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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 NTRS2015

Success Factors in Human Space Programs - Why Did Apollo Succeed Better Than Later Programs?

The Apollo Program reached the moon, but the Constellation Program (CxP) that planned to return to the moon and go on to Mars was cancelled. Apollo is NASA's greatest achievement but its success is poorly understood. The usual explanation is that President Kennedy announced we were going to the moon, the scientific community and the public strongly supported it, and Congress provided the necessary funding. This is partially incorrect and does not actually explain Apollo's success. The scientific community and the public did not support Apollo. Like Apollo, Constellation was announced by a president and funded by Congress, with elements that continued on even after it was cancelled. Two other factors account for Apollo's success. Initially, the surprise event of Uri Gagarin's first human space flight created political distress and a strong desire for the government to dramatically demonstrate American space capability. Options were considered and Apollo was found to be most effective and technically feasible. Political necessity overrode both the lack of popular and scientific support and the extremely high cost and risk. Other NASA human space programs were either canceled, such as the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), repeatedly threatened with cancellation, such as International Space Station (ISS), or terminated while still operational, such as the space shuttle and even Apollo itself. Large crash programs such as Apollo are initiated and continued if and only if urgent political necessity produces the necessary political will. They succeed if and only if they are technically feasible within the provided resources. Future human space missions will probably require gradual step-by-step development in a more normal environment.

Success factors↗
NASA NTRS2001

Mass spectrometry in the U.S. space program: past, present, and future

Recent years have witnessed significant progress on the miniaturization of mass spectrometers for a variety of field applications. This article describes the development and application of mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation to support of goals of the U.S. space program. Its main focus is on the two most common space-related applications of MS: studying the composition of planetary atmospheres and monitoring air quality on manned space missions. Both sets of applications present special requirements in terms of analytical performance (sensitivity, selectivity, speed, etc.), logistical considerations (space, weight, and power requirements), and deployment in perhaps the harshest of all possible environments (space). The MS instruments deployed on the Pioneer Venus and Mars Viking Lander missions are reviewed for the purposes of illustrating the unique features of the sample introduction systems, mass analyzers, and vacuum systems, and for presenting their specifications which are impressive even by today's standards. The various approaches for monitoring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cabin atmospheres are also reviewed. In the past, ground-based GC/MS instruments have been used to identify and quantify VOCs in archival samples collected during the Mercury, Apollo, Skylab, Space Shuttle, and Mir missions. Some of the data from the more recent missions are provided to illustrate the composition data obtained and to underscore the need for instrumentation to perform such monitoring in situ. Lastly, the development of two emerging technologies, Direct Sampling Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry (DSITMS) and GC/Ion Mobility Spectrometry (GC/IMS), will be discussed to illustrate their potential utility for future missions. c 2001 American Society for Mass Spectrometry.

NASA Discipline Environmental Health↗
NASA NTRS2009

Recent Weather Technologies Delivered to America's Space Program by the Applied Meteorology Unit

The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) is a unique joint venture of NASA, the Air Force and the National Weather Service (NWS) and has been supporting the Space Program for nearly two decades. The AMU acts as a bridge between the meteorological research community and operational forecasters by developing, evaluating and transitioning new technology and techniques to improve weather support to spaceport operations at the Eastern Range (ER) and Kennedy Space Center. Its primary customers are the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), the Spaceflight Meteorology Group at Johnson Space Center and the National Weather Service Office in Melbourne, FL. Its products are used to support NASA's Shuttle and ELV programs as well as Department of Defense and commercial launches from the ER. Shuttle support includes landing sites beyond the ER. The AMU is co-located with the Air Force operational forecasters at CCAFS to facilitate continuous two-way interaction between the AMU and its operational customers. It is operated under a NASA, Air Force, and NWS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by a competitively-selected contractor. The contract, which is funded and managed by NASA, provides five full time professionals with degrees in meteorology or related fields, some of whom also have operational experience. NASA provides a Ph.D.- level NASA civil service scientist as Chief of the AMU. The AMU is tasked by its customers through a unique, nationally recognized process. The tasks are limited to development, evaluation and operational transition of technology to improve weather support to spaceport operations and providing expert advice to the customers. The MOU expressly forbids using the AMU resources to conduct operations or do basic research. The presentation will provide a brief overview of the AMU and how it is tasked by its customers to provide high priority products and services. The balance of the presentation will cover a sampling of products delivered over the last 18 years that are currently in operational use. Each example will describe the problem to be solved, the solution provided, and the operational benefits of implementing that solution.

