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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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NASA NTRS1995

High Pressure Earth Storable Rocket Technology Program: Basic Program

The HIPES Program was conducted for NASA-LeRC by TRW. The Basic Program consisted of system studies, design of testbed engine, fabrication and testing of engine. Studies of both pressure-fed and pump-fed systems were investigated for N2O4 and both MMH and N2H4 fuels with the result that N2H4 provides the maximum payload for all satellites over MMH. The higher pressure engine offers improved performance with smaller envelope and associated weight savings. Pump-fed systems offer maximum payload for large and medium weight satellites while pressure-fed systems offer maximum payload for small light weight satellites. The major benefits of HIPES are high performance within a confined length maximizing payload for lightsats which are length (volume) constrained. Three types of thrust chambers were evaluated -- Copper heatsink at 400, 500 and 600 psia chamber pressures for performance/thermal; water cooled to determine heat absorbed to predict rhenium engine operation; and rhenium to validate the concept. The HIPES engine demonstrated very high performance at 50 lbf thrust (epsilon = 150) and Pc = 500 psia with both fuels: Isp = 337 sec using N2O4-N2H4 and ISP = 327.5 sec using N2O4-MMH indicating combustion efficiencies greater than 98%. A powder metallurgy rhenium engine demonstrated operation with high performance at Pc = 500 psia which indicated the viability of the concept.

Chazen, M. L.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Accommodations for Secondary Payloads in NASA's Space Launch System

NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), is moving closer to its planned 2019 launch, with the in-space stage and spacecraft adapters complete and all other major elements of the rocket manufactured and currently being outfitted for flight. Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the first flight of SLS and the new Orion crew vehicle, will verify and validate new systems and provide an unparalleled opportunity for 13 6U CubeSat-class payloads to be released into deep space. Payloads are being developed by NASA, industry, international and academic partners and were selected for the EM-1 flight to address strategic knowledge gaps in the agency's plans for human deep space exploration. Destinations range from the lunar surface to an asteroid to an orbit around the Earth-moon L2 libration point. Missions include studying the effects of space radiation on a living organism (yeast), landing the smallest lander to date on the moon, and searching for water in permanently shaded lunar craters. Propulsion technology demonstrations include solar sails, use of inert water to carry out lunar gravity assist maneuvers, and use of new "green" chemical propellants. SLS employs an evolutionary design approach, with an initial capability of at least 26 metric tons (t) to trans-lunar injection (TLI). The later Block 1B configuration, which will become the Agency's workhorse launch vehicle into the 2020s, will lift at least 34 t to TLI in its crew configuration and at least 37 t in the cargo configuration. In addition to greater lift capability, Block 1B will also offer larger payload volume than Block 1 for both co-manifested and secondary payloads. In Block 1B, various combinations of 6U, 12U and 27U payloads may be accommodated in the vehicle's stage adapter. Opportunities for deep space research once out of reach for small science payloads will be within reach, opening many possibilities for exciting new technology demonstrations and scientific missions. This paper will provide an overview of the capabilities and the status of the Block 1 vehicle, with particular emphasis on the secondary payload accommodations and the deployment system. Brief descriptions of the 13 6U EM-1 payloads will be included. In addition, a discussion of the payload developers' responsibilities and the Space Launch System Program's roles and responsibilities in accommodating these and future payloads will be included. Finally, the author will look ahead to SLS Block 1B and missions beyond EM-1 and the opportunities for 6U, 12U and 27U CubeSats.

Robinson, Kimberly F.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Lessons learned from and the future for NASA's Small Explorer Program

NASA started the Small Explorer Program to provide space scientists with an opportunity to conduct space science research in the Explorer Program using scientific payloads launched on small-class expendable launch vehicles. A series of small payload, scientific missions was envisioned that could be launched at the rate of one to two missions per year. Three missions were selected in April 1989: Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer, and Sub-millimeter Wave Astronomy. These missions are planned for launch in June 1992, September 1994 and June 1995, respectively. At a program level, this paper presents the history, objectives, status, and lessons learned which may be applicable to similar programs, and discusses future program plans.

