Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “major accomplishments”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission Space Suit and EVA System Maturation

The Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission (ARCM) requires a Launch/Entry/Abort (LEA) suit capability and short duration Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) capability from the Orion spacecraft. For this mission, the pressure garment that was selected, for both functions, is the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit (MACES) with EVA enhancements and the life support option that was selected is the Exploration Portable Life Support System (PLSS). The proposed architecture was found to meet the mission constraints, but much more work is required to determine the details of the required suit upgrades, the integration with the PLSS, and the rest of the tools and equipment required to accomplish the mission. This work has continued over the last year to better define the operations and hardware maturation of these systems. EVA simulations have been completed in the NBL and interfacing options have been prototyped and analyzed with testing planned for late 2014. For NBL EVA simulations, in 2013, components were procured to allow in-house build up for four new suits with mobility enhancements built into the arms. Boots outfitted with clips that fit into foot restraints have also been added to the suit and analyzed for possible loads. Major suit objectives accomplished this year in testing include: evaluation of mobility enhancements, ingress/egress of foot restraint, use of foot restraint for worksite stability, ingress/egress of Orion hatch with PLSS mockup, and testing with two crew members in the water at one time to evaluate the crew's ability to help one another. Major tool objectives accomplished this year include using various other methods for worksite stability, testing new methods for asteroid geologic sampling and improving the fidelity of the mockups and crew equipment. These tests were completed on a medium fidelity capsule mockup, asteroid vehicle mockup, and asteroid mockups that were more accurate for an asteroid type EVA than previous tests. Another focus was the design and fabrication of the interface between the MACES and the PLSS. The MACES was not designed to interface with a PLSS, hence an interface kit must accommodate the unique design qualities of the MACES and provide the necessary life support function connections to the PLSS. A prototype interface kit for MACES to PLSS has been designed and fabricated. Unmanned and manned testing of the interface will show the usability of the kit while wearing a MACES. The testing shows viability of the kit approach as well as the operations concept. The design will be vetted through suit and PLSS experts and, with the findings from the testing, the best path forward will be determined. As the Asteroid Redirect Mission matures, the suit/life support portion of the mission will mature along with it and EVA Tools & Equipment can be iterated to accommodate the overall mission objectives and compromises inherent in EVA Suit optimization. The goal of the EVA architecture for ARCM is to continue to build on the previously developed technologies and lessons learned, and accomplish the ARCM EVAs while providing a stepping stone to future missions and destinations.

Bowie, Jonathan T.↗
NASA NTRS2000

One year old and growing: a status report of the International Space Station and its partners

The International Space Station (ISS), as the largest international science and engineering program in history, features unprecedented technical, cost, scheduling, managerial, and international complexity. A number of major milestones have been accomplished to date, including the construction of major elements of flight hardware, the development of operations and sustaining engineering centers, astronaut training, and eight Space Shuttle/Mir docking missions. International partner contributions and levels of participation have been baselined, and negotiations and discussions are nearing completion regarding bartering arrangements for services and new hardware. As ISS is successfully executed, it can pave the way for more inspiring cooperative achievements in the future. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Spacecraft↗
NASA NTRS2016

Status of NASA's Space Launch System

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) continued to make significant progress in 2015 and 2016, completing hardware and testing that brings NASA closer to a new era of deep space exploration. Programmatically, SLS completed Critical Design Review (CDR) in 2015. A team of independent reviewers concluded that the vehicle design is technically and programmatically ready to move to Design Certification Review (DCR) and launch readiness in 2018. Just five years after program start, every major element has amassed development and flight hardware and completed key tests that will lead to an accelerated pace of manufacturing and testing in 2016 and 2017. Key to SLS' rapid progress has been the use of existing technologies adapted to the new launch vehicle. The existing fleet of RS-25 engines is undergoing adaptation tests to prove it can meet SLS requirements and environments with minimal change. The four-segment shuttle-era booster has been modified and updated with a fifth propellant segment, new insulation, and new avionics. The Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage is a modified version of an existing upper stage. The first Block I SLS configuration will launch a minimum of 70 metric tons (t) of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO). The vehicle architecture has a clear evolutionary path to more than 100t and, ultimately, to 130t. Among the program's major 2015-2016 accomplishments were two booster qualification hotfire tests, a series of RS-25 adaptation hotfire tests, manufacturing of most of the major components for both core stage test articles and first flight tank, delivery of the Pegasus core stage barge, and the upper stage simulator. Renovations to the B-2 test stand for stage green run testing was completed at NASA Stennis Space Center. This year will see the completion of welding for all qualification and flight EM-1 core stage components and testing of flight avionics, completion of core stage structural test stands, casting of the EM-1 solid rocket motors, additional testing of RS-25 engines and flight engine controllers This paper will discuss these and other technical and programmatic successes and challenges over the past year and provide a preview of work ahead before the first flight of this new capability.

