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NASA NTRS2018

USA Space Debris Environment, Operations, and Research Updates

Space Missions in 2017 Earth Satellite Population Collision Avoidance Maneuvers Post mission Disposal of U.S.A. Spacecraft Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and the Space Debris Sensor (SDS) A total of 86 space launches placed more than 400 spacecraft into Earth orbits during 2017, following the trend of increase over the past decade NASA has established conjunction assessment processes for its human spaceflight and uncrewed spacecraft to avoid accidental collisions with objects tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network - NASA also assists other U.S. government spacecraft owners with conjunction assessments and subsequent maneuvers The ISS has conducted 25 debris collision avoidance maneuvers since 1999 - None in 2016-2017, but an ISS visiting vehicle had one collision avoidance maneuver in 2017 During 2017 NASA executed or assisted in the execution of 21 collision avoidance maneuvers by uncrewed spacecraft - Four maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from Fengyun-1C - Two maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from the collision of Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 - One maneuver was conducted to avoid the ISS NASA has established conjunction assessment processes for its human spaceflight and uncrewed spacecraft to avoid accidental collisions with objects tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network - NASA also assists other U.S. government spacecraft owners with conjunction assessments and subsequent maneuvers The ISS has conducted 25 debris collision avoidance maneuvers since 1999 - None in 2016-2017, but an ISS visiting vehicle had one collision avoidance maneuver in 2017 During 2017 NASA executed or assisted in the execution of 21 collision avoidance maneuvers by uncrewed spacecraft - Four maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from Fengyun-1C - Two maneuvers were conducted to avoid debris from the collision of Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 The 2014-15 NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) study on the micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) assessment for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) provided the following findings - Millimeter-sized orbital debris pose the highest penetration risk to most operational spacecraft in LEO - The most effective means to collect direct measurement data on millimetersized debris above 600 km altitude is to conduct in situ measurements - There is currently no in situ data on such small debris above 600 km altitude Since the orbital debris population follows a power-law size distribution, there are many more millimeter-sized debris than the large tracked objects - Current conjunction assessments and collision avoidance maneuvers against the tracked objects (which are typically 10 cm and larger) only address a small fraction (<1%) of the mission-ending risk from orbital debris To address the millimeter-sized debris data gap above 600 km, NASA has recently developed an innovative in situ measurement instrument - the Space Debris Sensor (SDS) - One maneuver was conducted to avoid the ISS

Liou, J.-C.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Battery Assessment

In 2013, the Boeing Company model 787-8 Dreamliner commercial aircraft experienced three catastrophic lithium (Li) battery failures. The cause of each failure resulted in a single-cell thermal runaway (TR) condition, which propagated to adjacent battery cells. Two of the failures involved rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries, and the third event involved a nonrechargeable lithium-manganese dioxide (Li-MnO2) battery. In response to these Li battery failures, the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) approved a technical assessment of the International Space Station Simplified Aid for Extra-Vehicular Activity Rescue (SAFER) Li non-rechargeable battery. This assessment was conducted to evaluate the SAFER Li nonrechargeable battery safety design features against Boeing 787 Dreamliner Li battery failure lessons learned. Specifically, this investigation focused on assessing the severity of a SAFER battery TR hazard conditions.

Iannello, Christopher J.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Norton-Thevenin Receptance Coupling (NTRC) as a Payload Analysis Tool

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has funded a study of a new method formulated by NASA Engineers called Norton-Thevenin Receptance Coupling (NTRC) to perform coupled loads analysis (CLA). The problem that NTRC attempts to solve is the dependency of the payload organization to high CLA costs, long schedules, lack of standard capabilities to evaluate multiple configurations and unavailability of loads when needed. NTRC solves the problem by providing a tool that payload developers can use to obtain loads at a fraction of the cost of a CLA at any time that it is required. While NTRC is not intended to replace the formal load cycles performed by the launch vehicle (LV) provider, it will provide the ability to reduce the conservatism in defining preliminary design loads, assess the impact of design changes between formal load cycles, perform trade studies and perform parametric loads analysis where many different design configurations can be evaluated with a minimum amount of data required from the LV provider. NTRC condenses all the necessary information into the launch vehicle to payload/s connection points or boundary degrees of freedom (BD). The launch vehicle model is represented by its impedance at its BDs; its forcing functions are represented by the acceleration at those BDs when the payload is absent and the latter is represented by its impedance at the same BDs. Payload responses are represented by transfer functions of selected response to interface BDs. The methodology has contributed to the Loads and Dynamics discipline advancement and successfully passed Peer Reviews. NTRC is exact in the frequency domain. Time domain replication and accuracy is outstanding. A second phase is envisioned to benchmark the whole set of CLA events for the Agency's most utilized Launch Vehicles, and ready it for operational deployment at NASA.

