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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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At least 253 records · Page 14
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NASA NTRS2021

Spectrum – An Instrument for Multispectral Biological Fluorescence Imaging on the International Space Station

Spectrum is a compact instrument for fluorescent imaging of biological specimens in microgravity and capable of operating within the constraints of an EXPRESS Rack on the International Space Station (ISS). The Spectrum Flight Unit (SFU) was launched to ISSin November 2019 and is available for science investigations as a general instrument. A duplicate Engineering Development Unit (EDU) is available at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Science Verification Testing (SVT) performed at KSCdemonstrated all required functions including five (5) fluorescence excitation wavelengths, growth lighting, environmental controls and monitoring, and high-resolution imaging using a 71 Megapixel camera with flat field lens. The design features key Orbital Replaceable Unit (ORU) components, which may be adapted or changed by future investigators for tailored science experiments.

Bradley Burns↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Coatings for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield Application on Thermal Radiators

Dust acts as a blackbody, becoming hot if left in direct sunlight. This is a problem for thermal radiators where the main function is to radiate heat away from an object. If dust lands on the thermal radiator, the unit will less effectively reject heat, and it will overheat. This can lead to electrical or system failure. The current state-of-the-art in active dust mitigation is the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) which uses an electric field generated by alternating high positive and negative voltages (low current) to eject the charged dust off surfaces. An EDS made from copper coated Kapton is an ideal candidate to be bonded to a thermal radiator and coated with a low solar absorptance, high heat-emitter coating. This work compares the dust removal of copper-Kapton EDSs covered with different thermal radiator coatings in air and vacuum environments. The coatings include AZ-93 paint, Thermal Bright, and Solar White, a coating developed by the Applied Physics Lab (APL) at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The resistance and the thickness of the various coatings impact how well it works as an insulative layer for the EDS. Preliminary results indicate that Solar White may have better properties for dust removal and thermal rejection than the other coatings.

Krystal L Acosta↗
NASA NTRS2022

World’s Largest Liquid Hydrogen Tank Nearing Completion

Construction of the world’s largest liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) storage tank is almost complete at launch pad 39B at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. With a usable capacity of 4732 m 3 (1.25 Mgal), this new vessel is roughly 50% larger than its sister tank, which is located 170 m (550 ft) to the southeast. Once the new sphere is fully commissioned these two tanks will provide a combined LH 2 storage capacity of 7950 m 3 (2.1 Mgal) to fuel the new Space Launch System rocket in support of future Artemis exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Adam Swanger↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Pilot Excavator - Development of Autonomous Excavation Algorithms

The ISRU Pilot Excavator (IPEx) is a Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) project to develop a robotic excavator to demonstrate excavation of up to 10 metric tons of lunar regolith. IPEx is based on the Regolith Advanced Surface Systems Operations Robot (RASSOR) excavator developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and utilizes a counter rotating bucket drum concept to balance excavation forces for use on reduced gravity planetary bodies. To take advantage of the counter rotating bucket drum mechanism, work is being done to develop new autonomous excavation strategies and algorithms. Referred to as “Auto-dig”, these algorithms will allow IPEx to excavate, drive, and deliver its target mass of 10 metric tons of lunar regolith during an 11-day mission semi-autonomously. Due to bandwidth and latency constraints teleoperation will be kept to a minimum, with operators periodically confirming and verifying the excavator’s high-level tasks and operations. While the work to develop optimized autodig solutions is ongoing at KSC, early tests have yielded interesting results that have led to the discovery of additional risks that need to be mitigated in autonomous excavation. Testing has also encouraged the development of new software and visualization tools that provide real-time insight into excavation loads during operation, allowing faster development and helping build better intuition to the excavation process. These tools will help in the pursuit to develop fully optimized digging algorithms that are robust enough to handle hazards such as rocks or irregular terrain.