Honeycutt, John↗
NASA NTRS2005

Origins and Overview of the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration Program

The goal of the DARPA Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration (SSBD) Program was to demonstrate for the first time in flight that sonic booms can be substantially reduced by incorporating specialized aircraft shaping techniques. Although mitigation of the sonic boom via specialized shaping techniques was theorized decades ago, until now, this theory had never been tested with a flight vehicle subjected to actual flight conditions in a real atmosphere. The demonstrative success, which occurred on 27 August 2003 with repeat flights in the supersonic corridor at Edwards Air Force Base, is a critical milestone in the development of next generation supersonic aircraft that could one day fly unrestricted over land and help usher in a new era of time-critical air transport. Pressure measurements obtained on the ground and in the air confirmed that the specific modifications made to a Northrop Grumman F-5E aircraft not only changed the shape of the shock wave signature emanating from the aircraft, but also produced a flat-top signature whose shape persisted, as predicted, as the pressure waves propagated through the atmosphere to the ground. This accomplishment represents a major advance towards reducing the startling and potentially damaging noise of a sonic boom. This paper describes the evolution of the SSBD program, including the rationale for test article selection, and provides an overview of the history making accomplishments achieved during the SSBD effort, as well as, the follow-on NASA Shaped Sonic Boom Experiment (SSBE) Program, whose goal was to further evaluate the characteristics and robustness of shaped boom signatures.

Pawlowski, Joseph W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

National Space Transportation Systems Program mission report

The STS 41-C National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report contains a summary of the major activities and accomplishments of the eleventh Shuttle flight and fifth flight of the OV-099 vehicle, Challenger. Also summarized are the significant problems that occurred during STS 41-C, and a problem tracking list that is a complete list of all problems that occurred during the flight. The major objectives of flight STS 41-C were to successfully deploy the LDEF (long duration exposure facility) and retrieve, repair and redeploy the SMM (Solar Maximum Mission) spacecraft, and perform functions of IMAX and Cinema 360 cameras.

Collins, M. A., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1980

LANDSAT technology transfer to the private and public sectors through community colleges and other locally available institutions

Major first year accomplishments are summarized and plans are provided for the next 12-month period for a program established by NASA with the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan to investigate methods of making LANDSAT technology readily available to a broader set of private sector firms through local community colleges. The program applies a network where the major participants are NASA, university or research institutes, community colleges, and obtain hands-on training in LANDSAT data analysis techniques, using a desk-top, interactive remote analysis station which communicates with a central computing facility via telephone line, and provides for generation of land cover maps and data products via remote command.

Rogers, R. H.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Orbital operation for large automated satellites

Orbital operations concepts for the shuttle launched Large Automated Satellites (LAS) are discussed. It includes the orbital operations elements and the major options for accomplishing each element. This study is based on the preliminary payload information available in Level I and II documents and on orbital operations methods used on past programs, both manned and unmanned. It includes a definition of detailed trade studies which need to be performed as satellite design details and organization responsibilities are defined. The major objectives of this study were to define operational methods and requirements for the long duration LAS missions which are effective and primarily economical to implement.

Lusk, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1984

National Space Transportation Systems Program mission report

The 515-41B National Space Transportation Systems Program Mission Report contains a summary of the major activities and accomplishments of the sixth operational Shuttle flight and fourth flight of the OV-099 vehicle, Challenger. Since this flight was the first to land at Kennedy Space Center, the vehicle was towed directly to the OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) where preparations for flight STS-41C, scheduled for early April 1984, began immediately. The significant problems that occurred during STS-41B are summarized and a problem tracking list that is a complete list of all problems that occurred during the flight is given. None of the problems will affect the STS 41C flight. The major objectives of flight STS-41B were to successfully deploy the Westar satellite and the Indonesian Communications Satellite-B2 (PALAPA-B2); to evaluate the MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) support for EVA (Extravehicular Activities); to exercise the MFR (Manipulator Foot Restraint); to demonstrate a closed loop rendezvous; and to operate the M.R (Monodisperse Latex Reactor), the ACES (Acoustic Containerless Experiment System) and the IEF (Isoelectric Focusing) in cabin experiments; and to obtain photographs with the Cinema 360 Cameras.