Kaufman, Daniel↗

NASA NTRS2016

Category B Plastic Pane Testing for JSC 66320 Rev A Requirements Verifiable Through Acceptance Testing

JSC 66320, Revision A, Optical Property Requirements for Glasses, Ceramics, and Plastics in Spacecraft Window Systems, lists several quantitative requirements that spacecraft windowpanes must meet. Recently, we were asked to establish a capability at the Kennedy Space Center to perform these measurements on category B plastic panes, i.e., plastic panes that could be used on a spacecraft for long-focal-length photography and piloting. Two of the criteria, normal wavefront and 30-degree wavefront attributes, can be measured with existing equipment and processes (see NASA TM NESC-RP-14-00951, April 2016) and are not discussed in this document. However, the other six criteria-haze, wedge angle, birefringence, reflectance, transmittance, and color balance-required substantial development and are the subject of this document. In this document, we do not discuss the rationale behind the requirements, but we did engage in discussions with the authors of JSC 66320 in order to better understand the requirements and the verifications being imposed on windows and their testing. Accordingly, this document presents our best understanding of the requested requirements and verifications. We also present our methodology for performing each of the six measurements, along with applicable mathematics and a description, with photos, of the hardware used. In addition, we supply the results of a test on a low-quality in-house plastic window as an example of the system operation. Only requirements that can be met by acceptance test and analysis, as opposed to optical inspection, are considered in this document.

spaceflight windows↗

NASA NTRS2018

Digital Image Correlation Data Processing and Analysis Techniques to Enhance Test Data Assessment and Improve Structural Simulations

The NASA Shell Buckling Knockdown Factor Project (SBKF) was established in 2007 by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) with the primary goal to develop new analysis-based buckling design factors (a.k.a. knockdown factors) and high-fidelity buckling simulations for selected launch-vehicle-like cylindrical shell structures. A series of tests are being conducted on large-scale metallic and composite cylindrical shells in order to provide validation data for these new factors and simulations. However, the validation of these new factors and simulations is quite demanding and requires test data that is commensurate with their fidelity. Traditional instrumentation, such as linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) and electrical-resistance strain gages serve a critical role in providing accurate displacement and strain measurements in these tests, but only allow for data to be recorded at a select number of point locations and are not sufficient to provide all the necessary validation data. Advanced measurement technologies can be used effectively to complement traditional instrumentation and gather additional data required to validate these structural simulations. In particular, three-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) was implemented during SBKF cylinder testing to characterize the full-field displacement and strain behavior. Commercially available VIC-3DTM software and user-written data processing scripts were used to generate valuable data and insight into the complex buckling response of the cylinders that otherwise would be impossible to gather using traditional instrumentation. In addition, the measured data from DIC was used to verify measured test data obtained from other instrumentation, enhance test and analysis correlation, and help identify the root cause of anomalous test results that may have gone unexplained if only traditional instrumentation was used. Selected test results that demonstrate the use of DIC on the SBKF cylinders are presented and a portion of the data processing methods are described.

Gardner, Nathaniel W.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV) Life Test

Recent attention has been focused on how NASA and its commercial partners have been placing less emphasis on testing and have become more dependent on analytical methods when evaluating design margins for fracture-critical components. Of high concern is the possible misuse of such analytic models for thin-walled metallic liners for composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has initiated an assessment to understand the limitations of linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) computational methods used to predict fatigue crack growth rate behavior of small cracks in thin metal liners for COPVs. It has been observed that fabrication of some thin metallic liners results in a wide variation in microstructure morphology, which results in varying microscale crack growth mechanisms. The ultimate goal is to develop and demonstrate a test-based methodology validating the safe-life requirements for COPVs with thin, elastically responding metal liners where LEFM methods are not appropriate.