Newton, George P.↗

NASA NTRS2022

Using the Decision Tree (DT) to Help Scientists Navigate the Access to Space (ATS) Options

Abstract – The Decision Tree (DT) is a tool that uses a tree-like model of decisions and their possible consequences, including outcomes, costs, schedule, risks, and performance. The paper applies the decision tree tool to the Access To Space (ATS) options to help scientists and small sat teams select the best approach that meets their ATS requirements. The ATS DT has three primary branches: rideshare, hosted payloads, and dedicated launch vehicles. Each of these branches has multiple sub-branches of ATS options. This paper describes the ATS options and provides industry contacts for each ATS option.

Rideshare↗

NASA NTRS1979

Getaway specials

The NASA Small Self-Contained Payload or 'Getaway Special' program, allowing small experimental payloads to be flown on the Space Shuttle at low cost, is presented. The program allows any responsible person, organization or educational institution able to enter into a contract with NASA to fly a self-contained research and development payload compatible with spacecraft requirements and of weight less than 200 lb and volume less than 5 cu ft on the Space Shuttle, subject to space availability. Charges, based on package volume, range from $3000 to $10,000 in 1975 dollars, with a $500 deposit required as earnest money. NASA, in turn, will supply the shuttle flight and return, planning and technical information, the cylindrical container in which the payload is carried, control signals from the crew station, electrical power to the payload if available, elementary crew support, prelaunch testing or servicing and postflight information. Procedures for program participation are outlined.

Lee, C. M.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Science of Opportunity: Heliophysics on the FASTSAT Mission and STP-S26

The FASTSAT spacecraft, which was launched on November 19, 2010 on the DoD STP-S26 mission, carries three instruments developed in joint collaboration by NASA GSFC and the US Naval Academy: PISA, TTl, and MINI_ME.I,1 As part of a rapid-development, low-cost instrument design and fabrication program, these instruments were a perfect match for FASTSAT, which was designed and built in less than one year. These instruments, while independently developed, provide a collaborative view of important processes in the upper atmosphere relating to solar and energetic particle input, atmospheric response, and ion outflow. PISA measures in-situ irregularities in electron number density, TIl provides limb measurements of the atomic oxygen temperature profile with altitude, and MINI-ME provides a unique look at ion populations by a remote sen sing technique involving neutral atom imaging. Together with other instruments and payloads on STP-S26 such as the NSF RAX mission, FalconSat-5, and NanoSail-D (launched as a tertiary payload from FASTSAT), these instruments provide a valuable "constellation of opportunity" for following the now of energy and charged and neutral particles through the upper atmosphere. Together, and for a small fraction of the price of a major mission, these spacecraft will measure the energetic electrons impacting the upper atmosphere, the ions leaving it, and the large-scale plasma and neutral response to these energy inputs. The result will be a new model for maximizing scientific return from multiple small, distributed payloads as secondary payloads on a larger launch vehicle.

Rowland, Douglas E.↗

NASA NTRS2013

International Space Station-Based Electromagnetic Launcher for Space Science Payloads

A method was developed of lowering the cost of planetary exploration missions by using an electromagnetic propulsion/launcher, rather than a chemical-fueled rocket for propulsion. An electromagnetic launcher (EML) based at the International Space Station (ISS) would be used to launch small science payloads to the Moon and near Earth asteroids (NEAs) for the science and exploration missions. An ISS-based electromagnetic launcher could also inject science payloads into orbits around the Earth and perhaps to Mars. The EML would replace rocket technology for certain missions. The EML is a high-energy system that uses electricity rather than propellant to accelerate payloads to high velocities. The most common type of EML is the rail gun. Other types are possible, e.g., a coil gun, also known as a Gauss gun or mass driver. The EML could also "drop" science payloads into the Earth's upper

Jones, Ross M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Thermal systems design and analysis for a 10 K Sorption Cryocooler flight experiment

The design, analysis and predicted performance of the Brilliant Eyes Ten-Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE) is described from a thermal perspective. BETSCE is a shuttle side-wall mounted cryogenic technology demonstration experiment planned for launch in November 1994. BETSCE uses a significant amount of power (about 500 W peak) and the resultant heat must be rejected passively with radiators, as BETSCE has no access to the active cooling capability of the shuttle. It was a major challenge to design and configure the individual hardware assemblies, with their relatively large radiators, to enable them to reject their heat while satisfying numerous severe shuttle-imposed constraints. This paper is a useful case study of a small shuttle payload that needs to reject relatively high heat loads passively in a highly constrained thermal environment. The design approach described is consistent with today's era of 'faster, better, cheaper' small-scale space missions.

