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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS2012

Use of Aquaporins to Achieve Needed Water Purity on the International Space Station for the Extravehicular Mobility Unit Space Suit System

With the retirement of the U.S. Space Shuttle fleet, the supply of extremely high quality water required for the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) space suit cooling on the International Space Station (ISS) will become a significant operational hardware challenge in the very near future. One proposed solution is the use of a filtration system consisting of a semipermeable membrane embedded with aquaporin proteins, a special class of transmembrane proteins that facilitate passive, selective transport of water in vivo. The specificity of aquaporins is such that only water is allowed through the protein structure, and it is this novel property that invites their adaptation for use in water filtration systems, specifically those onboard the ISS for the EMU space suit system. These proteins are also currently being developed for use in terrestrial filtration systems.

Hill, Terry R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Kennedy Space Center

Among 2011's many accomplishments, we safely retired the Space Shuttle Program after 30 incredible years; completed the International Space Station and are taking steps to enable it to reach its full potential as a multi-purpose laboratory; and helped to expand scientific knowledge with missions like Aquarius, GRAIL, and the Mars Science Laboratory. Responding to national budget challenges, we are prioritizing critical capabilities and divesting ourselves of assets no longer needed for NASA's future exploration programs. Since these facilities do not have to be maintained or demolished, the government saves money. At the same time, our commercial partners save money because they do not have to build new facilities. It is a win-win for everyone. Moving forward, 2012 will be even more historically significant as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Kennedy Space Center. In the coming year, KSC will facilitate commercial transportation to low-Earth orbit and support the evolution of the Space Launch System and Orion crew vehicle as they ready for exploration missions, which will shape how human beings view the universe. While NASA's Vision is to lead scientific and technological advances in aeronautics and space for a Nation on the frontier of discovery KSC's vision is to be the world's preeminent launch complex for government and commercial space access, enabling the world to explore and work in space. KSC's Mission is to safely manage, develop, integrate, and sustain space systems through partnerships that enable innovative, diverse access to space and inspires the Nation's future explorers.

Griffin, Amanda↗
NASA NTRS2012

Materials Test Branch

The Materials Test Branch resides at Marshall Space Flight Center's Materials and Processing laboratory and has a long history of supporting NASA programs from Mercury to the recently retired Space Shuttle. The Materials Test Branch supports its customers by supplying materials testing expertise in a wide range of applications. The Materials Test Branch is divided into three Teams, The Chemistry Team, The Tribology Team and the Mechanical Test Team. Our mission and goal is to provide world-class engineering excellence in materials testing with a special emphasis on customer service.

Gordon, Gail↗
NASA NTRS2012

System Engineering and Technical Challenges Overcome in the J-2X Rocket Engine Development Project

Beginning in 2006, NASA initiated the J-2X engine development effort to develop an upper stage propulsion system to enable the achievement of the primary objectives of the Constellation program (CxP): provide continued access to the International Space Station following the retirement of the Space Station and return humans to the moon. The J-2X system requirements identified to accomplish this were very challenging and the time expended over the five years following the beginning of the J- 2X effort have been noteworthy in the development of innovations in both the fields for liquid rocket propulsion and system engineering.

Ballard, Richard O.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Application of Fiber Optic Instrumentation

Fiber optic sensing technology has emerged in recent years offering tremendous advantages over conventional aircraft instrumentation systems. The advantages of fiber optic sensors over their conventional counterparts are well established; they are lighter, smaller, and can provide enormous numbers of measurements at a fraction of the total sensor weight. After a brief overview of conventional and fiber-optic sensing technology, this paper presents an overview of the research that has been conducted at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in recent years to advance this promising new technology. Research and development areas include system and algorithm development, sensor characterization and attachment, and real-time experimentally-derived parameter monitoring for ground- and flight-based applications. The vision of fiber optic smart structure technology is presented and its potential benefits to aerospace vehicles throughout the lifecycle, from preliminary design to final retirement, are presented.