Collins, M. A., Jr.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Neural-based time series forecasting of loss of coolant accidents in nuclear power plants

During the last few years, deep learning in neural networks has demonstrated impressive successes in the areas of computer vision, speech and image recognition, text generation, and many others. However, sensitive engineering areas such as nuclear engineering benefited less from these efficient techniques. In this work, deep learning expert systems are utilized to model and predict time series progression of a design-basis nuclear accident, featuring a loss of coolant accident. Two major findings are accomplished in this work. First, the ability to train expert systems with high accuracy, which could help nuclear power plant operators to figure out plant responses during the accident. Second, building fast, efficient, and accurate deep models to simulate nuclear phenomena, which could be valuable to nuclear computational science. In this work, large amount of time series data is obtained from simulation tools by simulating different conditions of the base-case/nominal accident scenario. Four critical outputs/responses are monitored during the accident (e.g. temperature, pressure, break flow rate, water level). Two approaches are adopted in this work. The first approach is to use feedforward deep neural networks (DNN) to fit all time steps and outputs in a single model. The second approach is to use long short-term memory (LSTM) to fit all time steps together for each reactor response separately. Both DNN and LSTM demonstrate very good performance in predicting the test and base-case scenarios, with accuracy as low as 92% and as high as 99%, where these test scenarios are unknown to the expert systems and are not included in the model training. In addition, both approaches demonstrate a significant reduction in computational costs, as the deep expert system is able to accurately predict the accident 100,000 times faster than the original simulation tool. Given sufficient data, the methodology adopted in this study demonstrates that DNN/LSTM expert systems can be used as a decision support system to model advanced time series phenomena within nuclear power plants with high accuracy and negligible computational costs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Fundamental Studies of Oxidation Reactions on Model Catalysts. Final report

This report covers the reporting period from 08/15/2003 to 08/31/2019. The research activities were focused on the oxidation of methane, nitric oxide, and propylene in addition to contributions on the kinetics, synthesis, theory and characterization of various catalytic systems. As described in the report, we were able to formulate hypotheses, construct specialized equipment and carry out experimental and theoretical work to test the hypotheses. Major advances were accomplished in the fundamental understanding of these systems.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Models to Incorporate Reaction Mechanisms into DG-OSPREY: Fixed-Bed Simulations for Organic Iodides Capture Using Ag 0 Z

As one of the most potent radioisotopes released during spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, 129 I is strictly regulated and must be removed before discharge. Organic iodides (primarily alkyl iodides with different chain lengths, i.e., CH 3 I, C 4 H 9 I, and C 12 H 25 I) comprise ~2% of the total iodine in the reprocessing off-gases and are primarily present in vessel off-gas (VOG). Reduced silver mordenite (Ag 0 Z) is predominantly considered for the removal of radioiodine; however, its capture performance and underlying interaction processes with long-chain organic iodides are not fully understood. Two major tasks were accomplished in this study. First, to improve upon the previous experimental studies where Ag 0 Z was used to capture CH 3 I, C 4 H 9 I, and C 12 H 25 I at different concentrations, we comprehensively investigated the corresponding capture mechanisms by characterizing fully loaded Ag 0 Z samples. Second, computational codes were implemented to perform fixed-bed simulations that account for transport and reaction mechanisms. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted on Ag 0 Z samples that are saturated with I 2 , CH 3 I, C 4 H 9 I, and C 12 H 25 I), respectively. Results indicate that AgI is the predominant adsorption product regardless of the adsorbed iodine species, yet alkyl iodides with different carbon chain lengths may have different compositions of α- and γ-AgI. Synchrotron pair distribution function (PDF) measurements and TGA coupled with a Fourier transformed infrared detector (TGA FTIR) have been performed, and experimental data are currently analyzed. Results are expected to provide further insights into the adsorption mechanisms. The fixed-bed capture performance for CH 3 I was successfully simulated by solving mathematical equations that describe the underlying transport processes and adsorption reactions. The computational framework, Catalytic After Treatment System (CATS), that was originated in our research group, was used to solve the governing equations. Kinetic parameters, including the pore diffusivity and reaction rate constant were obtained by optimization techniques using data from thin-bed experiments performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The performance of a deep bed predicted using the optimized parameters showed promising agreement with the experimental data.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a Pipe Crawler Inspection Tool for Fossil Energy Power Plants