B. C. Buckles↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analytical Study of a Cryogenic Thermal Control Coating

This study focuses on the analysis of a cryogenic thermal control coating designed to reflect most of the Sun’s irradiance while emitting long wavelength radiation, thus enabling propulsion systems to maintain cryogenic temperatures while in deep space. This “solar white” coating is composed of yttrium oxide (Y2O3) which has properties that are well-suited for cryogenic propellant storage applications. To conduct proof of concept and material development, many tests have been run at both NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Glenn Research Center (GRC) to demonstrate the performance of the coating in the cryogenic regime in both powder and ceramic forms. At GRC, the Deep Space Solar Simulator (DS3) was used to run thermal vacuum tests where the coating was exposed to a deep space environment (~10 K) with some tests conducted under the illumination of a solar lamp. Using the test data, a thermal model of the DS3 test setup was developed to correlate the test results to predict the optical properties of the coating. Once the optical properties were determined, an additional thermal model, based on previous work by R.C. Young quist et al., was developed to verify the performance of a theoretical lunar, cryogenic propellant depot. The latter thermal model also demonstrates the usage of the HLS-UG-001 Human Landing System Lunar Thermal Analysis Guidebook published to baseline Artemis-related lunar studies.

Cryogenic↗
NASA NTRS2022

Un-Numbered Operational Areas PRL 229 Railroad Tie Disposal Area Pond Confirmation Sampling Report

This Confirmatory Sampling (CS) Report (CSR) was prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida in accordance with the CS Work Plan (CSWP) (HGL, 2022a). The CSR summarizes investigation activities performed on the Railroad Tie Disposal Area (RTDA) of the Un-Numbered Operational Areas (UNOA), Potential Release Location (PRL) 229 located at KSC. HydroGeoLogic, Inc. (HGL) prepared this report under Contract Number 80KSC019D0012. The purpose of the CSR is to provide information to evaluate the level of potential contamination in surface water and sediment samples collected from the RTDA PRL 229 Pond and determine if contaminants pose unacceptable risks to ecological receptors. The CSR provides analytical data of 10 sets of surface water and sediment samples collected in 2021. Surface water samples were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs), metals, hardness, and salinity, while sediment samples were analyzed for metals, total organic carbon (TOC), SVOCs, PAHs, and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). The CSR includes a Screening Level Ecological Risk Assessment (SLERA) conducted under KSC’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program to determine if unacceptable risks to ecological receptors exist at PRL 229 Pond. Metals and PAHs were detected in surface water samples, including detections of antimony, arsenic, barium, calcium, copper, lead, magnesium, thallium, zinc, anthracene, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene and pyrene. Based on measured salinity (1.03 to 1.21 parts per thousand), the pond was identified as freshwater. Sediment analytical results also contained detections of metals and PAHs, including antimony, arsenic, barium, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, thallium, zinc, anthracene benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, chrysene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene and pyrene. Potential risks to ecological receptors were evaluated in accordance with the SLERA Work Plan and the Decision Process Document for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program at KSC (DPD) (Geosyntec, 2019), and using the 2021 sediment and surface water analytical results. Potential ecological receptors evaluated in the SLERA include the aquatic community, benthic invertebrates, aquatic birds, and aquatic mammals. The SLERA included Steps 2a through 2c of the Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) process in accordance with the DPD. Using multiple lines of evidence, the SLERA concluded that many of the detected analytes are present at concentrations similar to those in background or reference locations at KSC, and/or at concentrations that would not pose a significant risk to ecological communities. There are no screening values available for the avian community, and PAHs are bioaccumulative compounds. For this reason, food web modeling was completed as a supplement to Step 2c to provide a quantitative evaluation of this exposure pathway. Food web modeling indicates that PAHs are unlikely to pose a risk to birds exposed to site sediment and surface water. Based on the results of the SLERA, the contaminants in sediment and surface water pose no to minimal risk to the ecological communities that could live or forage at the site. Based on the results of the SLERA, no further study is recommended for the RTDA Pond at PRL 229.