Richards, William Lance↗
NASA NTRS2012

Cargo Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Environmental Control and Life Support Integration

The International Space Station s (ISS) largest crew and cargo resupply vehicle, the Space Shuttle, retired in 2011. To help augment ISS resupply and return capability, NASA announced a project to promote the development of Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) for the ISS in January of 2006. By December of 2008, NASA entered into space act agreements with SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation for COTS development and ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS). The intent of CRS is to fly multiple resupply missions each year to ISS with SpaceX s Dragon vehicle providing resupply and return capabilities and Orbital Science Corporation s Cygnus vehicle providing resupply capability to ISS. The ISS program launched an integration effort to ensure that these new commercial vehicles met the requirements of the ISS vehicle and ISS program needs. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) requirements cover basic cargo vehicle needs including maintaining atmosphere, providing atmosphere circulation, and fire detection and suppression. The ISS-COTS integration effort brought unique challenges combining NASA s established processes and design knowledge with the commercial companies new initiatives and limited experience with human space flight. This paper will discuss the ISS ECLS COTS integration effort including challenges, successes, and lessons learned.

Duchesne, Stephanie↗
NASA NTRS2012

Space Launch System Accelerated Booster Development Cycle

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA is seeking to reinvigorate the national space program and recapture the public s interest in human space exploration by developing missions to the Moon, near-earth asteroids, Lagrange points, Mars, and beyond. The would-be successor to the Space Shuttle, NASA s Constellation Program, planned to take humans back to the Moon by 2020, but due to budgetary constraints was cancelled in 2010 in search of a more "affordable, sustainable, and realistic" concept2. Following a number of studies, the much anticipated Space Launch System (SLS) was unveiled in September of 2011. The SLS core architecture consists of a cryogenic first stage with five Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), and a cryogenic second stage using a new J-2X engine3. The baseline configuration employs two 5-segment solid rocket boosters to achieve a 70 metric ton payload capability, but a new, more capable booster system will be required to attain the goal of 130 metric tons to orbit. To this end, NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center recently released a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) entitled "Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction." The increased emphasis on affordability is evident in the language used in the NRA, which is focused on risk reduction "leading to an affordable Advanced Booster that meets the evolved capabilities of SLS" and "enabling competition" to "enhance SLS affordability. The purpose of the work presented in this paper is to perform an independent assessment of the elements that make up an affordable and realistic path forward for the SLS booster system, utilizing advanced design methods and technology evaluation techniques. The goal is to identify elements that will enable a more sustainable development program by exploring the trade space of heavy lift booster systems and focusing on affordability, operability, and reliability at the system and subsystem levels5. For this study, affordability is defined as lifecycle cost, which includes design, development, test, and engineering (DDT&E), production and operational costs (P&O). For this study, the system objectives include reducing DDT&E schedule by a factor of three, showing 99.9% reliability, flying up to four times per year, serving both crew and cargo missions, and evolving to a lift capability of 130 metric tons.3 After identifying gaps in the current system s capabilities, this study seeks to identify non-traditional and innovative technologies and processes that may improve performance in these areas and assess their impacts on booster system development. The DDT&E phase may be improved by incorporating incremental development testing and integrated demonstrations to mitigate risk. To further reduce DDT&E, this study will also consider how aspects of the booster system may have commonality with other users, such as the Department of Defense, commercial applications, or international partners; by sharing some of the risk and investment, the overall development cost may be reduced. Consideration is not limited to solid and liquid rocket boosters. A set of functional performance characteristics, such as engine thrust, specific impulse (Isp), mixture ratio, and throttle range are identified and their impacts on the system are evaluated. This study also identifies how such characteristics affect overall life cycle cost, including DDT&E and fixed and variable P&O.

Arockiam, Nicole↗
NASA NTRS2012

Kosmo's Farewell Advice

Joe Kosmo shared some final words and advice for his teammates in the Spacesuit and Crew Survival Systems Branch (EC5) and the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD (EC)) upon his retirement. He knew nothing about spacesuits when he started working for NASA in 1961, but neither did anyone else. He summed up the best lessons learned during his 50 years of developing U.S. spacesuits and encouraged the next generation s space industry workers to challenge what they hear and decide what is right. Topics include and oral history of early NASA manned flights by Richard S. Johnston, U.S. human spaceflight chronology, a history of advanced EVA project funding, and a discussion of NASA's innovative spirit.

