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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

TDS and BMT for CASES ADF (ADF RAMS), acceptance test

The Controls, Astrophysics, and Structures Experiment (CASES) is a proposed experiment to collect x ray images of the galactic center and solar disk with unprecedented resolution. This requires precision pointing and suppression of vibrations in the long, flexible structure that comprises the 32-m x ray telescope optical bench. Two separate electro-optical sensors systems are provided for the ground test facility (GTF). The Boom Motion Tracker (BMT) measures eigenvector data for post-mission use in system identification. The Tip Displacement Sensor (TDS) measures boom tip position and is used as feedback for the closed-loop control system that stabilizes the boom. The deployment and testing of the BMT and TDS systems is summarized.

Davis, Hugh W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Electrodynamics payloads for small rockets

Totally integrated design facilitates electrical cleanliness and light weight, which are necessary in subsonic parachute-borne payloads for electrodynamics investigations. 'Blunt' probes measure ion conductivity, as do Gerdien condensers. Recent finite-element computer analyses combining flow and electrodynamics have resolved problems in determining ion densities and mobilities from Gerdien data. Three-axis electric fields are measured with deployable boom-mounted electrodes from dc through VLF. Splitting the cylindrical payload with an insulator and measuring the current between halves has provided a vertical Maxwell current detector mechanically rigid enough to measure, at ELF, energy related to coupling. A nose tip 'Smith' probe turbulence measurement is usually performed on ascent. Other instrumentation, such as photo-ionization sources and X-ray detectors, can also be included. These electrodynamic measurement payloads are about one meter in length and have a mass of about 9 kg. They can be launched with an Orion-class or smaller vehicle.

Croskey, C. L.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Various advanced design projects promoting engineering education

The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Advanced Design Program (ADP) program promotes engineering education in the field of design by presenting students with challenging design projects drawn from actual NASA interests. In doing so, the program yields two very positive results. Firstly, the students gain a valuable experience that will prepare them for design problems with which they will be faced in their professional careers. Secondly, NASA is able to use the work done by students as an additional resource in meeting its own design objectives. The 1994 projects include: Universal Test Facility; Automated Protein Crystal Growth Facility; Stiffening of the ACES Deployable Space Boom; Launch System Design for Access to Space; LH2 Fuel Tank Design for SSTO Vehicle; and Feed System Design for a Reduced Pressure Tank.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

The 1994 NASA/USRA/ADP Design Projects

The NASA/USRA/ADP Design Projects from Vanderbilt University, Department of Mechanical Engineering (1994) are enclosed in this final report. Design projects include: (1) Protein Crystal Growth, both facilities and methodology; (2) ACES Deployable Space Boom; (3) Hybrid Launch System designs for both manned and unmanned systems; (4) LH2 Fuel Tank design (SSTO); (5) SSTO design; and (6) Pressure Tank Feed System design.

Cruse, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2000

STS-99 Crew Activities Report/Flight Day 1 Highlights

Live footage shows the crew, Commander Kevin R. Kregel, Pilot Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie, and Mission Specialists Janet L. Kavandi, Janice E. Voss, Mamoru Mohri and Gerhard P.J. Thiele, seated in the dining room with the traditional cake. The crew is seen performing various pre-launch activities including suit-up, walk out to the Astro-van, and strap-in into the vehicle. Also seen are the retractions of the orbiter access arm and the gaseous oxygen mint hood, main engine start, booster ignition, liftoff, and separation of the solid rocket boosters. The Red Team (first of the dual shift crew) includes Kregel, Kavandi, and Thiele, who are shown conducting jet thruster firings, activating radar instruments, and deploying the boom (mass).