This document presents the final report of the research activity completed during the four years of the project and includes the major challenges and accomplishments. The report presents specific details of the engineering processes and methodologies used to develop the robotic crawler and complete the project milestones. In particular, the report includes sections that address the problem statement, background, development of crawler modules, bench scale testing, simulation development and full scale testing. The report concludes with a discussion on potential paths forward and concluding remarks.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Properties of Electronic Materials

This final technical report summarizes the research conducted under DOE Grant DE-SC0002623, "Properties of Electronic Materials," led by Principal Investigator Shengbai Zhang at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Over the 16-year period, the project employed first-principles computational methods to investigate the structural, electronic, and dynamic properties of a wide range of electronic materials, with applications in energy technologies, optoelectronics, and data storage. Key areas included topological insulators, phase-change materials, graphene and two-dimensional systems, perovskites for photovoltaics, defect engineering in semiconductors, kagome lattices, and ultrafast carrier dynamics. The research resulted in 115 peer-reviewed publications, advancing fundamental understanding of material behaviors at the atomic scale and contributing to innovations in renewable energy, memory devices, and quantum materials. Findings have implications for improving energy efficiency, developing lead-free solar cells, and enabling high-speed data processing. The work has trained numerous graduate students and postdocs, fostering the next generation of computational materials scientists. The original goals were to develop theoretical models and computational tools to predict and optimize electronic properties of materials for energy applications. All objectives were accomplished, with no major departures from planned methodologies. Challenges in computational scaling were addressed through access to high-performance computing resources.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of low-cost fabrication of ablative heat shields

The major objectives were accomplished in three tasks: (1) modification of the ablative material composition for ease of fabrication as well as thermal and mechanical performance; (2) scaled-up, simplified, manufacturing techniques which resulted in cost reductions; and (3) the identification of a significant design problem caused by the differential pressure buildup imposed on mechanically attached ablative heat shield panels during launch.

Norwood, L. B.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Design, fabrication and delivery of an improved single Elastic Loop Mobility System (ELMS)

Several significant design improvements have been incorporated into the second-generation full-scale ELMS unit. A major improved design accomplishment was the increase of the load carrying capacity of elastic loops without severe weight or stress penalties. Redesign of the loop form and size, plus selection of a more advanced titanium alloy, resulted in performance characteristics representing a marked improvement over the first-generation unit. Another important design improvement was the shaping of the loop's footprint into a favorable form for uniform pressure distribution. Other improvements are associated with a more efficient drive torque transmission from the internal drive drums to the elastic loop which are expected to reduce the internal losses of the drive system. The new ELMS unit will be capable of being integrated, on a modularized basis, with a multi-loop articulated ELMS test vehicle as the next logical step in the development of the mobility concept.

Trautwein, W.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Physiology of chimpanzees in orbit. Part 1: Scientific Report

Major achievements and accomplishments are reported for the Physiology of Chimpanzees in Orbit Program. Scientific studies relate to behavior and physiology, and engineering studies cover telemetry, behavioral training, systems tests, life support subsystems, and program plan.

Firstenberg, A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

TERSSE: Definition of the Total Earth Resources System for the Shuttle Era. Volume 6: An Early Shuttle Pallet Concept for the Earth Resources Program

A space shuttle sortie mission which can be performed inexpensively in the early shuttle era and which, if the necessary intermediate steps are accomplished provides a major technological advance for the user organization-the U.S. Bureau of Census is described. The orbital configuration created for the Urban Land Use/1980 Census mission is illustrated including sensors and ground support equipment along with the information flow for the mission. Factors discussed include: specific Census Bureau functions to be supported by the mission; hardware and flight operations necessary for implementation of the mission; and integration of the TERSSE pallet into a shuttle mission.

Source record↗