Confirmation Sampling↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Coatings for the Electrodynamic Dust Shield Application on Thermal Radiators

Space dust acts as a blackbody, becoming hot if left in direct sunlight. This is a problem for thermal radiators used in space missions, where the main function is to radiate heat away from an object. If dust lands on the thermal radiator, the unit will less effectively reject heat, and it will overheat, leading to electrical or system failure. The current state-of-the-art in active dust mitigation is the Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) which uses an electric field generated by alternating high positive and negative voltages (low current) to eject the charged dust off surfaces. An EDS made from copper coated Kapton is an ideal candidate to be bonded to a thermal radiator and coated with a low solar absorptance, high heat-emitter coating. This work compares the dust removal of copper-Kapton EDSs covered with different thermal radiator coatings in air and vacuum environments. The coatings include AZ-93 paint, Thermal Bright, and Solar White, a coating developed by the Applied Physics Lab (APL) at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The resistance and the thickness of the various coatings impact how well it works as an insulative layer for the EDS. Preliminary results indicate that Solar White may have better properties for dust removal and thermal rejection than the other coatings.

Krystal L. Acosta↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analysis of the Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler Measurement Accuracy

Space launch vehicle trajectory design uses atmospheric winds to determine vehicle performance and structural margin assessments prior to flight. For launches at the United States Space Force’s Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), tropospheric wind measurements come from either in-situ or remote sensing instrumentation. The use of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) 48-MHz Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) has become the primary wind measurement source for several launch vehicles. Extensive evaluations of TDRWP data have occurred to quantify the system performance. This includes quantifying the accuracy of wind estimates over the entire sampling altitude as well as at discrete altitudes. This paper will describe methodology and analyses used to quantify the measurement accuracy of TDRWP data when operating in an alternative mission support mode over a 2-year period from March 2020 to March 2022.

Meghan E. Carrico↗
NASA NTRS2023

Cold Facts Spotlight—NASA Kennedy Cryogenics Test Laboratory

For over 20 years, the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) (CSA CSM) has stood as a one-of-a kind capability for research, development, and application of cross-cutting technologies to meet both government and industry needs. With four overarching technology focus areas—Thermal insulation systems, Integrated refrigeration systems, Advanced propellant transfer systems, and Low-temperature materials and applications—and a theme of Energy Efficient Cryogenics, the Cryo Test Lab has pioneered technologies such as Integrated Refrigeration and Storage (IRAS) for advanced liquid hydrogen (LH2) operations; aerogel blanket insulation, the world’s best insulation material in ambient pressure and soft-vacuum; and the patented-pending Cryogenic Flux Capacitor3 for high-density storage, and on-demand supply of cryogenic fluids.

Adam Swanger↗
NASA NTRS2023

Stand Alone Electrical Equipment PRL 227a (Formerly PRL 227 LOC3) Confirmatory Sampling Report Addendum

HydroGeoLogic, Inc. (HGL) prepared this Confirmatory Sampling Report Addendum (CSRA) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. PRL 227a Location of Concern (LOC) 3 is located on 10th Street, west of the former Vertical Processing Facility (M7-1469), SWMU 077. The Load Break Switches (LBS) were installed in 1986 and are suspected to have formerly contained dielectric fluid that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The LBS were replaced in 1993 with new LBSs that do not contain PCBs. The LBS are located on a concrete pad surrounded by grass that is mowed and maintained. A total of 330 soil samples were collected between June 2020 and December 2022 from 88 locations at depths ranging from 0-0.5 to 19-20 ft bls. In general, soil samples collected from depths less than 5 ft were collected via hand auger and samples collected beyond 5 ft bls were collected using a direct-push technology drill rig. Soil samples collected from greater than 5 ft bls to 20 ft bls were collected to confirm PCBs were not present at depth in the aquifer matrix. Delineation samples were collected using an approximately 20 ft horizontal spacing. PCB impacted soil has been completely delineated to the State of Florida residential soil cleanup target level (SCTL) at PRL 227a horizontally and vertically. PCB concentrations have been identified above the residential and industrial SCTL as well as concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm requiring coordination with EPA and disposal at a facility authorized under TSCA. Based upon the CSRA sampling, an interim measure is recommended to remove PCB impacted soil above the residential SCTL. The total volume of PCB impacted soil to be removed is 591.6 cubic yards. This includes approximately 9.3 cubic yards of soil with PCB concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm. An interim measure work plan is included as an attachment to this report.

electrical equipment↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Analysis of the Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler Measurement Accuracy