Kosmo, Joe↗
NASA NTRS2012

High Fidelity Simulations of Plume Impingement to the International Space Station

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, the United States now depends on recently developed commercial spacecraft to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with cargo. These new vehicles supplement ones from international partners including the Russian Progress, the European Autonomous Transfer Vehicle (ATV), and the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). Furthermore, to carry crew to the ISS and supplement the capability currently provided exclusively by the Russian Soyuz, new designs and a refinement to a cargo vehicle design are in work. Many of these designs include features such as nozzle scarfing or simultaneous firing of multiple thrusters resulting in complex plumes. This results in a wide variety of complex plumes impinging upon the ISS. Therefore, to ensure safe "proximity operations" near the ISS, the need for accurate and efficient high fidelity simulation of plume impingement to the ISS is as high as ever. A capability combining computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) techniques has been developed to properly model the large density variations encountered as the plume expands from the high pressure in the combustion chamber to the near vacuum conditions at the orbiting altitude of the ISS. Details of the computational tools employed by this method, including recent software enhancements and the best practices needed to achieve accurate simulations, are discussed. Several recent examples of the application of this high fidelity capability are presented. These examples highlight many of the real world, complex features of plume impingement that occur when "visiting vehicles" operate in the vicinity of the ISS.

Lumpkin, Forrest E., III↗
NASA NTRS2013

A Next Generation Air Monitor: Combining Orion and ISS Requirements for a Common Major Constituent Analyzer

The Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) is a mass spectrometer-based instrument designed to provide critical monitoring of six major atmospheric constituents; nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor on-board the International Space Station. The analyzer has been an integral part of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) since the station went on-line. The Orion Air Monitor (OAM) was derived from the MCA and heavily optimized for reduced mass, lower power, faster water vapor response, and maintenance-free operation. The resulting OAM is approximately the size of the analyzer portion of the MCA, orbital-replacement unit 02 (ORU 02), while incorporating the functions of three other modules: Data Processing and Communication (ORU 01), Verification Gas Assembly (ORU 08), and Low Voltage Power Supply (ORU 04). The overlap in MCA and OAM requirements makes it possible to derive a common Air Monitor design that spans both applications while minimally impacting the weight and power limits imposed by the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). Benefits to ISS include the retirement of ORUs 01, 04, and 08, reducing up-mass and eliminating EEE parts obsolescence issues through the extended ISS mission phases. Benefits to MPCV and future deployed habitats under the Constellation program include greater interchangeability across ECLSS subsystems. This paper discusses the results of the requirements development study, where a superset of ISS and Orion air monitoring requirements were distilled; evaluated against increases in OAM functionality, mass, and power; and traded-off where possible using simple operating mode modifications. A system architecture and preliminary design addressing the common requirements will be presented.

Burchfield, David E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Initial Results from the GeoSTAR-II Laboratory Demonstration

The Geostationary Synthetic Thinned Aperture Radiometer (GeoSTAR) team recently concluded its second Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) IIP-07, "GeoSTAR technology development and risk reduction for PATH". The major accomplishments during this project at JPL were:1) Demonstrate performance and scalability of the 183 GHz receivers 2) Local oscillator phasing architecture and technology 3) Subarray design validation including feedhorns, manifolds and alignment 4) System demonstration of signal distribution topology and measurements. Significant progress has been made to retiring risk of the various subsystems.

synthetic aperture radiometry↗
NASA NTRS2013

Polymers Advance Heat Management Materials for Vehicles

For 6 years prior to the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, the shuttles carried an onboard repair kit with a tool for emergency use: two tubes of NOAX, or "good goo," as some people called it. NOAX flew on all 22 flights following the Columbia accident, and was designed to repair damage that occurred on the exterior of the shuttle. Bill McMahon, a structural materials engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center says NASA needed a solution for the widest range of possible damage to the shuttle s exterior thermal protection system. "NASA looked at several options in early 2004 and decided on a sealant. Ultimately, NOAX performed the best and was selected," he says. To prove NOAX would work effectively required hundreds of samples manufactured at Marshall and Johnson, and a concerted effort from various NASA field centers. Johnson Space Center provided programmatic leadership, testing, tools, and crew training; Glenn Research Center provided materials analysis; Langley Research Center provided test support and led an effort to perform large patch repairs; Ames Research Center provided additional testing; and Marshall provided further testing and the site of NOAX manufacturing. Although the sealant never had to be used in an emergency situation, it was tested by astronauts on samples of reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) during two shuttle missions. (RCC is the thermal material on areas of the shuttle that experience the most heat, such as the nose cone and wing leading edges.) The material handled well on orbit, and tests showed the NOAX patch held up well on RCC.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2013

