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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 NTRS2011

Benefits of Power and Propulsion Technology for a Piloted Electric Vehicle to an Asteroid

NASA's goal for human spaceflight is to expand permanent human presence beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA is identifying potential missions and technologies needed to achieve this goal. Mission options include crewed destinations to LEO and the International Space Station; high Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit; cis-lunar space, lunar orbit, and the surface of the Moon; near-Earth objects; and the moons of Mars, Mars orbit, and the surface of Mars. NASA generated a series of design reference missions to drive out required functions and capabilities for these destinations, focusing first on a piloted mission to a near-Earth asteroid. One conclusion from this exercise was that a solar electric propulsion stage could reduce mission cost by reducing the required number of heavy lift launches and could increase mission reliability by providing a robust architecture for the long-duration crewed mission. Similarly, solar electric vehicles were identified as critical for missions to Mars, including orbiting Mars, landing on its surface, and visiting its moons. This paper describes the parameterized assessment of power and propulsion technologies for a piloted solar electric vehicle to a near-Earth asteroid. The objective of the assessment was to determine technology drivers to advance the state of the art of electric propulsion systems for human exploration. Sensitivity analyses on the performance characteristics of the propulsion and power systems were done to determine potential system-level impacts of improved technology. Starting with a "reasonable vehicle configuration" bounded by an assumed launch date, we introduced technology improvements to determine the system-level benefits (if any) that those technologies might provide. The results of this assessment are discussed and recommendations for future work are described.

Mercer, Carolyn R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

ARES I Upper Stage Subsystems Design and Development

From 2005 through early 2011, NASA conducted concept definition, design, and development of the Ares I launch vehicle. The Ares I was conceived to serve as a crew launch vehicle for beyond-low-Earth-orbit human space exploration missions as part of the Constellation Program Architecture. The vehicle was configured with a single shuttle-derived solid rocket booster first stage and a new liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen upper stage, propelled by a single, newly developed J-2X engine. The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was to be mated to the forward end of the Ares I upper stage through an interface with fairings and a payload adapter. The vehicle design passed a Preliminary Design Review in August 2008, and was nearing the Critical Design Review when efforts were concluded as a result of the Constellation Program s cancellation. At NASA Glenn Research Center, four subsystems were developed for the Ares I upper stage. These were thrust vector control (TVC) for the J-2X, electrical power system (EPS), purge and hazardous gas (P&HG), and development flight instrumentation (DFI). The teams working each of these subsystems achieved 80 percent or greater design completion and extensive development testing. These efforts were extremely successful representing state-of-the-art technology and hardware advances necessary to achieve Ares I reliability, safety, availability, and performance requirements. This paper documents the designs, development test activity, and results.

Frate, David T.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Exploration Medical System Demonstration Project

A near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) mission will present significant new challenges including hazards to crew health created by exploring a beyond low earth orbit destination, traversing the terrain of asteroid surfaces, and the effects of variable gravity environments. Limited communications with ground-based personnel for diagnosis and consultation of medical events require increased crew autonomy when diagnosing conditions, creating treatment plans, and executing procedures. Scope: The Exploration Medical System Demonstration (EMSD) project will be a test bed on the International Space Station (ISS) to show an end-to-end medical system assisting the Crew Medical Officers (CMO) in optimizing medical care delivery and medical data management during a mission. NEA medical care challenges include resource and resupply constraints limiting the extent to which medical conditions can be treated, inability to evacuate to Earth during many mission phases, and rendering of medical care by a non-clinician. The system demonstrates the integration of medical technologies and medical informatics tools for managing evidence and decision making. Project Objectives: The objectives of the EMSD project are to: a) Reduce and possibly eliminate the time required for a crewmember and ground personnel to manage medical data from one application to another. b) Demonstrate crewmember's ability to access medical data/information via a software solution to assist/aid in the treatment of a medical condition. c) Develop a common data management architecture that can be ubiquitously used to automate repetitive data collection, management, and communications tasks for all crew health and life sciences activities. d) Develop a common data management architecture that allows for scalability, extensibility, and interoperability of data sources and data users. e) Lower total cost of ownership for development and sustainment of peripheral hardware and software that use EMSD for data management f) Provide better crew health via the reduction in crew errors, crew time, and ground time.

Chin, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Extravehicular Activity Systems Education and Public Outreach in Support of NASA's STEM Initiatives in Fiscal Year 2011

NASA's goals to send humans beyond low Earth orbit will involve the need for a strong engineering workforce. Research indicates that student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas is on the decline. According to the Department of Education, the United States President has mandated that 100,000 educators be trained in STEM over the next decade to reduce this trend. NASA has aligned its Education and Public Outreach (EPO) initiatives to include emphasis in promoting STEM. The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Systems Project Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center actively supports this NASA initiative by providing subject matter experts and hands-on, interactive presentations to educate students, educators, and the general public about the design challenges encountered as NASA develops EVA hardware for exploration missions. This paper summarizes the EVA Systems EPO efforts and metrics from fiscal year 2011.