Space launch vehicle trajectory design uses atmospheric winds to determine vehicle performance and structural margin assessments prior to flight. For launches at the United States Space Force’s Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), tropospheric wind measurements come from either in-situ or remote sensing instrumentation. The use of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center (KSC) 48-MHz Tropospheric Doppler Radar Wind Profiler (TDRWP) has become the primary wind measurement source for several launch vehicles. Extensive evaluations of TDRWP data have occurred to quantify the system performance. This includes quantifying the accuracy of wind estimates over the entire sampling altitude as well as at discrete altitudes. This paper will describe methodology and analyses used to quantify the measurement accuracy of TDRWP data when operating in an alternative mission support mode over a 2-year period from March 2020 to March 2022.

Meghan E Carrico↗
NASA NTRS2020

Development of a Display Tool to Quality Control Weather Balloon Data for Space Launch Vehicles Using Python

Continuous atmospheric data analysis is an important factor for space launch vehicle design and operations. The balloon quality control tool was developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (NEB) for monitoring quality control processes and verifying the automated flags created on the balloon data sets analyzed. The data sets currently analyzed are comprised of high-resolution and low-resolution balloon data from NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force’s Eastern range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The NEB was tasked to perform a quality assessment of these data sets and needed a tool to confirm the quality control (QC) flags produced from an automated process and add additional QC flags if necessary. This Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed to visualize all of the data from these balloon sets, display any flags from the automated QC process, and add additional flags to variables if necessary. The GUI was developed in Python 3.6 utilizing different packages available such as pandas for data analysis and manipulation, NumPy for high-performance multidimensional array and tools to compute with and manipulate arrays, Matplotlib for plotting data and Tkinter to build the GUI.

Jessica K Headley↗
NASA NTRS2020

Development of a Display Tool to Quality Control Weather Balloon Data for Space Launch Vehicles

Continuous atmospheric data analysis is an important factor for space launch vehicle design and operations. The balloon quality control tool was developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (NEB) for monitoring quality control processes and verifying the automated flags created on the balloon data sets analyzed. The data sets currently analyzed are comprised of high-resolution and low-resolution balloon data from NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force’s Eastern range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The NEB was tasked to perform a quality assessment of these data sets and needed a tool to confirm the quality control (QC) flags produced from an automated process and add additional QC flags if necessary. This Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed to visualize all of the data from these balloon sets, display any flags from the automated QC process, and add additional flags to variables if necessary. The GUI was developed in Python 3.6 utilizing different packages available such as pandas for data analysis and manipulation, NumPy for high-performance multidimensional array and tools to compute with and manipulate arrays, Matplotlib for plotting data and Tkinter to build the GUI.

Jessica K Headley↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design, Fabrication, Testing and Validation of a Ruggedized Fiber Optic Sensing System (FOSS) for Launch Application

Fiber-optic sensors based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is desirable for structural health monitoring and is used for various aerospace applications such as measuring strain and temperature, where a single optical fiber can multiplex hundreds of FBG sensors. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) (Edwards, California) has been developing an optical fiber-based sensing suite called Fiber Optics Sensing System (FOSS) over the past two decades. Successful strain monitoring flight demonstrations such as the NASA Ikhana (General Atomics, San Diego, California) remotely piloted aircraft and the X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed (Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, Maryland) remotely piloted subscale aircraft have been performed. Interest in adapting fiber-optic sensors for aerospace applications has led to commissioning the development of a ruggedized FOSS system for spaceflight through the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) (Merritt Island, Florida). In this paper, a ruggedized FOSS suitable for a launch environment is discussed in detail. Thermal analysis and enclosure design will be discussed as well as environmental testing such as shock, random vibration, thermal vacuum, and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC). With all relevant environmental testing completed, a ruggedized FOSS unit has successfully passed all testing and is now deemed space-launch ready.

