determine whether CNT-assisted EM heating could reduce polymer degradation while improving multifunctional properties at ultralow filler loadings. rPPS micropellets were coated with CNTs by ball milling to create conductive shells, then compacted into green bodies (GBs) and selectively melted by rapid EM irradiation. Structural, electrical, mechanical, rheological, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties were evaluated. Electrical percolation occurred at an ultralow CNT loading of 0.08 wt%, with conductivity reaching (1.24 ± 0.74) × 10 -5 S⋅m -1 at 0.1 wt%. At this concentration, tensile strength and modulus increased by 72% and 99%, respectively. At ~ 0.7 mm thickness, X-band EMI shielding effectiveness reached 6 dB for GBs and 3 dB after EM processing. This shows that EM melt-processing upcycles rPPS into high-performance multifunctional nanocomposites with minimum thermal degradation.

recycled↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Integrated Process-Structure-Property Simulations for Additive Manufacturing Using the Open-Source Materialite Package

The microstructure and properties of additively manufactured (AM) metals are strongly dependent on process conditions. Therefore, process-structure-property (PSP) simulations are a useful tool for exploring process parameter space, studying process variations, and quantifying uncertainty in material properties. However, integrating process-structure and structure-property simulations often involves connecting multiple software packages. Each package may use unique data structures and require substantial domain knowledge. This presentation demonstrates PSP simulation capabilities of Materialite, an open-source package developed at NASA Langley Research Center. Materialite simplifies model linkages by using a common data structure and model interface, enabling straightforward simulation across a PSP model chain. Physics-based models, including kinetic Monte Carlo and crystal plasticity, are implemented within the package. The model interface is also intended to simplify implementation of new models and enable integration with external simulation tools. Example use cases include uncertainty quantification with PSP models and GPU-accelerated powder bed fusion AM process models.

additive manufacturing↗
NASA NTRS2026

A Review of Pump Package Assembly Anomalies and Demonstration to Gain Motor Controller Replacement Capability

The International Space Station (ISS) generates heat within the US modules from systems used to operate the station, maintain crew health, and conduct science experiments in the orbiting laboratory. The Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) collects this heat in water loops and transfers it to the external ammonia system for rejection to space. The ITCS uses six Pump Package Assemblies (PPA) as the motive force to circulate the water within the Lab, Node 2, and Node 3 (Node 1 is parasitic to the Lab and Node 3 ITCS loops). In the life of ISS, 3 PPAs have had to be replaced and 2 PPAs are currently showing signs of degradation. The first PPA to fail in 2003 was due to early coolant chemistry issues; the remaining pump failures and current pump degradations are determined to be related to the Pump/Fan Motor Controller (PFMC), with their individual signatures all being unique to this point. The PFMC of one of the failed PPAs was returned and testing confirmed its sub-components to be the root cause of the PPA failure. Due to the relative size and weight of the standalone PFMC in comparison to the integrated assembly, it is desired, from a launch and on-orbit stowage perspective, to replace the PFMC component of the degraded PPA instead of the entire PPA. The PPA was not designed for this capability, so on the ground demonstrations are planned using crew tools to show that the PFMC can be replaced on-orbit while maintaining full functionality. This paper will focus on the signatures of the two most recent PPA failures and the two PPAs showing signs of degradation, in addition to presenting the findings from the PFMC demonstration effort.

Aaron Rodriguez↗
NASA NTRS2026

A Review of Pump Package Assembly Anomalies and Demonstration to Gain Motor Controller Replacement Capability

The International Space Station (ISS) generates heat within the US modules from systems used to operate the station, maintain crew health, and conduct science experiments in the orbiting laboratory. The Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) collects this heat in water loops and transfers it to the external ammonia system for rejection to space. The ITCS uses six Pump Package Assemblies (PPA) as the motive force to circulate the water within the Lab, Node 2, and Node 3 (Node 1 is parasitic to the Lab and Node 3 ITCS loops). In the life of ISS, 3 PPAs have had to be replaced and 2 PPAs are currently showing signs of degradation. The first PPA to fail in 2003 was due to early coolant chemistry issues; the remaining pump failures and current pump degradations are determined to be related to the Pump/Fan Motor Controller (PFMC), with their individual signatures all being unique to this point. The PFMC of one of the failed PPAs was returned and testing confirmed its sub-components to be the root cause of the PPA failure. Due to the relative size and weight of the standalone PFMC in comparison to the integrated assembly, it is desired, from a launch and on-orbit stowage perspective, to replace the PFMC component of the degraded PPA instead of the entire PPA. The PPA was not designed for this capability, so on the ground demonstrations are planned using crew tools to show that the PFMC can be replaced on-orbit while maintaining full functionality. This paper will focus on the signatures of the two most recent PPA failures and the two PPAs showing signs of degradation, in addition to presenting the findings from the PFMC demonstration effort.