Terahertz Lasers Reveal Information for 3D Images

After taking off her shoes and jacket, she places them in a bin. She then takes her laptop out of its case and places it in a separate bin. As the items move through the x-ray machine, the woman waits for a sign from security personnel to pass through the metal detector. Today, she was lucky; she did not encounter any delays. The man behind her, however, was asked to step inside a large circular tube, raise his hands above his head, and have his whole body scanned. If you have ever witnessed a full-body scan at the airport, you may have witnessed terahertz imaging. Terahertz wavelengths are located between microwave and infrared on the electromagnetic spectrum. When exposed to these wavelengths, certain materials such as clothing, thin metal, sheet rock, and insulation become transparent. At airports, terahertz radiation can illuminate guns, knives, or explosives hidden underneath a passenger s clothing. At NASA s Kennedy Space Center, terahertz wavelengths have assisted in the inspection of materials like insulating foam on the external tanks of the now-retired space shuttle. "The foam we used on the external tank was a little denser than Styrofoam, but not much," says Robert Youngquist, a physicist at Kennedy. The problem, he explains, was that "we lost a space shuttle by having a chunk of foam fall off from the external fuel tank and hit the orbiter." To uncover any potential defects in the foam covering, such as voids or air pockets, that could keep the material from staying in place, NASA employed terahertz imaging to see through the foam. For many years, the technique ensured the integrity of the material on the external tanks.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2013

Ballistics Analysis of Orion Crew Module Separation Bolt Cover

NASA is currently developing a new crew module to replace capabilities of the retired Space Shuttles and to provide a crewed vehicle for exploring beyond low earth orbit. The crew module is a capsule-type design, which is designed to separate from the launch vehicle during launch ascent once the launch vehicle fuel is expended. The separation is achieved using pyrotechnic separation bolts, wherein a section of the bolt is propelled clear of the joint at high velocity by an explosive charge. The resulting projectile must be contained within the fairing structure by a containment plate. This paper describes an analytical effort completed to augment testing of various containment plate materials and thicknesses. The results help guide the design and have potential benefit for future similar applications.

Howard, Samuel A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Arcjet Testing of Woven Carbon Cloth for Use on Adaptive Deployable Entry Placement Technology

This paper describes arcjet testing and analysis that has successfully demonstrated the viability of three dimensional woven carbon cloth for dual use in the Adaptive Deployable Entry Placement Technology (ADEPT). ADEPT is an umbrella-like entry system that is folded for stowage in the launch vehicle s shroud and deployed in space prior to reaching the atmospheric interface. A key feature of the ADEPT concept is its lower ballistic coefficient for delivery of a given payload than those for conventional, rigid body entry systems. The benefits that accrue from the lower ballistic coefficient include factor of ten reductions of deceleration forces and entry heating. The former enables consideration of new classes of scientific instruments for solar system exploration while the latter enables the design of a more efficient thermal protection system. The carbon cloth now base lined for ADEPT has a dual use in that it serves as ADEPT s thermal protection system and as the "skin" that transfers aerodynamic deceleration loads to its umbrella-like substructure. The arcjet testing described in this paper was conducted for some of the higher heating conditions for a future Venus mission using the ADEPT concept, thereby showing that the carbon cloth can perform in a relevant entry environment. The ADEPT project considered the carbon cloth to be mission enabling and was carrying it as a major risk during Fiscal Year 2012. The testing and analysis reported here played a major role in retiring that risk and is highly significant to the success and possible adoption of ADEPT for future NASA missions. Finally, this paper also describes a preliminary engineering level code, based on the arcjet data, that can be used to estimate cloth thickness for future missions using ADEPT and to predict carbon cloth performance in future arcjet tests.