Russell, Richard↗

NASA NTRS2018

Re-Architecting the NASA Wire Derating Approach for Space Flight Applications

Mr. Steve Rickman, NASA Technical Fellow for Passive Thermal, proposed a pathfinder study to develop an apparatus for wire and wire bundle thermal testing to measure their performance, and to support development of thermal analytical models. Development of such capability would enable wire and wire bundle amperage capacity. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of developing physics-based and regression thermal models of single wires and wire bundles. This report contains the outcome of the NESC assessment.

Steven L Rickman↗

NASA NTRS2018

Demonstration of the Space Launch System Augmenting Adaptive Control Algorithm on Pole-Cart Platform

NASA's baseline Space Launch System (SLS) ight control system (FCS) includes an adaptive augmenting control (AAC) portion in addition to the ight-heritage nominal classical controller. The AAC algorithm is intended to improve the robustness and performance of the classical controller. Over the past several years, the AAC algorithm developed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has matured significantly through extensive simulation, rigorous analytical proofs, and a series of successful ight tests on a F18 aircraft. This study was part of a SLS program and NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) joint e ort to further increase the confidence level of the AAC algorithm by demonstrating its key functionalities on a classroom type of example, the pole-cart sys- tem, at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) dynamics and control laboratory. The fundamental dynamics behind balancing an inverted pendulum is similar to controlling an aerodynamically unstable rocket. Both systems are inherently open-loop unstable and requires feedback control for attitude stabilization. The principles behind the AAC algorithm is applicable to a wide range of conditionally stable dynamical systems. Hence, the outcomes from this simple and inexpensive exercise has provided the SLS program with additional confidence into the AAC design, operation, robustness, and application.

Pei, Jing↗

NASA NTRS2019

Radiation Single Event Effects (SEE) Impact on Complex Avionics Architecture Reliability

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has an urgent need to understand how system-level reliability of an avionics architecture is compromised when portions of the architecture are temporarily unavailable due to single event effects (SEE). The proposed activity parametrically evaluated these SEE impacts on system reliability based on mission duration, upset rate and recovery times for a representative redundant architecture. The key stakeholders for this study are NASA programs and projects that expect to use avionics architectures with electrical, electronic and electromechanical (EEE) parts susceptible to SEE when exposed to the mission expected radiation environment.

Hodson, Robert F.↗

NASA NTRS2019

James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element / Integrated Science Instrument Module (OTIS) Cryogenic Vacuum Test Part I: Thermal Architecture

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), set to launch in early 2019, is currently undergoing a series of system-level environmental tests to verify its workmanship and end-to-end functionality. As part of this series, the Optical Telescope Element and Integrated Science Instrument Module (OTIS) Cryo-Vacuum (CV) test, the most complex cryogenic test executed to date by NASA, was completed in 2017 at the Johnson Space Center's Chamber A facility. The OTIS CV test was intended as a comprehensive test of the integrated instrument and telescope systems to fully understand its optical, structural, and thermal performance within its intended flight environment. Due to its complexity, extensive pre-test planning was required to ensure payload safety and compliance with all limits and constraints. A comprehensive thermal analysis campaign was undertaken to predict the behavior of the test payload during its transition to cryogenic temperatures and back to ambient, and exhaustive preparations for off-nominal scenarios were studied due to the increased possibility of unanticipated events during the 100-day test length. This current four-part online course for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Academy gives a thorough overview of the mutiple years of preparation executed by hundreds of individuals to ensure the success of the JWST OTIS CV Test. Part I will introduce the major components of James Webb and specifically the OTIS CV Test thermal architecture. Part II will encompass the extensive thermal analysis performed to prepare for the test. Part III will talk about the preparations for off-nominal events: what analysis was done, and how steps were taken pre-test to anticipate unexpected circumstances and mitigate their impacts to hardware and test timeline. Part IV is a recap of the lessons learned from the thermal perspective for both the payload and ground support equipment (GSE) test conductors. It is hoped that the insight gained from the OTIS CV test campaign will benefit planning and execution for upcoming large cryogenic missions.