Aaron Rodriguez↗
NASA NTRS1976

NASA's Advanced Control Law Program for the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire Aircraft

This paper briefly describes the NASA F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire (DFBW) program and Langley Research Center's role in investigating and promoting advanced control laws for possible flight experimentation. The primary purpose of the paper is to provide background material for papers describing some of the F-8 DFBW adaptive control law studies. The paper provides a brief description of the Phase II DFBW F-8 aircraft and its control system, discusses some of the advanced control law study objectives and guidelines, and provides some mathematical models which are useful in the control analysis problem.

Optimal Control↗
NASA NTRS2026

A Study of the Aligned-Grid Retarding Potential Analyzer for Electric Propulsion Applications

During the development of energy analyzers for NASA’s Solar Electric Propulsion Plasma Diagnostics Package, detailed studies were performed to compare the benefits and drawbacks of different types of gridded potential analyzers. In particular, modeling and testing were performed on three types of retarding potential analyzer with aligned grids, and one type with unaligned grids. Additionally, a type of gridded energy analyzer was tested. Analyses of the model and test results showed that manufacturing an analyzer with aligned grids required greater precision and knowledge than other analyzers. A properly designed analyzer with aligned grids exhibited superior signal level, acceptance angle control, energy resolution, and compactness compared to an analyzer with unaligned grids. Additionally, the gridded energy analyzer was found to accept a broad range of incidence angles while having superior signal, energy resolution, and compactness compared to retarding potential analyzer with unaligned grid. This article describes the basic design principles deployed in the study, the associated modeling work, and the characterization tests that were performed. The article summarizes the benefits and drawbacks associated with each type of energy analyzer tested.

Electric Propulsion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design of an AI Trash Sorting Machine for Use on the Moon and Mars

As NASA prepares for Mars colonization, resource conservation will be critical for survival. Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered waste sorting technologies, already emerging on Earth, offer promising solutions for recycling and material recovery. These systems use advanced sensors and machine learning algorithms to identify and separate materials with remarkable accuracy. On Mars, where every item has significant value, efficient recycling will be essential to reduce resupply needs and support closed-loop life support systems. This paper explores how terrestrial AI-based trash sorting technologies can be adapted for Martian conditions, focusing on challenges such as the harsh surface environment, minimizing system mass, power, volume, and estimating waste composition. Addressing these issues will be key to enabling sustainable operations on the Red Planet.

Sorting↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design of an AI Trash Sorting Machine for Use on the Moon and Mars

As NASA prepares for Mars colonization, resource conservation will be critical for survival. Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered waste sorting technologies, already emerging on Earth, offer promising solutions for recycling and material recovery. These systems use advanced sensors and machine learning algorithms to identify and separate materials with remarkable accuracy. On Mars, where every item has significant value, efficient recycling will be essential to reduce resupply needs and support closed-loop life support systems. This paper explores how terrestrial AI-based trash sorting technologies can be adapted for Martian conditions, focusing on challenges such as the harsh surface environment, minimizing system mass, power, volume, and estimating waste composition. Addressing these issues will be key to enabling sustainable operations on the Red Planet.

AI↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Mass Economy Evaluation for Integrated ECLSS and Propulsion Architecture