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Novel Design Aspects of the Space Technology 5 Mechanical Subsystem

This paper describes several novel design elements of the Space Technology 5 (ST5) spacecraft mechanical subsystem. The spacecraft structure itself takes a significant step in integrating electronics into the primary structure. The deployment system restrains the spacecraft during launch and imparts a predetermined spin rate upon release from its secondary payload accommodations. The deployable instrument boom incorporates some traditional as well as new techniques for lightweight and stiffness. Analysis and test techniques used to validate these technologies are described. Numerous design choices were necessitated due to the compact spacecraft size and strict mechanical subsystem requirements.

Rossoni, Peter↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE): Overview

Mission background: Imaging x-ray polarimetry in 2–8 kiloelectronvolt band; NASA Astrophysics Small Explorer (SMEX) selected in 2017 January. Orbit: Pegasus-XL (airborne) launch in 2021, from Kwajalein; Equatorial circular orbit at greater than or approximately equal to 540 kilometers (620 kilometers, goal) altitude. Flight system: Spacecraft, payload structure, and integration by Ball Aerospace - Deployable payload boom from Orbital-ATK, under contract to Ball; X-ray Mirror Module Assemblies by NASA/MSFC; X-ray (polarization-sensitive) Instruments by IAPS/INAF (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali / Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica) and INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare). Ground system: ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) Malindi ground station, with Singapore backup; Mission Operations Center at LASP (Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado); Science Operations Center at NASA/MSFC; Data archive at HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center), (NASA/GSFC), mirror at ASI Data Center. Science: Active galactic nuclei; Microquasars; Radio pulsars and pulsar wind nebulae; Supernova remnants; Magnetars; Accreting x-ray pulsars.

X-ray polarimetry space missio↗
NASA NTRS2019

GOES-16 Magnetometers Anomaly Solar-Angle Based Characterization and Correction

GOES-R launched aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on November 19, 2016. The first satellite in the series, GOES-R, was renamed GOES-16 upon reaching geostationary orbit GOES-16 at GOES-Checkout location (89.5 degrees West Longitude) during PLT (Post-Launch Testing). The GOES-16 magnetometer boom was deployed on December 7, 2016 and magnetometer checkout began. GOES-16 replaced GOES-13 as NOAA's operational GOES-East satellite on December 18, 2017. The GOES-16 satellite operational location (GOES-East) is at 75.2 degrees West Longitude.

Magnetometers↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Optimization of Steering Laws for Geocentric Solar Sailing

Solar sail technology has the potential to be a practical method of propulsion for future deep space Cubesats and small satellites. Although in general, deep space, heliocentric flight is the optimal regime for solar sailing, many near-term solar sail flight demonstrations have, or will occur in Earth-centered orbits. This is particularly true for low-cost, smallsat-based solar sail technology demonstration flights, such as the Planetary Society LightSail 1 and 2, and the upcoming NASA Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3). ACS3 will be the first spaceflight application of NASA’s newest smallsat deployable composite boom technology, and NASA’s first practical solar sail. Launch of ACS3 is currently anticipated for late 2021 or early 2022. In this paper, we will describe the challenges of operating solar sailing spacecraft in low Earth orbits, where, depending on initial orbital altitude and inclination, disturbances due to aerodynamic drag, eclipsing can be of the same order or greater than forces caused by solar radiation pressure. A notional smallsat-class solar sailing vehicle based on the ACS3 solar sail will be used as a reference for trajectory design and optimization studies. As a starting point we will assume initially circular orbits, and a locally optimal steering law designed to maximize the rate of change in semi major axis, similar to that described by McInnes. This will be generalized to orbits with arbitrary initial inclinations and non-zero eccentricities, and to account for atmospheric drag and eclipsing effects. Optimal steering laws for maximizing rate-of-change in orbit inclination and eccentricity will also be explored. Finally, we will examine potential for Earth-centered solar sailing mission applications beyond technology demonstrations, including: continuous observations from inside the Earth’s magnetotail; augmented geostationary capabilities from displaced geostationary orbits; and continuous polar observation for climate science investigations from pole-sitter orbits.