OTIS↗

NASA NTRS2015

SOAREX-8 Suborbital Experiments 2015 - A New Paradigm for Small Spacecraft Communication

In 2015 NASA plans to launch a payload to 280 Km altitude on a sounding rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility. This payload will contain several novel technologies that work together to demonstrate methodologies for space sample return missions and for nanosatellite communications in general. The payload will deploy and test an Exo-Brake, which slows the payload aerodynamically, providing eventual de-orbit and recovery of future ISS samples through a Small Payload Quick Return project. In addition, this flight addresses future Mars mission entry technology, space-to-space communications using the Iridium Short Messaging Service (SMS), GPS tracking, and wireless sensors using the ZigBee protocol. SOAREX-8 is being assembled and tested at Ames Research Center (ARC) and the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) is funding sensor and communications work. Open source Arduino technology and software are used for system control. The ZigBee modules used are XBee units that connect analog sensors for temperature, air pressure and acceleration measurement wirelessly to the payload telemetry system. Our team is developing methods for power distribution and module mounting, along with software for sensor integration, data assembly and downlink. We have demonstrated relaying telemetry to the ground using the Iridium satellite constellation on a previous flight, but the upcoming flight will be the first time we integrate useful flight test data from a ZigBee wireless sensor network. Wireless sensor data will measure the aerodynamic efficacy of the Exo-Brake permitting further on orbit flight tests of improved designs. The Exo-Brake is 5 sq m in area and will be stored in a container and deployed during ascent once the payload is jettisoned from the launch vehicle. We intend to further refine the hardware and continue testing on balloon launches, future sounding rocket flights and on nanosatellite missions. The use of standards-based and open source hardware/software has allowed for this project to be completed with a very modest budget and a challenging schedule. There is a wealth of hardware and software available for both the Arduino platform and the XBee, all low-cost or open-source. Along with the Exo-Brake hardware and deployment discussion, this paper will describe in detail the system architecture emphasizing the successful use of open source hardware and software to minimize effort and cost. Testing procedures, radio frequency interference (RFI) mitigation, success criteria and expected results will also be discussed. The use of Iridium short messaging capability for space-to-space links, standards-based wireless sensor networks, and other innovative communications technology are also presented.

aerobrake↗

NASA NTRS2019

James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element / Integrated Science Instrument Module (OTIS) Cryogenic Vacuum Test Part II: Thermal Analysis

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), set to launch in early 2019, is currently undergoing a series of system-level environmental tests to verify its workmanship and end-to-end functionality. As part of this series, the Optical Telescope Element and Integrated Science Instrument Module (OTIS) Cryo-Vacuum (CV) test, the most complex cryogenic test executed to date by NASA, was completed in 2017 at the Johnson Space Center's Chamber A facility. The OTIS CV test was intended as a comprehensive test of the integrated instrument and telescope systems to fully understand its optical, structural, and thermal performance within its intended flight environment. Due to its complexity, extensive pre-test planning was required to ensure payload safety and compliance with all limits and constraints. A comprehensive thermal analysis campaign was undertaken to predict the behavior of the test payload during its transition to cryogenic temperatures and back to ambient, and exhaustive preparations for off-nominal scenarios were studied due to the increased possibility of unanticipated events during the 100-day test length. This current four-part online course for the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Academy gives a thorough overview of the multiple years of preparation executed by hundreds of individuals to ensure the success of the JWST OTIS CV Test. Part I will introduce the major components of James Webb and specifically the OTIS CV Test thermal architecture. Part II will encompass the extensive thermal analysis performed to prepare for the test. Part III will talk about the preparations for off-nominal events: what analysis was done, and how steps were taken pre-test to anticipate unexpected circumstances and mitigate their impacts to hardware and test timeline. Part IV is a recap of the lessons learned from the thermal perspective for both the payload and ground support equipment (GSE) test conductors. It is hoped that the insight gained from the OTIS CV test campaign will benefit planning and execution for upcoming large cryogenic missions.

Testing↗

NASA NTRS2019

Update: Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Metals for Use in Oxygen Systems

Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Metals for Use in Oxygen Systems. Oxygen Compatibility: Additive Manufacturing (AM) is currently and will continue to be, used in oxygen systems; Compatibility studies are a necessity; Risks if not pursued - Equipment Damage, Loss of Mission, Loss of Life; NASA Centers of Excellence leading efforts -White Sands Test Facility (WSTF), Oxygen Compatibility Testing -Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Additive Manufacturing -Glenn Research Center, Metals characterization -NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC), Statistical Design of Experiments.

