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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 NTRS1999

Lunar Prospector Extended Mission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Lunar Prospector (LP) as one of the discovery missions to conduct solar system exploration science investigations. The mission is NASA's first lunar voyage to investigate key science objectives since Apollo and was launched in January 1998. In keeping with discovery program requirements to reduce total mission cost and utilize new technology, Lunar Prospector's mission design and control focused on the use of innovative and proven trajectory analysis programs. As part of this effort, the Ames Research Center and the Goddard Space Flight Center have become partners in the Lunar Prospector trajectory team to provide the trajectory analysis, maneuver planning, orbit determination support, and product generation. At the end of 1998, Lunar Prospector completed its one-year primary mission at 100 km altitude above the lunar surface. On December 19, 1998, Lunar Prospector entered the extended mission phase. Initially the mission orbit was lowered from 100 km to a mean altitude of 40 km. The altitude of Lunar Prospector varied between 25 and 55 km above the mean lunar geode due to lunar potential effects. After one month, the lunar potential model was updated based upon the new tracking data at 40 km. On January 29, 1999, the altitude was lowered again to a mean altitude of 30 km. This altitude varies between 12 and 48 km above the mean lunar geode. Since the minimum altitude is very close to the mean geode, various approaches were employed to get accurate lunar surface elevation including Clementine altimetry and line of sight analysis. Based upon the best available terrain maps, Lunar Prospector will reach altitudes of 8 km above lunar mountains in the southern polar and far side regions. This extended mission phase of six months will enable LP to obtain science data up to 3 orders of magnitude better than at the mission orbit. This paper details the trajectory design and orbit determination planning and actual results of the Lunar Prospector extended mission including maneuver design, eccentricity & argument of perigee evolution, and lunar potential modeling.

Folta, David↗
NASA NTRS1999

The Lunar Prospector Mission: Final Results of Trajectory Design, Quasi-Frozen Orbits, Extended Mission Targeting, and Lunar Topography and Potential Models

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) selected Lunar Prospector (LP) as one of the discovery missions to conduct solar system exploration science investigations. The mission was NASA's first lunar voyage to investigate key science objectives since Apollo and was launched in January 1998. In keeping with discovery program requirements to reduce total mission cost and utilize new technology, Lunar Prospector's mission design and control will focus on the use of innovative and proven trajectory analysis programs. As part of this effort, the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Ames Research Center became partners in the Lunar Prospector trajectory team to provide the trajectory analysis and orbit determination support. At the end of 1998, Lunar Prospector completed its one-year primary mission at 100-km altitude above the lunar surface. On December 19, 1998, Lunar Prospector entered its extended mission phase. The mission orbit was lowered from 100 km to a mean altitude of 40 km. Due to lunar potential effects, the altitude of Lunar Prospector varied from 25 to 55 km above the mean lunar geoid. After one month at 40 km, the lunar potential model was updated based upon the new tracking data at 40 km. On January 15, 1999, the altitude was lowered again to a mean altitude of 30 km. The spherical altitude varied between 15 km and 45 km above the mean lunar geoid while the topographical altitude varied between 10 km and 50 km. Various means were employed to get accurate lunar surface elevation including Clementine altimetry and LOS analysis. Based upon the best available terrain maps, Lunar Prospector reached actual altitudes of 8 km above lunar mountains in the southern polar region. This extended mission phase of six months will enable LP to obtain science data up to 3 orders of magnitude better than at the mission orbit. At the end of the operations mission, LP was targeted for impact at a chosen location that allowed optical observation of the lunar ejecta as LP ended its mission at 1.6 km/sec. This paper details the trajectory design and orbit determination planning and actual results of the Lunar Prospector nominal and extended mission including maneuver design, eccentricity vs. argument of perigee evolution, topographical altitude estimation, and lunar potential modeling. This paper provides understanding of the quasi-frozen orbit design of the LP mission, the optimization process of lunar orbit targets, the impacts that the selected lunar potential models play, and discusses the feasibility of meeting the mission goals. Observed evolution of the Keplerian orbit elements are compared to the theoretical predictions using the latest lunar potential model available which incorporates the Lunar Prospector Doppler data. Mapping orbit maintenance maneuver design along with results of the actual maneuvers to maintain the orbital requirements are also presented.

