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Daniel Cavender

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Cavender.

9 records
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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

State of the Art in Green Propulsion-2020

The Green Propulsion Working Group is a NASA inter-Center team which is tasked with monitoring the state of green propulsion technology in the propulsion community and to provide technology development investment guidance to NASA Mission Directorates, Centers, and projects. This presentation provides an overview of the current state of the art in green propulsion technology. It follows NASA’s 2018 NASA Green Propulsion Technology Development Roadmap (NASA/TP—2018–219861), and seeks to compile a current snapshot on the state of the art in green propulsion technology from NASA, Government and Commercial efforts. The presentation will include status on components, propellants, modeling capabilities, and flight & in-development systems, as well as summarizing various Government test capabilities in green propulsion.

green↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of a CubeSat-Scale Green Monopropellant Propulsion System for NASA’s Lunar Flashlight Mission

NASA’s Lunar Flashlight is a low-cost 6U CubeSat whose mission is to search for ice and mineral deposits inside of the scattered craters at Moon’s southern pole. To conduct its primary science mission, Lunar Flashlight must be placed in a stable lunar polar orbit which requires the utilization of an on-board propulsion system. However, to this date, most CubeSats have been propelled by cold-gas or electric propulsion systems that have proven to scale well but lack sufficient impulse to conduct large ΔV maneuvers such as orbit insertions. To this end, the Lunar Flashlight mission has chosen to utilize a custom-designed green monopropellant propulsion system developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology under the leadership ofNASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and support from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The developed system is capable of providing more than the required propulsive capability for full mission success while fitting inside of a 2.5U volume and weighing less than six kilograms. The system utilizes the Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non Toxic (ASCENT) green monopropellant that provides higher specific impulse compared to traditional hydrazine while also being safer to handle. If successful, the presented propulsion system will enable Lunar Flashlight to be the first CubeSat to reach the Moon, the first to conduct an orbit insertion, and will be the firstCubeSat demonstration of the ASCENT propellant.

Grayson Huggins↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Additive Manufacture of Refractory Metal Green Propulsion Thrusters

High temperature refractory metals are required for a number of high temperature propulsion applications. Refractory metals are expensive, difficult to manufacture with high buy-to-fly ratios, and few vendors. Additive manufacture (AM) is used to produce C103, Molybdenum (Mo), and Tungsten (W) reaction chamber and thrust stand-off as well as Iridium ultra-fine lattice catalysts for integration into 1 N green propulsion thrusters. After printing components underwent post-processing to include heat treatment, surface finish modification, inspection, integration, and testing. Properly utilized AM overcomes existing manufacture limitations by greatly increasing design flexibility, material options, decrease price, decrease lead-time, and increase the commercial supply base.

Omar Mireles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of ASCENT Propellant Thrusters and Propulsion Systems

Since the 1960s, hydrazine technology has dominated the market of propulsion technology by providing reliable performance on a wide variety of spacecraft. Efforts to replace hydrazine with a higher-performance and safer alternative have engaged numerous emerging technologies in the industry to mature. ASCENT propellant, also known as AF-M315E, is an example of one such green propellant. Initially developed to provide a safer handling environment than hydrazine, ASCENT offers higher overall performance than a hydrazine equivalent by creating more heat during ignition. The next generation of propulsion technology, based on ASCENT propellant, produces a higher impulse and energy density, expanding the realm of applicable missions from LEO to GEO and beyond. Building on a strong background in small satellite technology and expertise in thermal and oxidation resistant materials, Plasma Processes began several thruster programs for variety of small satellite applications using ASCENT-based technology. Plasma Processes’ background expertise in thermal and oxidation resistant materials provides the necessary foundation to create ASCENT-based technology hardware.

Green Propellant↗