Bhandari, Pradeep↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fiber Optics Sensing System (FOSS) deployment on Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID)

Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) is a technology demonstration of an inflatable aeroshell to slow down and protect heavy and valuable payloads when entering atmospheres such as those of the Earth and Mars. The ultimate project goal is to enable future payload deliveries to Mars. The LOFTID is based on more than a decade of development of the hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD) technology, which consists of a stack of the inflatable concentric rings that make up the inflatable structure that is covered with a Flexible Thermal Protection System (FTPS) and, when combined, form the inflatable aeroshell. The goal of the LOFTID demonstration was to verify that a flexible heat shield, packed into a small-volume payload, can be inflated exoatmospherically to sizes much larger than that of the launch vehicle fairing and survive re-entry into the Earth atmosphere while withstanding a temperature excess of 1,600 °C. The LOFTID is part of Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) is part of the LOFTID program, where a space-launch version of the fiber optic sensing system (FOSS) is integrated into the avionics bay of the re-entry vehicle to provide high-spatial-density temperature measurements in three strategic locations of the vehicle. The program is part of a partnership agreement between the NASA Launch Service Program (LSP) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) (Merritt Island, Florida) and the main Center of the LOFTID program at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) (Hampton, Virginia). This paper will first give a brief introduction of the FOSS, then discuss how the FOSS was integrated into LOFTID, in terms of fiber sensor integration into various sections of the vehicle, as well as integration of the FOSS interrogator into the avionics bay. Finally, data analysis during the LOFTID re-entry will be discussed.

Allen R Parker↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Adaptable, Deployable, Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT) Enabling Advanced Entry, Descent, and Landing Capabilities for SmallSat Missions

The Adaptable, Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT) is a mechanically deployable low-ballistic coefficient aeroshell entry system which performs entry, descent, and landing (EDL) functions for a broad range of planetary destinations including Mars, Venus, Titan and Earth. The deployable system allows mission planners to develop an aeroshell design that is stowed like a folded umbrella, and yet prior to the EDL mission segment, transforms into a deployed, near-rigid low ballistic coefficient configuration. The ADEPT architecture is scalable from a sub-1m class to 6m diameter entry vehicles for Venus and and it has been studied at up to 15m – 20m scale for human exploration class missions. There has been growing interest in performing interplanetary missions with small spacecraft as secondary payloads and ADEPT offers small satellite mission designers the ability to consider Aeroassist technologies to expand mission applications. The ADEPT architecture introduces a new approach for entry vehicle design. It deploys a flexible 3D woven carbon fabric as the primary drag surface. It is capable of surviving high aerothermal heating during entry, while maintaining a robust impermeable membrane that provides high drag for vehicle deceleration. The ADEPT project team has advanced this decelerator technology via systems-level testing at the one meter diameter (nano-ADEPT) scale. A subsonic aeroloads test (May 2015) and a pathfinder arc-jet aeroheating test (Sept 2015) and a successful sounding rocket flight (SR-1) launch of a 0.7 meter deployed diameter ADEPT (September 2018). The SR-1 flight experiment demonstrated most of the primary end-to-end mission stages including: launch in a stowed configuration, separation and deployment in zero-g, exo-atmospheric conditions, and passive ballistic re-entry of a 70 degree half-angle cone geometry. The ADEPT SR-1 sounding rocket flight experiment had to address challenges such as stowing within the constrained payload envelope, fabric folding, and packaging concerns.

Paul Wercinski↗

DOE OSTI2020

Multihour Stratospheric Flights with the Heliotrope Solar Hot-Air Balloon

Standard meteorological balloons can deliver small scientific payloads to the stratosphere for a few tens of minutes, but achieving multihour level flight in this region is more difficult. We have developed a solar-powered hot-air balloon named the heliotrope that can maintain a nearly constant altitude in the upper troposphere–lower stratosphere as long as the sun is above the horizon. It can accommodate scientific payloads ranging from hundreds of grams to several kilograms. The balloon can achieve float altitudes exceeding 24 km and fly for days in the Arctic summer, although sunset provides a convenient flight termination mechanism at lower latitudes. Two people can build an envelope in about 3.5 h, and the materials cost about $30. The low cost and simplicity of the heliotrope enables a class of missions that is generally out of reach of institutions lacking specialized balloon expertise. Here, we discuss the design history, construction techniques, trajectory characteristics, and flight prediction of the heliotrope balloon. We conclude with a discussion of the physics of solar hot-air balloon flight.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1963