Folta, David↗
DOE OSTI2016

Building America Case Study: Indirect Solar Water Heating Systems in Single-Family Homes, Greenfield, Massachusetts

Solar water heating systems are not new, but they have not become prevalent in most of the U.S. Most of the country is cold enough that indirect solar thermal systems are required for freeze protection, and average installed cost of these systems is $9,000 to $10,000 for typical systems on single-family homes. These costs can vary significantly in different markets and with different contractors, and federal and regional incentives can reduce these up-front costs by 50% or more. In western Massachusetts, an affordable housing developer built a community of 20 homes with a goal of approaching zero net energy consumption. In addition to excellent thermal envelopes and PV systems, the developer installed a solar domestic water heating system (SDHW) on each home. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), a research consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Building America program, commissioned some of the systems, and CARB was able to monitor detailed performance of one system for 28 months.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modeling of Dust Levels Associated with Potential Utility-Scale Solar Development in the San Luis Valley-Taos Plateau Study Area

The San Luis Valley (SLV)–Taos Plateau study area in south-central Colorado and north-central New Mexico is a large alpine valley surrounded by mountains with an area of approximately 6,263,000 acres (25,345 km 2 ) (Figure ES.1-1). This area receives ample sunshine throughout the year, making it an ideal location for solar energy generation, and there are currently five photovoltaic facilities operating on private lands in the SLV, ranging in capacity from 1 to 30 megawatt (MW). In 2012 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) launched its Solar Energy Program, which included the identification of four solar energy zones (SEZs) in the SLV totaling 16,308 acres (66 km 2 ), as well as over 50,000 (202 km 2 ) acres of other BLM-administered lands potentially available for application for solar development. The SEZ areas, named Antonito Southeast, De Tilla Gulch, Fourmile East, and Los Mogotes East, were defined by the BLM as areas well-suited for utility-scale (i.e., larger than 20 MW) production of solar energy where solar energy development would be prioritized (BLM 2012). Nonetheless, it was recognized that solar development in the SEZs would result in some unavoidable adverse impacts, and so the BLM initiated a solar regional mitigation strategy (SRMS) study for three of the SEZs (BLM and Argonne 2016). The SRMS is designed to identify residual impacts of solar development in the SEZs (that is, those that cannot be avoided or minimized onsite), identify those residual impacts that warrant compensatory mitigation when considering the regional status and trends of the resources, identify appropriate regional compensatory mitigation locations and actions to address those residual impacts, and recommend appropriate fees to implement those compensatory mitigation measures.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Indirect Solar Water Heating in Single-Family, Zero Energy Ready Homes

Solar water heating systems are not new, but they have not become prevalent in most of the U.S. Most of the country is cold enough that indirect solar thermal systems are required for freeze protection, and average installed cost of these systems is $9,000 to $10,000 for typical systems on single-family homes. These costs can vary significantly in different markets and with different contractors, and federal and regional incentives can reduce these up-front costs by 50% or more. In western Massachusetts, an affordable housing developer built a community of 20 homes with a goal of approaching zero net energy consumption. In addition to excellent thermal envelopes and PV systems, the developer installed a solar domestic water heating system (SDHW) on each home. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), a research consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Building America program, commissioned some of the systems, and CARB was able to monitor detailed performance of one system for 28 months.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1989

Solar Concentrator Advanced Development Program

The Solar Concentrator Advanced Development Project has successfully designed, fabricated, and tested a full scale prototypical solar dynamic concentrator for space station applications. A Truss Hexagonal Panel reflector was selected as a viable solar concentrator concept to be used for space station applications. This concentrator utilizes a modular design approach and is flexible in attainable flux profiles and assembly techniques. The detailed design of the concentrator, which included structural, thermal and optical analysis, identified the feasibility of the design and specific technologies that were required to fabricate it. The needed surface accuracy of the reflectors surface was found to be very tight, within 5 mrad RMS slope error, and results in very close tolerances for fabrication. To meet the design requirements, a modular structure composed of hexagonal panels was used. The panels, made up of graphite epoxy box beams provided the strength, stiffness and dimensional stability needed. All initial project requirements were met or exceeded by hardware demonstration. Initial testing of structural repeatability of a seven panel portion of the concentrator was followed by assembly and testing of the full nineteen panel structure. The testing, which consisted of theodolite and optical measurements over an assembly-disassembly-reassembly cycle, demonstrated that the concentrator maintained the as-built contour and optical characteristics. The facet development effort within the project, which included developing the vapor deposited reflective facet, produced a viable design with demonstrated optical characteristics that are within the project goals.