W. Keats Wilkie↗
NASA NTRS1985

Vibration/Libration Interaction Dynamics During the Orbiter Based Deployment of Flexible Members

Essential features of a general formulation for studying librational dynamics of a large class of spacecraft during deployment of flexible members are reviewed. The formulation is applicable to a variety of missions ranging from deployment of antennas, booms and solar panels to manufacturing of trusses for space platforms using the space shuttle. The governing nonlinear, non-autonomous and coupled equations of motion are extremely difficult to solve even with the help of a computer, not to mention the cost involved. To get some appreciation as to the complex interactions between flexibility, deployment and attitude dynamics as well as to help pursue stability and control analysis, the equations are linearized about their nominal deflected equilibrium configuration. The procedure is applied to the Space Shuttle based deployment of boom and plate-like members. Results suggest substantial influence of the inertia parameter, flexural rigidity of the appendages, orbit eccentricity, deployment velocity, initial conditions, etc. on the system response. The results should prove useful in planning of the Orbiter based experiments aimed at assessing effectiveness of procedures for studying dynamics and control of flexible orbiting members.

Modi, V. J.↗
NASA NTRS2017

NASA's Advanced Solar Sail Propulsion System for Low-Cost Deep Space Exploration and Science Missions that Use High Performance Rollable Composite Booms

Several low-cost solar sail technology demonstrator missions are under development in the United States. However, the mass saving derived benefits that composites can offer to such a mass critical spacecraft architecture have not been realized yet. This is due to the lack of suitable composite booms that can fit inside CubeSat platforms and ultimately be readily scalable to much larger sizes, where they can fully optimize their use. With this aim, a new effort focused at developing scalable rollable composite booms for solar sails and other deployable structures has begun. Seven meter booms used to deploy a 90 m2 class solar sail that can fit inside a 6U CubeSat have already been developed. The NASA road map to low-cost solar sail capability demonstration envisioned, consists of increasing the size of these composite booms to enable sailcrafts with a reflective area of up to 2000 m2 housed aboard small satellite platforms. This paper presents a solar sail system initially conceived to serve as a risk reduction alternative to Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout's baseline design but that has recently been slightly redesigned and proposed for follow-on missions. The features of the booms and various deployment mechanisms for the booms and sail, as well as ground support equipment used during testing, are introduced. The results of structural analyses predict the performance of the system under microgravity conditions. Finally, the results of the functional and environmental testing campaign carried out are shown.

Fernandez, Juan M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development of New Research-Quality Low-Resource Magnetometers for Small Satellites

Researchers from the University of Michigan (UM) and NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) are partnering to develop new types of magnetometers for use on future small satellites. These new instruments not only fulfill stringent requirements for low-amplitude and high-precision measurements, they are also enabling the team to develop a new approach to achieve high-quality magnetic measurements from space, without the need for a boom. Typically, space-based magnetometers are deployed on a boom that extends from the space vehicle to reduce exposure of magnetic noise emanating from the spacecraft, which could potentially contaminate measurements. The UMNASA team has developed algorithms to identify and eliminate spacecraft magnetic noise, which will allow placement of these economical, science-grade instrument magnetometers on and inside the satellite bus, instead of on a boom.

Small Spacecraft↗
NASA NTRS2006

Verification of Numerical Solutions for the Deployment of the Highly Nonlinear MARSIS Antenna Boom Lenticular Joints

The MARSIS antenna booms are constructed using lenticular hinges between straight boom segments in a novel design which allows the booms to be extremely lightweight while retaining a high stiffness and well defined structural properties once they are deployed. Lenticular hinges are elegant in form but are complicated to model as they deploy dynamically and require highly specialized nonlinear techniques founded on carefully measured mechanical properties. Results from component level testing were incorporated into a highly specialized ADAMS model which employed an automated damping algorithm to account for the discontinuous boom lengths formed during the deployment. Additional models with more limited capabilities were also developed in both DADS and ABAQUS to verify the ADAMS model computations and to help better define the numerical behavior of the models at the component and system levels. A careful comparison is made between the ADAMS and DADS models in a series of progressive steps in order to verify their numerical results. Different trade studies considered in the model development are outlined to demonstrate a suitable level of model fidelity. Some model sensitivities to various parameters are explored using subscale and full system models. Finally, some full system DADS models are exercised to illustrate the limitations of traditional modeling techniques for variable geometry systems which were overcome in the ADAMS model.