Bauman, WIlliam, H., III↗
NASA NTRS1974

Safety and the American space program

An overview is presented of the continuing evolution and enhancement of the principal factors involved in maintaining the highest standards of safety in the U.S. space program. Attention is given to the complexity and the myriad details of assuring maximum safety for each individual component before any unit is joined to the whole. Consideration is given to safety experiments carried out at the School of Aerospace Medicine that focus on fire hazards.

Thornton, William E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA's commercial space program

This paper will review the goals, status and progress of NASA's commercial space development program administered by the Office of Commercial Programs (OCP). The technologies and flight programs underway by NASA's Centers for Commercial Development (CCDS), NASA's field centers, and the NASA/Industry Joint Endeavor Programs will be summarized. A summary of completed and upcoming commercial payload activities on Shuttle, suborbital rockets, and orbital ELV's will be provided. The new commercial infrastructure and transportation initiatives will be discussed including the Wake Shield Facility, Consort and Joust suborbital rocket programs, the COMET orbital and recovery program, and the Commercial Middeck Accommodation Module Program with Spacehab Inc. Finally, the Commercial Space Station Freedom Program planned by OCP will be reviewed.

Ott, Richard H.↗
NASA NTRS1976

NASA Space Program experience in hydrogen transportation and handling

This paper portrays the experience gained in the transportation and handling of hydrogen in support of the Apollo launch site at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla., one of NASA's prime hydrogen users in the Space Program. The objective of the paper is basically to reveal the types of systems involved in handling hydrogen, safety practices, operational techniques, other general experience information, and primarily to convey the routinism by which this potential fuel of the future has already been handled in significant quantities for a number of years.

Bain, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Our leadership in science and technology as provided by the national space program

The contributions of science and technology to the success of the United States as a world leader are discussed. Specific instances of the manner in which science advances and new technologies resulting from space research have contributed to a higher standard of living are presented. It is concluded that the benefits of the space program are not reflected only in the material advancements, but that intangible results have also been achieved in greater incentives to improve the present culture.

Kock, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A meeting with the universe: Science discoveries from the space program

A general history of space exploration is presented. The solar system is discussed. The Sun-Earth relationship is considered, including magnetic fields, solar wind, the magnetosphere, and the Sun-weather relationship. The universe beyond the solar system is discussed. Topics include stellar and galactic evolution, quasars and intergalactic space. The effects of weightlessness and ionizing radiation on human beings are considered. The possibility of extraterrestrial life is discussed. Lunar and planetary exploration, solar-terrestrial physics, astrophysics, biomedical research and exobiology are reviewed. Numerons color illustrations are included.

French, B. M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Evaluation of the 29-km Eta Model for Weather Support to the United States Space Program

The Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) conducted a year-long evaluation of NCEP's 29-km mesoscale Eta (meso-eta) weather prediction model in order to identify added value to forecast operations in support of the United States space program. The evaluation was stratified over warm and cool seasons and considered both objective and subjective verification methodologies. Objective verification results generally indicate that meso-eta model point forecasts at selected stations exhibit minimal error growth in terms of RMS errors and are reasonably unbiased. Conversely, results from the subjective verification demonstrate that model forecasts of developing weather events such as thunderstorms, sea breezes, and cold fronts, are not always as accurate as implied by the seasonal error statistics. Sea-breeze case studies reveal that the model generates a dynamically-consistent thermally direct circulation over the Florida peninsula, although at a larger scale than observed. Thunderstorm verification reveals that the meso-eta model is capable of predicting areas of organized convection, particularly during the late afternoon hours but is not capable of forecasting individual thunderstorms. Verification of cold fronts during the cool season reveals that the model is capable of forecasting a majority of cold frontal passages through east central Florida to within +1-h of observed frontal passage.

Manobianco, John↗
NASA NTRS1999

Thyroid Function Changes Related to Use of Iodinated Water in United States Space Program

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used iodination as a method of microbial disinfection of potable water systems in United States spacecraft and long-duration habitability modules. A review of the effects on the thyroid following consumption o iodinated water by NASA astronauts was conducted. Pharmacological doses of iodine consumed by astronauts transiently decreased thyroid function, as reflected in serum TSH values. Although the adverse effects of excess iodine consumption in susceptible individuals are well documented, exposure to high doses of iodine during space flight did not result in a statistically significant increase in long-term thyroid disease in the astronaut population.

McMonigal, Kathleen A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Motivational contracting in space programs - Government and industry prospectives

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has used incentive-free policies in contracting for Apollo's Saturn Launch vehicle hardware, as well as award-fee contracts for major development and early production programs in the case of the Space Shuttle Program. These programs have evolved to a point at which multiple incentive fees are useful in motivating cost reductions and assuring timely achievement of delivery requirements and flight mission goals. An examination is presently conducted of the relative success of these motivation-oriented techniques, drawing on the comments of both government and industry personnel.

Clough, D. R.↗