Tylka, Jonathan↗

NASA NTRS2019

Human Systems Integration (HSI) for Safety- Critical Range Operations at Wallops Flight Facility (WFF)

The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Human Factors (HF) Technical Discipline Team (TDT) funded a preliminary study in 2017 that was narrowly focused within the Range Data Display System (RDDS) scope of display design requirements based on schedule and resources. Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) personnel involved in the previous study asked for a broader Human Systems Integration (HSI) involvement that would span both the RDDS and Flight Termination System (FTS) projects and assist with identifying HSI best practices, via appropriate standards and guidelines, that if properly implemented should result in a more effective and efficient Range Safety Operations. WFF Range Safety Operations has expressed a need to assess the roles, responsibilities, and functions of the various personnel on console during launches to identify existing and potential efficiencies and incorporate them in the new system design. This assessment addresses that need.

Cynthia H Null↗

NASA NTRS2020

Development of Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint Application on NASA Space Launch System

The key measurement to acquire for understanding unsteady flow is surface pressure. Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) is an emerging optical technique used in wind tunnel testing to measure fluctuating surface pressures. Recently, tests were conducted on NASA’s Space Launch System in NASA Ames Research Center’s Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel to determine the aeroacoustics environment and assist in developing the buffet forcing functions. Unsteady PSP data was collected during this test campaign. Steady state PSP data, infrared thermography, shadowgraph, accelerometer data, and dynamic pressure transducer data were also collected. In all 50 TB of data were collected during the three days of testing. During these three days of testing, a repeating transonic and supersonic alpha sweep condition was acquired. This paper presents these two wind tunnel conditions and examines how the temperature influences the PSP data. In the first large demonstration of uPSP in 2015 on an NESC-, AETC-sponsored wind tunnel test, lifetime PSP results highlighted the influence the model temperature had on the PSP data. A best practice of heat soaking the model before acquiring calibration images was followed during the test campaign presented in this paper. An infrared thermography camera and thermocouples were installed in the model to collect more details of the model surface temperature. Data processing schemes for uPSP are still in development but will be briefly presented here as well.

Roozeboom, Nettie H.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Nonlinear Slosh Damping Testing and Analysis for Launch Vehicle Propellant Tanks

Propellant tank slosh damping models for launch vehicle ascent analysis typically employ linear models for bare-wall damping, or assume a single, low-amplitude wave height for baffled configurations. A higher fidelity damping model would incorporate nonlinear effects to increase damping as slosh wave amplitude increases. This paper provides an overview of a technical assessment performed by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) to evaluate lateral slosh damping as a function of lateral force (or wave) amplitude for multiple tank configurations. The increased fidelity of nonlinear slosh damping models, if leveraged, has the potential to reduce over-conservatism associated with the use of linear slosh damping models. This can provide design flexibility to enhance launch vehicle flight control performance, reduce baffle design requirements and/or increase robustness in targeted areas such as control-structure interaction during ascent.

Tannen S VanZwieten↗

NASA NTRS2013

TPSAS-NF1676L-16349-DND

This presentation is a status review to the NESC NDE TDT of the UBNT program that is on the ISS.

Eric Madaras↗

NASA NTRS2020

Navigation Filter Design Best Practices

Onboard navigation and attitude estimation systems are at the heart of almost all of NASA’s missions, either on launch vehicles, robotic science spacecraft, or on crewed human exploration vehicles. Best practices for attitude estimation systems/filters are scattered throughout open literature, however, even within NASA there has been no previous attempt to codify this knowledge into a readily available design handbook. Without such a document, it is possible for isolated practitioners to lack understanding and appreciation of many tried and true approaches to successful and robust filter design and the implied cost/benefit trades associated with them. To aid designers of current and future missions, a handbook of navigation filter best practices has been developed and is introduced here. The development of this document is also an outgrowth of a recommendation made in an NESC summary of lessons learned from the DARPA Orbital Express mission to utilize best practices for rendezvous navigation filter design. With this handbook, future designers have a reference that establishes NASA’s best practices.

Navigation↗