Mars↗
NASA NTRS2003

Neutral-Axis Springs for Thin-Wall Integral Boom Hinges

A document proposes the use of neutral- axis springs to augment the unfolding torques of hinges that are integral parts of thin-wall composite-material booms used to deploy scientific instruments from spacecraft. A spring according to the proposal would most likely be made of metal and could be either flat or curved in the manner of a measuring tape. Under the unfolded, straightboom condition, each spring would lie along the neutral axis of a boom. The spring would be connected to the boom by two supports at fixed locations on the boom. The spring would be fixed to one of the supports and would be free to slide through the other support. The width, thickness, and material of the spring would be chosen to tailor the spring stiffness to provide the desired torque margin to assist in deployment of the boom. The spring would also contribute to the stiffness of the boom against bending and torsion, and could contribute some damping that would help suppress unwanted vibrations caused by the deployment process or by external disturbances.

Ryan, James M.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Bistable Collapsible Tubular Mast Booms

A promising candidate for deployable composite structures is the two-shelled Collapsible Tubular Mast (CTM) boom, which is to be employed on future solar sail and interplanetary small satellite platforms by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This is due to its two omega-shaped shells forming a closed-section which yields large stiffnesses that allowed for high dimensional stability. An inextensional analytical model describing the bending deformation mechanics of CTM booms was used to determine how design variables induce bistability, or the existence of two strain energy wells. Bistable booms were favorable due to low strain energy requirements for the coiled state and had more controllable deployment when compared to monostable booms. The effects of varying lamina material, laminate layup, and shell arc geometries between different inner and outer shell segments on the second strain energy well and stiffness properties were determined for cross-sections formed by circular segments. The full design space for two-shelled composite CTM booms was explored to evaluate the validity of the simple analytical model developed. Optimal CTM boom designs were manufactured and experimentally characterized for comparisons against model results. The model under-predicted the second stable coiled diameter of the complete two-shelled booms by 27-33% and as low as 3-8% for the individual shells wrapped alone.

Fernandez, Juan M.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Initial Satellite Formation Flight Results from the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

This paper will describe the results that have been obtained to date concerning MMS formation flying. The MMS spacecraft spin at a rate of 3.1 RPM, with spin axis roughly aligned with Ecliptic North. Several booms are used to deploy instruments: two 5 m magnetometer booms in the spin plane, two rigid booms of length 12.5 m along the positive and negative spin axes, and four flexible wire booms of length 60 m in the spin plane. Minimizing flexible motion of the wire booms requires that reorientation of the spacecraft spin axis be kept to a minimum: this is limited to attitude maneuvers to counteract the effects of gravity-gradient and apparent solar motion. Orbital maneuvers must therefore be carried out in essentially the nominal science attitude. These burns make use of a set of monopropellant hydrazine thrusters: two (of thrust 4.5 N) along the spin axis in each direction, and eight (of thrust 18 N) in the spin plane; the latter are pulsed at the spin rate to produce a net delta-v. An on-board accelerometer-based controller is used to accurately generate a commanded delta-v. Navigation makes use of a weak-signal GPS-based system: this allows signals to be received even when MMS is flying above the GPS orbits, producing a highly accurate determination of the four MMS orbits. This data is downlinked to the MMS Mission Operations Center (MOC) and used by the MOC Flight Dynamics Operations Area (FDOA) for maneuver design. These commands are then uplinked to the spacecraft and executed autonomously using the controller, with the ground monitoring the burns in real time.

satellite↗