A SMALL MULTI-PURPOSE ROCKET PAYLOAD FOR IONOSPHERIC STUDIES

Payload designed to measure the electron density of the ionosphere

DOPPLER EFFECT↗

NASA NTRS1975

A miniaturized pointing mount for Spacelab missions

A Miniaturized Pointing Mount (MPM) for Spacelab missions is defined and simulation results are described. This mount is proposed to complement the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It uses the same mount isolator concept as the Spacelab IPS but is much more efficient and economical for the accommodation of small shuttle payloads. The MPM is built from star tracker assemblies left over from the Apollo Telescope Mount program thereby assuring low cost and development risk. Simulation results indicate a high level of instrument stability can be expected. The short development time of the MPM would permit it to serve as a precursor to the Spacelab IPS for verifying critical new concepts such as the mount isolation and hold down mechanisms.

Fritz, C. G.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Hitchhiker capabilities

A carrier system has been developed for economical and quick response flight of small attached payloads on the space shuttle. Hitchhiker can accommodate up to 750 lb of customer payloads in canisters or mounted to an exposed side-mount plate, or up to 1200 lb mounted on a cross-bay structure. The carrier connects to the orbiter's electrical systems and provides up to six customers with standard electrical services including power, real time telemetry and commands. A transparent data and command system concept is employed to allow the customer to easily use his own ground support equipment and personnel to control his payload during integration and flight operations. A general description of the Hitchhiker program and the Shuttle Payload of Opportunity Carrier (SPOC) is given and future enhancements are outlined.

Goldsmith, Theodore C.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Synthesis and analysis of a new class of six-degree-of-freedom parallel minimanipulators

A new class of six-degree-of-freedom parallel minimanipulators capable of providing high resolution and high-stiffness for fine position and force control in a hybrid serial-parallel manipulator system is presented. Positional resolution and stiffness of minimanipulators are improved using two-degree-of-freedom planar linkages as drivers. The minimanipulators are based on only three inextensible limbs, as opposed to most of the six-limbed parallel manipulators, which makes it possible to reduce its direct kinematics to solving a polynomial in a single variable and to diminish possibility of mechanical interference between limbs. The base-mounted minimanipulator actuators are characterized by high payload capacity, small actuator size, and low power dissipitation.

Tsai, Lung-Wen↗

NASA NTRS1994

Load-limiting landing gear footpad energy absorption system

As a precursor to future manned missions to the moon, an inexpensive, unmanned vehicle that could carry small, scientific payloads to the lunar surface was studied by NASA. The vehicle, called the Common Lunar Lander, required extremely optimized structural systems to increase the potential payload mass. A lightweight energy-absorbing system (LAGFEAS), which also acts as a landing load-limiter was designed to help achieve this optimized structure. Since the versatile and easily tailored system is a load-limiter, it allowed for the structure to be designed independently of the ever-changing landing energy predictions. This paper describes the LAGFEAS system and preliminary verification testing performed at NASA's Johnson Space Center for the Common Lunar Lander program.

Hansen, Chris↗

NASA NTRS2000

The ISS EXPRESS Rack: An Innovative Approach of Rapid Integration

The EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station or EXPRESS Rack System, was developed to provide Space Station accommodations for small, subrack payloads. The EXPRESS Rack accepts Space Shuttle middeck locker type payloads and International Subrack Interface Standard (ISIS) Drawer payloads, allowing previously flown payloads an opportunity to transition to the International Space Station. The EXPRESS Rack provides power, data, command and control, video, water cooling, air cooling, vacuum exhaust, and Nitrogen supply to payloads. The EXPRESS Rack system also includes transportation racks to transport payloads to and from the Space Station, Suitcase Simulators to allow a payload developer to verify power and data interfaces at the development site, Functional Checkout Units to allow Payload checkout at KSC prior to launch, and trainer racks for the astronauts to learn how to operate the EXPRESS Racks prior to flight. Standard hardware and software interfaces provided by the EXPRESS Rack simplify the analytical and physical integration processes, and facilitates simpler ISS payload development. The EXPRESS Rack has also formed the basis for the U.S. Life Sciences payload racks and the Window Observational Research Facility on Space Station.

Sledd, Annette M.↗

NASA NTRS1999

EXPRESS Rack Overview

Sledd, Annette M.↗