Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Nathan Gelino

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Gelino.

14 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2023

Swamp Works Technology Development 10th Anniversary: 2013-2023 - Innovative Research & Technology Development Summary

Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Swamp Works, provides government and commercial space ventures with the technologies required for working and living on the surfaces of the Moon or other planets and bodies in our solar system. The Swamp Works team establishes rapid, innovative and cost-effective exploration mission solutions through leveraging of partnerships across NASA, industry and academia. Concepts start small and build up efficiently, with lean development processes and a hands-on approach. Testing is performed in early stages to drive design improvements and progressively increase Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). Swamp Works provides concepts, architecture studies and trades, designs, data, technology development, technology demonstration hardware, flight hardware, testing, flight support and knowledge in support of the development of surface systems. It consists of several teams with associated laboratories and test capabilities. The Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory and the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) are co-located in the Engineering Development Lab (EDL) facility high bay. The Applied Chemistry Lab (ACL) is in an adjacent facility and other KSC labs are being influenced by the innovation methods pioneered at the Swamp Works. The Swamp Works was founded in January 2013 by a group of scientists and engineers at KSC with the over-arching vision of expanding humanity and civilization into the solar system by the use of space resources via advanced technology. Ultimately, this will create a solar system economy that will improve the human condition due to the abundance of energy and resources. This presentation will summarize the projects and technology development that have been performed by the Swamp Works to celebrate its 10th Anniversary of innovation success.

Swamp Works↗
NASA NTRS2023

NASA Kennedy Space Center Swamp Works: Innovation Methods for Advanced Research & Technology Development

Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Swamp Works, provides government and commercial space ventures with the technologies required for working and living on the surfaces of the Moon or other planets and bodies in our solar system. The Swamp Works team establishes agile, innovative and cost effective exploration mission solutions through leveraging of partnerships across NASA, industry and academia. Concepts start small and build up efficiently, with lean development processes and a hands on approach. Testing is performed in early stages to drive design improvements and progressively increase Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). Swamp Works provides concepts, architecture studies and trades, designs, data, technology development, technology demonstration hardware, flight hardware, testing, flight support and knowledge in support of the development of surface systems. This paper will summarize the state of the art in innovation methods, and it will compare the various other methods to how innovation is accomplished at the NASA KSC Swamp Works. Since 2013, Swamp Works has developed a wide variety of technologies, and has demonstrated viable methods for innovation while also collaborating with other government agencies, industry and academia to support space exploration. These methods focus on agile design, test, build iterations where each cycle of prototyping results in improved knowledge and designs. Failures are tole rated in the early stages of these iterations, since the overall development cycle is shorter more efficient and cost effective by retiring risk early in the cycle. Momentum is maintained and the development teams remain highly motivated by the high level of team work, technical excellence, engagement and creative freedom.

Robotic Mining↗
NASA NTRS2021

Insitu Lunar Launch & Landing Pad Construction w/ Regolith and Thermoset Polymers

This CIF project is an extension of materials developed under a previous NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) project titled “Regolith Derived Heat Shield for Planetary Body Entry and Descent Systems with In-Situ Fabrication” by M. Hogue et al. (2012). Launch and landing pads are necessary to mitigate risks to lander/ascent vehicles, surface assets, and orbital assets from rocket plume ejected regolith. At this time, all launching and landing on the lunar surface will be on unprepared surface sites. Though this has been a successful approach for Apollo and other uncrewed missions, significant risks exist for the Artemis Program due to the increased thrust of the vehicles, presence of co-located assets, and potential surface level requirements for tall vehicles. This project developed a thermoset polymer–regolith composite material for use as a launch and landing pad. Test articles were prepared at 20% and 11% polymer mass percent (wt%) and tested under hot fire conditions that simulated large vehicle lunar launch/landing conditions. A minimum polymer wt% of 9% was achieved and both samples successfully mitigated regolith ejecta from plume effects. A concept for emplacing launch/landing pads was successfully tested in laboratory environments using a screw and barrel approach to mixing, conveying and depositing materials. It is recommended that materials and systems be developed to TRL 6 for a small-scale lunar demonstration of emplacement of a launch/landing pad via a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) mission to support the Artemis Program.