As missions in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) lengthen and extend to deep space, minimizing resupply needs becomes vital for sustaining crewed operations. Traditional life support systems depend on consumables resupplied from Earth, a method that is increasingly impractical for missions beyond LEO, such as lunar outposts or Mars transit. Long-duration missions require more efficient, autonomous systems that can recycle essential resources, particularly water and oxygen, to minimize the frequency and mass of resupply missions. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is essential to such missions, with the International Space Station (ISS) serving as a testbed for advanced water recovery and partial oxygen recycling via physico-chemical methods. Yet, ECLSS and propulsion subsystems generally operate independently, despite overlapping requirements and potential areas for synergy. For instance, ECLSS byproducts, water, CO₂, and hydrogen, could be repurposed for propulsion, potentially reducing dedicated propellant mass and increasing overall system efficiency. One promising approach is to develop shared-resource architectures that integrate ECLSS with propulsion systems. This study examines the potential of such integration through the Sabatier CO₂ reduction process, focusing on water management as a key factor in system mass trade-offs. The Sabatier reaction produces water and methane from metabolic CO₂ and electrolytic hydrogen, partially closing the life support loop and providing methane, which could serve as a propellant. This integration could minimize waste, reduce resupply requirements, and enhance mission mass efficiency. A dynamic modeling framework will be used to simulate resource flows over long missions, capturing interactions between life support and propulsion. By comparing integrated versus separate system configurations, the study aims to quantify mass benefits and penalties, informing future habitat designs and trade studies for missions prioritizing autonomy and mass efficiency.

ECLSS↗
NASA NTRS2026

Mass Economy Evaluation for Integrated ECLSS and Propulsion Architecture

As missions in low Earth orbit (LEO) lengthen and extend to deep space, minimizing resupply needs becomes vital for sustaining crewed operations. Traditional life support systems depend on consumables resupplied from Earth, a method that is increasingly impractical for missions beyond LEO, such as lunar outposts or Mars transit. Long-duration missions require more efficient, autonomous systems that can recycle essential resources, particularly water and oxygen, to minimize the frequency and mass of resupply missions. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is essential to such missions, with the International Space Station (ISS) serving as a testbed for advanced water recovery and partial oxygen recycling via physico-chemical methods. Yet, ECLSS and propulsion subsystems generally operate independently, despite overlapping requirements and potential areas for synergy. For instance, ECLSS byproducts, water, CO 2 , and hydrogen, could be repurposed for propulsion, potentially reducing dedicated propellant mass and increasing overall system efficiency. One promising approach is to develop shared-resource architectures that integrate ECLSS with propulsion systems. This study examines the potential of such integration through the Sabatier CO₂ reduction process, focusing on water management as a key factor in system mass trade-offs. The Sabatier reaction produces water and methane from metabolic CO 2 and electrolytic hydrogen, partially closing the life support loop and providing methane, which could serve as a propellant. This integration could minimize waste, reduce resupply requirements, and enhance mission mass efficiency. A dynamic modeling framework will be used to simulate resource flows over long missions, capturing interactions between life support and propulsion. By comparing integrated versus separate system configurations, the study aims to quantify mass benefits and penalties, informing future habitat designs and trade studies for missions prioritizing autonomy and mass efficiency.

ECLSS↗
NASA NTRS1988

A High Voltage Power Converter for Space Astronomy Applications

A dc-dc low-power, high-voltage converter for use in space is described which furnishes a commandable, low-noise dc output in the range of 0 to -7500 V. The converter is suitable for biasing of detectors commonly employed in space astronomy, microchannel plates, photomultipliers, and gas discharge detectors. The converter's reliability has been demonstrated by accelerated life testing under thermal vacuum. The electrical and mechanical design, packaging, layout and fabrication techniques, and tests employed are described.

David C Ray↗
NASA NTRS1993

A SIMULINK Environment for Flight Dynamics and Control Analysis - Application to the DHC-2 'Beaver', Part 1. Implementation of a Model Library in SIMULINK

The design of advanced Automatic Aircraft Control Systems (AACS's) can be improved upon considerably if the designer can access all models and tools required for control system design and analysis through a graphical user-interface, from within one software environment. This MSc-thesis presents the first step in the development of such an environment, which is currently being done at the Section for Stability and Control of Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. The environment is implemented within the commercially available software package MATLAB/SIMULINK. The report consists of two parts. Part I gives a detailed description of the AACS design environment. The heart of this environment is formed by the SIMULINK implementation of a nonlinear aircraft model in block-diagram format. The model has been worked out for the old laboratory aircraft of the Faculty, the De Havilland DHC-2 'Beaver', but due to its modular structure, it can easily be adapted for other aircraft. Part I also describes MATLAB programs which can be applied for finding steady-state trimmed-flight conditions and for linearization of the aircraft model, and it shows how the built-in simulation routines of SIMULINK have been used for open-loop analysis of the aircraft dynamics. Apart from the implementation of the models and tools, a thorough treatment of the theoretical backgrounds is presented. Part II of this report presents a part of an autopilot design process for the 'Beaver' aircraft, which clearly demonstrates the power and flexibility of the AACS design environment from part I. Evaluations of all longitudinal and lateral control laws by means of nonlinear simulations are treated in detail. The AACS design environment from part I proved to be a very useful tool for designing the control laws of the 'Beaver' autopilot within a very tight time-schedule. The autopilot design process itself will be used as a guideline for future AACS research at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. Flight tests of the 'Beaver' autopilot, done after evaluating the control laws in the SIMULINK package, proved to be quite successful. In the future, the AACS design package will evolve into a standardized, integrated design environment which can be applied to virtually any type of aircraft. The AACS design cycle will be shortened further by developing tools for automatically porting control laws from the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment to a piloted real-time flight simulator and the Flight Control Computers of the aircraft.