Arnold, James O.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Artifacts

NASA Headquarters sent a list of items to KSC that were deemed potential artifacts. These items played arole in the Shuttle Program's development and maintenance. Because these items are national assets, many are of interest to museums, schools, other government entities, etc. upon the Space Shuttle's retirement. The list contains over 500 items. All of these items need to be located, photographed, and catalogued with accompanying specific data that needs to be gathered. Initial research suggests that this is a time, labor, and cost intensive project. The purpose of my project was to focus on 20-60 of these 500 items, gather the necessary data, and compile them in a way that can be added to by other users when/if the project goes into full effect.

Harris, Samantha↗
NASA NTRS2013

Model Verification and Validation Concepts for a Probabilistic Fracture Assessment Model to Predict Cracking of Knife Edge Seals in the Space Shuttle Main Engine High Pressure Oxidizer

Physics-based models are routinely used to predict the performance of engineered systems to make decisions such as when to retire system components, how to extend the life of an aging system, or if a new design will be safe or available. Model verification and validation (V&V) is a process to establish credibility in model predictions. Ideally, carefully controlled validation experiments will be designed and performed to validate models or submodels. In reality, time and cost constraints limit experiments and even model development. This paper describes elements of model V&V during the development and application of a probabilistic fracture assessment model to predict cracking in space shuttle main engine high-pressure oxidizer turbopump knife-edge seals. The objective of this effort was to assess the probability of initiating and growing a crack to a specified failure length in specific flight units for different usage and inspection scenarios. The probabilistic fracture assessment model developed in this investigation combined a series of submodels describing the usage, temperature history, flutter tendencies, tooth stresses and numbers of cycles, fatigue cracking, nondestructive inspection, and finally the probability of failure. The analysis accounted for unit-to-unit variations in temperature, flutter limit state, flutter stress magnitude, and fatigue life properties. The investigation focused on the calculation of relative risk rather than absolute risk between the usage scenarios. Verification predictions were first performed for three units with known usage and cracking histories to establish credibility in the model predictions. Then, numerous predictions were performed for an assortment of operating units that had flown recently or that were projected for future flights. Calculations were performed using two NASA-developed software tools: NESSUS(Registered Trademark) for the probabilistic analysis, and NASGRO(Registered Trademark) for the fracture mechanics analysis. The goal of these predictions was to provide additional information to guide decisions on the potential of reusing existing and installed units prior to the new design certification.

Pai, Shantaram S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Internship at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Cryogenic Test laboratory

NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is known for hosting all of the United States manned rocket launches as well as many unmanned launches at low inclinations. Even though the Space Shuttle recently retired, they are continuing to support unmanned launches and modifying manned launch facilities. Before a rocket can be launched, it has to go through months of preparation, called processing. Pieces of a rocket and its payload may come in from anywhere in the nation or even the world. The facilities all around the center help integrate the rocket and prepare it for launch. As NASA prepares for the Space Launch System, a rocket designed to take astronauts beyond Low Earth Orbit throughout the solar system, technology development is crucial for enhancing launch capabilities at the KSC. The Cryogenics Test Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center greatly contributes to cryogenic research and technology development. The engineers and technicians that work there come up with new ways to efficiently store and transfer liquid cryogens. NASA has a great need for this research and technology development as it deals with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for rocket fuel, as well as long term space flight applications. Additionally, in this new era of space exploration, the Cryogenics Test Laboratory works with the commercial sector. One technology development project is the Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) Ground Operations Demonstration Unit (GODU). LH2 GODU intends to demonstrate increased efficiency in storing and transferring liquid hydrogen during processing, loading, launch and spaceflight of a spacecraft. During the Shuttle Program, only 55% of hydrogen purchased was used by the Space Shuttle Main Engines. GODU's goal is to demonstrate that this percentage can be increased to 75%. Figure 2 shows the GODU layout when I concluded my internship. The site will include a 33,000 gallon hydrogen tank (shown in cyan) with a heat exchanger inside the hydrogen tank attached to a refrigerator capable of removing 850 Watts at 20 Kelvin (shown in green). The refrigerator and most of its supporting equipment will be kept in a standard shipping container (shown in pink). Currently, GODU is in the fabrication process and some of the large components have already been purchased.

Holland, Katherine↗