Nathan Gelino↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA Kennedy Space Center Swamp Works 10th Anniversary: Innovative Research & Technology Development Summary

Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Swamp Works, provides government and commercial space ventures with the technologies required for working and living on the surfaces of the Moon or other planets and bodies in our solar system. The Swamp Works team establishes rapid, innovative and cost-effective exploration mission solutions through leveraging of partnerships across NASA, industry and academia. Concepts start small and build up fast, with lean development processes and a hands-on approach. Testing is performed in early stages to drive design improvements and progressively increase Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). Swamp Works provides concepts, architecture studies and trades, designs, data, technology development, technology demonstration hardware, flight hardware, testing, flight support and knowledge in support of the development of surface systems. It consists of several teams with associated laboratories and test capabilities. The Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations (GMRO) Laboratory and the Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory (ESPL) are co-located in the Engineering Development Lab (EDL) facility high bay. The Applied Chemistry Lab (ACL) is in an adjacent facility and other KSC labs are being influenced by the innovation methods pioneered at the Swamp Works. The Swamp Works was founded in January 2013 by a group of scientists and engineers at KSC with the over-arching vision of expanding humanity and civilization into the solar system by the use of space resources via advanced technology. Ultimately, this will create a solar system economy that will improve the human condition due to the abundance of energy and resources. This paper will summarize the projects and technology development that have been performed by the Swamp Works to celebrate its 10th Anniversary of innovation success.

Robotic Mining↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Moon-to-Mars Planetary Construction Technology (MMPACT) Scoop, Tamp, Filter (STF) Sub-System

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate “champions technologies needed to live on and explore the Moon” [1]. This includes capabilities that capitalize on existing lunar resources and carry out surface manufacturing and construction activities. The goal of the Moon-to-Mars Planetary Construction Technology (MMPACT) Project is to mature these two capabilities. The primary resource on the Moon and the primary feedstock for manufacturing and construction is regolith. In the past, astronauts launched, landed, and lived in a spacecraft. NASA envisions a future where we make living spaces on the lunar surface instead. The innovative technologies required for lunar surface construction may be something never seen before, or they may be adaptations of existing technologies. This paper summarizes recent efforts to develop and test a scoop, tamp and filter (STF) sub-system to prepare and deposit lunar regolith for a laser-based vitreous material transformation system being developed under a NASA contract by ICON, inc., which is hoped to eventually be used for automated additive construction with indigenous regolith on the Moon.

Moon↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Selection, Production and Properties of Regolith Polymer Composite for Lunar Construction

NASA’s Artemis program has the goal of creating a sustained lunar presence to provide unprecedented opportunities for scientific discovery and to ensure industry’s access to the unlimited resources and commercial potential in space. To achieve this goal, NASA must incrementally develop and expand its capabilities beyond the short lunar stays of the Apollo program to a robust continued presence with infrastructure and equipment to reduce mission risk. Kennedy Space Center’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations laboratory (a.k.a. Swamp Works) has partnered with SpaceFactory and LERA Consulting Structural Engineers to develop the architectural and structural design of a robotically constructable unpressurized shelter. The shelter, called Lunar Infrastructure Asset (LINA), is designed to protect astronauts and surface assets from radiation, meteoroid impact, thermal gradients, and to withstand moonquakes. A Fused Granular Fabrication (FGF) construction process using regolith polymer composites was developed. The construction system and associated print parameters are discussed along with the environmental simulation equipment and a summary of test conditions. Test samples were printed in dirty thermal vacuum conditions (~10-3 torr, ~-200 °C,) and subscale versions of LINA were printed on a regolith simulant substrate in vacuum (~10-4 torr). Full scale LINA design optimization, simulation, and construction concept of operations are discussed.

lunar infrastructure↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Swamp Works Regolith Compaction Technologies

While the level of compaction below the lunar surface increases quickly after only a few cm of depth, in many cases during a construction mission there will be a need to excavate and transport regolith to a new location for cut-and-fill or horizontal construction of structures such as berms. In these cases to achieve high levels of bulk density, compaction must be per-formed. Additionally, in some cases surface technologies such as systems that sinter/melt the surface may desire the maximum possible compaction at the sur-face to improve melting/heating performance and the final material strength properties. Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Swamp Works has developed two means of compaction, lunar and mar-tian compaction. Planetary Autonomous Compaction Technology (PACT) which is part of the Multifunction End Effector for Regolith Compaction Acquisition and Transfer (MEERCAT) robotic arm end effector system’s capabilities and the Site Preparation Tooling for Operations on Mobility Platforms (STOMP) vibratory roller compactor. PACT on MEERCAT has been demonstrated to a TRL 5 and STOMP to a TRL 4 in ambient testing. The results of PACT on MEERCAT and STOMP testing will be shared with results for various simulants including BP-1, ICN-LHT-1G (aka CSM-LHT-1G), RDW-LHT-1GH (a simulant developed for the Mason Tipping Point to match characteristics of ICN-LHT-1G), and Exolith LHS-1E. This will also include discussions on methods used to verify relative density before and after compaction and means to verify density effects below depth. To calculate relative density, maximum and minimum densities for simulants were taken from literature and additional lab testing (publication in work).

redwire↗