Aircraft Modelling↗
NASA NTRS1990

The Hubble Space Telescope nickel-hydrogen battery design

Details are presented of the HST (Hubble Space Telescope) battery cell, battery package, and module mechanical and electrical designs. Also included are a summary of acceptance, qualification, and vibration tests and thermal vacuum testing. Unique details of battery cell charge retention performance characteristics associated with prelaunch hold conditions are discussed. Special charge control methods to minimize thermal dissipation during pad charging operations are summarized. This module design meets all NASA fracture control requirements for manned missions.

Nawrocki, D. E.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Orbiting Astronomical Observatory Battery and Power System Design

The battery design of OAO-C (OAO-3) is given and consists of three-20 ampere hour 22 series connected cells in the battery. There are three batteries per spacecraft. The packaging configuration is described. The charging-discharging operations and the voltage potential of the battery system are discussed. Graphs are presented for the voltage limits (battery voltage versus temperature) and end of dark voltages (battery voltage versus ampere-hours discharged) of the battery system used on OAO-3. Data tables are also presented which give a summary of the battery performance and a comparison of OAO-3 with OAO A-2.

F E Ford↗
NASA NTRS1994

Review of European Microgravity Measurements

AA In a French/Russion cooperation, CNES developed a microgravity detection system for analyzing the Mir space station micro-g-environment for the first time. European efforts to characterize the microgravity (1/9) environment within a space laboratory began in the late seventies with the design of the First Spacelab Mission SL-1. Its Material Science Double Rack was the first payload element to carry its own tri-axial acceleration package. Even though incapable for any frequency analysis, the data provided a wealth of novel information for optimal experiment and hardware design and operations for missions to come. Theoretical investigations under ESA contract demonstrated the significance of the detailed knowledge of micro-g data for a thorough experiment analysis. They especially revealed the high sensitivity of numerous phenomena to low frequency acceleration. Accordingly, the payloads of the Spacelab missions D-1 and D-2 were furnished with state-of-the-art detection systems to ensure frequency analysis between 0.1 and 100 Hz. The Microgravity Measurement Assembly (MMA) of D-2 was a centralized system comprising fixed installed as well as mobile tri-axial packages showing real-time data processing and transmission to ground. ESA's free flyer EURECA carried a system for continuous measurement over the entire mission. All EURECA subsystems and experimental facilities had to meet tough requirements defining the upper acceleration limits. In a French/Russion cooperation, CNES developed a mi crogravity detection system for analyzing the Mir space station micro-g-environment for the first time. An approach to get access to low frequency acceleration between 0 and 0.02 Hz will be realized by QSAM (Quasi-steady Acceleration Measurement) on IML-2, complementary to the NASA system Spacelab Acceleration Measurement System SAMS. A second flight of QSAM is planned for the Russian free flyer FOTON.

H Hamacher↗
NASA NTRS1995

Retrofitting a Fine-Pointing System to Satellite Optics

This paper describes a system added to an existing satellite-borne telescope design for the purpose of compensating the boresight errors that had been observed in earlier flights of similar instruments. Those errors had been found to be caused by thermal distortion of the spaceframe. This retrofit design was subjected to severe volume restrictions because it was fitted into an already tightly-packaged instrument envelope. It was found practical to improve the basic design by converting a redundant structure into a statically-determinate one. It was also possible to use portions of the mechanical actuation system to facilitate the position encoding needed for computer interfacing.

Robert O Woods↗