Engineering topics

Percy, T. K.

Publications and source records attributed to Percy, T. K..

3 records

NASA NTRS2014

Wide Field X-Ray Telescope Mission Concept Study Results

The Wide Field X-Ray Telescope (WFXT) is an astrophysics mission concept for detecting and studying extra-galactic x-ray sources, including active galactic nuclei and clusters of galaxies, in an effort to further understand cosmic evolution and structure. This Technical Memorandum details the results of a mission concept study completed by the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in 2012. The design team analyzed the mission and instrument requirements, and designed a spacecraft that enables the WFXT mission while using high heritage components. Design work included selecting components and sizing subsystems for power, avionics, guidance, navigation and control, propulsion, structures, command and data handling, communications, and thermal control.

Hopkins, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Opening the Solar System: An Advanced Nuclear Spacecraft for Human Exploration

Human exploration of the solar system is limited by our technology, not our imagination. We dream of a time when we can freely travel among the planets and truly become a spacefaring people. However, the current state of our technology limits our options for architecting missions to other planets. Instead of sailing the seas of space in the way that we cruise the seas of Earth, our limited propulsion technology requires us to depart Earth on a giant cluster of gas tanks and return in a lifeboat. This inefficient approach to exploration is evident in many of today's leading mission plans for human flights to Mars, asteroids, and other destinations. The cost and complexity of this approach to mission architecting makes it extremely difficult to realize our dreams of exploration beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This does not need to be the case. Researchers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have been investigating the feasibility of a new take on nuclear propulsion with the performance to enable a paradigm shift in human space exploration. During the fall of 2013, engineers at MSFC's Advanced Concepts Office developed a spacecraft concept (pictured below) around this new propulsion technology and redefined the human Mars mission to show its full potential. This spacecraft, which can be launched with a fleet of soon-to-be available SLS launch vehicles, is fueled primarily with hydrogen, and is fully reusable with no staging required. The reusable nature of this design enables a host of alternative mission architectures that more closely resemble an ocean voyage than our current piecemeal approach to exploration.

Werka, R. O.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Technology Demonstration: Prephase A Government Point-of-Departure Concept Study

The primary purpose of this study was to define a point-of-departure prephase A mission concept for the cryogenic propellant storage and transfer technology demonstration mission to be conducted by the NASA Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT). The mission concept includes identification of the cryogenic propellant management technologies to be demonstrated, definition of a representative mission timeline, and definition of a viable flight system design concept. The resulting mission concept will serve as a point of departure for evaluating alternative mission concepts and synthesizing the results of industry- defined mission concepts developed under the OCT contracted studies

Mulqueen, J. A.↗