Knasel, Don↗
NASA NTRS1997

Lunar Prospector Mission Design

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has selected Lunar Prospector as one of the discovery missions to conduct solar system exploration science investigations. The mission is NASA's first lunar voyage to investigate key science objectives since Apollo and will be launched in September 1997. In keeping with discovery program requirements to reduce total mission cost and utilize new technology, Lunar Prospector's mission design and control will focus on the use of innovative and proven trajectory analysis programs. As part of this effort, the Ames Research Center and the Goddard Space Flight Center have become partners in the Lunar Prospector trajectory team to provide the trajectory analysis and orbit determination support. The mission design of Lunar Prospector is characterized by a direct minimum energy transfer trajectory to the moon with an injection into a circular 100 km altitude polar mapping orbit. The mission design will incorporate the optimization of the reference trajectory for a new launch vehicle. An extended mission includes a periselene altitude approaching 10 km. As part of the navigation, a new lunar potential model will be used that incorporates data from the recent Clementine mission. This paper provides understanding of the design of the Lunar Prospector mission and the optimization process of the nominal trajectory, orbit determination, launch windows, and lunar orbit targets, and discusses the feasibility of meeting the mission goals.

Folta, David↗
NASA NTRS2007

RESOLVE - Starting Point for Partnerships in Lunar and Mars Resource Characterization

The mystery and controversy surrounding the possibility of finding water/ice at the lunar poles of the Moon based on the interpretation of neutron spectrometer data from Lunar Prospector and radar data from Clementine raises questions that both Science and the Human Exploration proponents want answered. From the Science perspective, the determination of lunar volatiles and in particular the increased hydrogen concentration detected at the lunar poles was identified as an important objectives for lunar exploration and understanding the history of the Moon, Sun, and the solar system. From the Human Exploration perspective, the potential for large concentrations of accessible water opens up possibilities for utilizing in-situ resources, known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), to implement a sustained and affordable human exploration program of the Moon and beyond through production of propellants, fuel cell reagents, and life support consumables for lunar surface operations and mobility, and Earth-Moon transportation. Both the Science and Human Exploration proponents agree that a mission to the lunar poles to obtain ground truth data is the only means to conclusively answer the questions of whether water/ice exists, how much, what form, and where did it come from. In 2005, NASA initiated the Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatiles Extraction (RESOLVE) project, and is currently developing hardware under the NASA Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). The purpose of the project was to begin developing technologies and operations that would answer the fundamental science questions, such as What resources are available on the Moon, where are they, what form, and where did they come from? as well as critical engineering questions, such as How will we mine these resources, what chemical extraction processes are the most practical and efficient, and what are the engineering challenges to be faced in this environment? .

Sanders, Gerald B.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Utility Managed Distributed Energy Resources Intelligent Community - UDERMS iCommunity (Final Technical Report)

The Utility Managed Distributed Energy Resources Intelligent Community (UDERMS iCommunity) project, led by PacifiCorp and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (Award No. DEEE0009782), aimed to demonstrate an integrated, utility-managed “behind-the-meter” distributed energy resource (DER) program connecting multifamily, commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings to deliver grid services and improve energy efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Using Models to Provide Predicted Ranges for Building-Human Interfaces: Preprint

Most building energy consumption dashboards provide only a snapshot of building performance; whereas some provide more detailed historic data with which to compare current usage. This paper will discuss the Building Agent(tm) platform, which has been developed and deployed in a campus setting at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of an effort to maintain the aggressive energyperformance achieved in newly constructed office buildings and laboratories. The Building Agent(tm) provides aggregated and coherent access to building data, including electric energy, thermal energy, temperatures, humidity, and lighting levels, and occupant feedback, which are displayed in various manners for visitors, building occupants, facility managers, and researchers. This paper focuseson the development of visualizations for facility managers, or an energy performance assurance role, where metered data are used to generate models that provide live predicted ranges of building performance by end use. These predicted ranges provide simple, visual context for displayed performance data without requiring users to also assess historical information or trends. Several energymodelling techniques were explored including static lookup-based performance targets, reduced-order models derived from historical data using main effect variables such as solar radiance for lighting performance, and integrated energy models using a whole-building energy simulation program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Scaling Energy Efficient Retrofits for Small Commercial Apartment Buildings