Allen R. Parker, Jr↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ground Winds Experienced by the Space Launch System Rocket on the Pad before the Artemis I Launch

Over the course of the development of the Space Launch System (SLS) human-rated heavy-lift launch vehicle, the magnitude and nature of the ground winds experienced by the rocket and its Mobile Launcher (ML) on Pad 39B at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) became a more critical environment that required characterization as well as a more accurate prediction of the vehicle and ML response in the form of detailed wind loads. The numerous reasons for the sensitivity of the launch system to these ground winds and the growing importance of high fidelity rollout and launch pad wind loading estimates are discussed in this article. A description of the wind measurement instrumentation at and around the Launch Complex is provided. A methodology is developed to estimate from these raw anemometer measurements the winds experienced by the rocket and mobile launcher on the launch pad, either in real time or during post-processing. An analysis is then performed and documented on the 121 days worth of wind measurements recorded while the SLS vehicle was secured on the pad during various launch attempts and wet dress rehearsals. This included the occurrence of a tropical storm that evolved into a named hurricane by the time it arrived on Cape Canaveral and hit the vehicle while sitting on the launch pad. Plans for further developments to improve on this predictive capability in preparation for Artemis II are also presented.

Jeremy T Pinier↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ground Winds Experienced by the Space Launch System Rocket on the Pad before the Artemis I Launch

Over the course of the development of the Space Launch System (SLS) human-rated heavy-lift launch vehicle, the magnitude and nature of the ground winds experienced by the rocket and its Mobile Launcher (ML) on Pad 39B at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) became a more critical environment that required characterization as well as a more accurate prediction of the vehicle and ML response in the form of detailed wind loads. The numerous reasons for the sensitivity of the launch system to these ground winds and the growing importance of high fidelity rollout and launch pad wind loading estimates are discussed in this article. A description of the wind measurement instrumentation at and around the Launch Complex is provided. A methodology is developed to estimate from these raw anemometer measurements the winds experienced by the rocket and mobile launcher on the launch pad, either in real time or during post-processing. An analysis is then performed and documented on the 121 days worth of wind measurements recorded while the SLS vehicle was secured on the pad during various launch attempts and wet dress rehearsals. This included the occurrence of a tropical storm that evolved into a named hurricane by the time it arrived on Cape Canaveral and hit the vehicle while sitting on the launch pad. Plans for further developments to improve on this predictive capability in preparation for Artemis II are also presented.

Jeremy T. Pinier↗
NASA NTRS2023

SUBSLAB SOIL GAS SAMPLING PLAN FOR COMMUNICATION, MAINTENANCE, AND STORAGE, SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT UNIT (SWMU) 082

HydroGeoLogic, Inc. (HGL) prepared this Subslab Soil Gas (SSSG) Sampling Plan for Communications, Maintenance, and Storage (CM&S), Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 082 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, under Contract Number 80KSC019D0012, Task Order 80KSC021F0097 technical directive #1, awarded on September 26, 2022. As described herein, all SSSG sampling and evaluations will be completed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA), OSWER Technical Guide for Assessing and Mitigating the Vapor Intrusion Pathway from Subsurface Vapor Sources to Indoor Air (EPA, 2015).

Jason J Bublitz↗
NASA NTRS2026

Thermal Performance of Common Bulk-Fill Cryogenic Insulation Materials in Helium and Hydrogen Background Gases

Maritime shipping of vast quantities of liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) will be necessary to facilitate a global hydrogen ecosystem; with some studies estimating volumes up to 172,000 m 3 for individual tanker ships, and requiring stationary storage tanks at terminals of 50,000 m 3 to 100,000 m 3 —ten to fifteen times larger than the current largest tank, located at launch pad B at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Such a radical scale-up will push the boundary of traditional, vacuum-insulated tank designs. Hence, a potential need exists for non-vacuum solutions, which necessitates exploring the thermal performance of insulation materials in non-condensable background gasses at LH 2 temperatures, namely helium and hydrogen. Testing of two bulk-fill insulation materials common to large LH 2 storage tanks, perlite and glass bubbles, in helium and hydrogen was recently conducted by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at KSC using the Cryostat-100 liquid nitrogen boiloff calorimeter per the ASTM C1774 standard methodology. Effective thermal conductivity (k e ) and heat flux (q) results for each insulation/gas combination are presented across the full vacuum range, as well as thermal profiles through the insulation thickness between 78 K and 293 K.

A M Swanger↗