With support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO), the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (ICAST) recently completed a three-year cooperative agreement to scale energy efficiency retrofits (EER) on small multifamily (MF) buildings. ICAST EER strategies ranged from low-hanging “direct install” of measures such as LED lighting, low-flow showerheads and aerators, and smart thermostats to major strategies such as HVAC replacement with high-efficiency boilers or heat pumps. As feasible, some projects also included the addition of renewable energy sources such as photo voltaic (PV) solar. When ICAST began the BTO project, it operated in two states and oversaw EER at approximately 80 MF buildings per year. With assistance from BTO, ICAST has grown significantly and now has staff in six states with MF EER projects in another seven, and performed EER on 956 MF buildings. ). ICAST was able to successfully execute this project by 1) Improving viability and efficiency of its processes, 2) Launching two new services and 3) Creating an affiliate program. For the most part, ICAST focused on a specific type of MF property: naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), because it is a significantly underserved market within the hard-to-serve MF market. NOAHs are typically smaller properties (5 to 64 units), owned by small organizations or individual investors looking for positive cash flow. ICAST believes the NOAH market can be successfully served with a one-stop-shop approach that makes it easy, hassle-free, and cost-effective for owners to acquire green upgrades for their property(ies). With the assistance of BTO funding, ICAST successfully used the cited EER methods and strategies to scale-up its OSS approach to service a greater number of MF housing and expand into new geographies. Additionally, support from BTO helped ICAST create self-sustaining programs which will not need to rely on on-going funding.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Economics of Solar with Storage for Municipal Buildings in the City of Orlando [Slides]

This analysis was conducted under the first round of the Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN), which is a program led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The program assembles diverse teams of stakeholders to research solutions to real-world challenges associated with solar energy adoption. This analysis supported the efforts of the Orlando: Renewable and Resilient SEIN team, which consists of the City of Orlando, Orlando Utility Commission, University of Central Florida's Solar Energy Center, and the Greenlink Group. The City of Orlando aims to deploy solar and solar-plus-storage to support energy resiliency, environmental quality, and the continued affordability of the electricity supply. The team's efforts include identifying the total solar potential available city-wide, conducting more detailed analysis for municipal facilities and distribution grid modeling, and gathering insights on municipal-level solar policies and building guidelines to share with other municipalities. This analysis supports the team's work by analyzing the techno-economic potential of solar photovoltaics (PV) and lithium-ion battery energy storage at 14 municipal sites in the City of Orlando.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Roadmap for photovoltaic cyber security

Cyber-secure, resilient energy is paramount to the prosperity of the United States. As the experience and sophistication of cyber adversaries grow, so too must the US power system’s defenses, situational awareness, and response and recovery strategies. Traditionally, power systems were operated with dedicated communication channels to large generators and utility-owned assets but now there is greater reliance on photovoltaic (PV) systems to provide power generation. PV systems often communicate to utilities, aggregators, and other grid operators over the public internet so the power system attack surface has significantly expanded. At the same time, solar energy systems are equipped with a range of grid-support functions, that—if controlled or programmed improperly—present a risk of power system disturbances. This document is a five-year roadmap intended to chart a path for improving cyber security for communication-enabled PV systems with clear roles and responsibilities for government, standards development organizations, PV vendors, and grid operators.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1984

The U.S. and Japanese amorphous silicon technology programs A comparison

The U.S. Department of Energy/Solar Energy Research Institute Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) Solar Cell Program performs R&D on thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon for eventual development of stable amorphous silicon cells with 12 percent efficiency by 1988. The Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell Program in Japan is sponsored by the Sunshine Project to develop an alternate energy technology. While the objectives of both programs are to eventually develop a-Si photovoltaic modules and arrays that would produce electricity to compete with utility electricity cost, the U.S. program approach is research oriented and the Japanese is development oriented.

Shimada, K.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Solar Storm GIC Forecasting: Solar Shield Extension Development of the End-User Forecasting System Requirements

A NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Science Division-led team that includes NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, the Catholic University of America, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and Electric Research and Management, Inc., recently partnered with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) to better understand the impact of Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) on the electric power industry. This effort builds on a previous NASA-sponsored Applied Sciences Program for predicting GIC, known as Solar Shield. The focus of the new DHS S&T funded effort is to revise and extend the existing Solar Shield system to enhance its forecasting capability and provide tailored, timely, actionable information for electric utility decision makers. To enhance the forecasting capabilities of the new Solar Shield, a key undertaking is to extend the prediction system coverage across Contiguous United States (CONUS), as the previous version was only applicable to high latitudes. The team also leverages the latest enhancements in space weather modeling capacity residing at Community Coordinated Modeling Center to increase the Technological Readiness Level, or Applications Readiness Level of the system http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/ExpandedARLDefinitions4813.pdf.

space weather↗
NASA NTRS2020

Capabilities Development: From International Space Station and the Moon to Mars

The President of the United States, in signing Space Policy Directive-1, directed the NASA Administrator “to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO), the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.” NASA is charged to land American astronauts on the lunar South Pole in 2024 and to continue a campaign of sustainable lunar surface exploration in order to develop necessary technologies and capabilities to enable initial human missions to Mars. NASA’s lunar surface exploration plans are part of a continuum of activities utilizing platforms in low Earth orbit (LEO), cislunar space, and the lunar surface to demonstrate advanced technologies, advance operations concepts, and develop countermeasures to lessen the impacts of the space environment and long duration exposure on the crew working in space. NASA is using a capability-driven approach to identify critical gaps to be addressed as part of a focused program to reduce risk for future deep space exploration missions building to eventual human missions to the surface of Mars. Teams of discipline experts from across NASA identify capability gaps between the current state of the art and the needs of proposed exploration missions and develop integrated strategies and roadmaps for filling those gaps. These inputs include assessment of platform needs for demonstration and testing of new capabilities. Generally, the International Space Station (ISS) and Gateway are needed for demonstration of capabilities for Mars transit, while Lunar surface activities focus on development of capabilities and operational protocols for Mars surface. This paper discusses the activities required to advance critical exploration capabilities, focusing on selection of demonstration and test location based upon the unique environments and characteristics of the ISS, Gateway, and potential lunar surface assets. The optimal strategy will be a combination of ISS/LEO, Gateway, and lunar surface testing; however, not all capabilities require a deep space exploration missions.

Boggs, Kathleen Gallagher↗
NASA NTRS1998

Resource Utilization and Site Selection for a Self-Sufficient Martian Outpost

As a planet with striking similarities to Earth, Mars is an important focus for scientific research aimed at understanding the processes of planetary evolution and the formation of our solar system. Fortunately, Mars is also a planet with abundant natural resources, including assessible materials that can be used to support human life and to sustain a self-sufficient martian outpost. Resources required include water, breathable air, food, shelter, energy, and fuel. Through a mission design based on in situ resource development, we can establish a permanent outpost on Mars beginning with the first manned mission. This paper examines the potential for supporting the first manned mission with the objective of achieving self-sufficiency through well-understood resource development and a program of rigorous scientific research aimed at extending that capability. We examine the potential for initially extracting critical resources from the martian environment, and discuss the scientific investigations required to identify additional resources in the atmosphere, on the surface, and within the subsurface. We also discuss our current state of knowledge of Mars, technical considerations of resource utilization, and using unmanned missions' data for selecting an optimal site. The primary goal of achieving self-sufficiency on Mars would accelerate the development of human colonization beyond Earth, while providing a robust and permanent martian base from which humans can explore and conduct long-term research on planetary evolution, the solar system, and life itself.

Barker, Donald↗
NASA NTRS1978

An orbital service module systems concept

An Orbital Service Module (OSM) system represents a concept for an evolutionary program that will provide utilities services such as electrical power, heat rejection, attitude control, and communications to support payload operations in both Shuttle-tended and untended (free-flyer) modes. The initial program step is a Space Transportation System (STS) power extension package (a solar array system carried by the Orbiter and deployed by the remote manipulator system). The power extension package (PEP) develops the major components of the more sophisticated OSM vehicles. Major objectives of such an approach are (1) the continuous matching of a capability to meet real needs while avoiding the pitfalls usually associated with the uncertainties inherent in long-range prediction of future requirements, and (2) the economies attendant with program continuity and hardware commonality. The initial Orbiter-carried PEP and several later OSM system growth options are discussed.

Craig, J. W.↗