Paul, Heather L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) Integrated Roadmap Development

At present, NASA has considered a number of future human space exploration mission concepts . Yet, detailed mission requirements and vehicle architectures remain mostly undefined, making technology investment strategies difficult to develop and sustain without a top-level roadmap to serve as a guide. This paper documents a roadmap for development of Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) capabilities required to enhance the long-term operation of the International Space Station (ISS) as well as enable beyond-Low Earth Orbit (LEO) human exploration missions. Three generic mission types were defined to serve as a basis for developing a prioritized list of needed capabilities and technologies. Those are 1) a short duration micro gravity mission; 2) a long duration transit microgravity mission; and 3) a long duration surface exploration mission. To organize the effort, ECLSS was categorized into three major functional groups (atmosphere, water, and solid waste management) with each broken down into sub-functions. The ability of existing state-of-the-art (SOA) technologies to meet the functional needs of each of the three mission types was then assessed by NASA subject matter experts. When SOA capabilities were deemed to fall short of meeting the needs of one or more mission types, those gaps were prioritized in terms of whether or not the corresponding capabilities enable or enhance each of the mission types. The result was a list of enabling and enhancing capabilities needs that can be used to guide future ECLSS development, as well as a list of existing hardware that is ready to go for exploration-class missions. A strategy to fulfill those needs over time was then developed in the form of a roadmap. Through execution of this roadmap, the hardware and technologies intended to meet exploration needs will, in many cases, directly benefit the ISS operational capability, benefit the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), and guide long-term technology investments for longer duration missions The final product of this paper is an agreed-to ECLSS roadmap detailing ground and flight testing to support the three mission scenarios previously mentioned. This information will also be used to develop the integrated NASA budget submit in January 2012.

Metcalf, Jordan↗
NASA NTRS2011

Human-in-the-Loop Integrated Life Support Systems Ground Testing

Human exploration missions beyond low earth orbit will be long duration with abort scenarios of days to months. This necessitates provisioning the crew with all the things they will need to sustain themselves while carrying out mission objectives. Systems engineering and integration is critical to the point where extensive integrated testing of life support systems on the ground is required to identify and mitigate risks. Ground test facilities (human-rated altitude chamber) at the Johnson Space Center are being readied to integrate all the systems for a mission along with a human test crew. The relevant environment will include deep space habitat human accommodations, sealed atmosphere of 8 psi total pressure and 32% oxygen concentration, life support systems (food, air, water), communications, crew accommodations, medical, EVA, tools, etc. Testing periods will approximate those of the expected missions (such as a near Earth asteroid, Earth-Moon L2 or L1, the moon). This type of integrated testing is needed for research and technology development as well as later during the mission design, development, test, and evaluation (DDT&E) phases of an approved program. Testing will evolve to be carried out at the mission level fly the mission on the ground . Mission testing will also serve to inform the public and provide the opportunity for active participation by international partners.

Henninger, Donald L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Concepts for a Shroud or Propellant Tank Derived Deep Space Habitat

Long duration human spaceflight missions beyond Low Earth Orbit will require much larger spacecraft than capsules such as the Russian Soyuz or American Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. A concept spacecraft under development is the Deep Space Habitat, with volumes approaching that of space stations such as Skylab, Mir, and the International Space Station. This paper explores several concepts for Deep Space Habitats constructed from a launch vehicle shroud or propellant tank. It also recommends future research using mockups and prototypes to validate the size and crew station capabilities of such a habitat. Keywords: Exploration, space station, lunar outpost, NEA, habitat, long duration, deep space habitat, shroud, propellant tank.

Howard, Robert L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Antimicrobial Resources for Disinfection of Potable Water Systems for Future Spacecraft

As human exploration adventures beyond low earth orbit, life support systems will require more innovation and research to become self-sustaining and durable. One major concern about future space travel is the ability to store and decontaminate water for consumption and hygiene. This project explores materials and technologies for possible use in future water systems without requiring point-of-use (POU) filtering or chemical additives such as iodine or silver that require multiple doses to remain effective. This experimentation tested the efficacy of a variety of antimicrobial materials against biofilm formation in a high shear CDC Biofilm Reactor (CBR) and some materials in a low shear Drip Flow Reactor (DFR) which(also utilizes ultra violet light emitting diodes (UVLEDs) as an antimicrobial resource. Most materials were tested in the CBR using the ASTM E 2562-07 1method involving the Pseudomonas aeruginosa and coupon samples that vary in their antimicrobial coatings and surface layer topographies. In a controlled environmental chamber (CEC), the CBR underwent a batch phase, continuous flow phase (CFP), and a harvest before analysis. The DFR portion of this experimentation was performed in order to assess the antimicrobial capabilities of ultraviolet-A LEDs (UV-A) in potable water systems. The ASTM E 2647-08 was modified in order to incorporate UV-A LEDs and to operate as a closed, re-circulating system. The modified DFR apparatus that was utilized contains 4 separate channels each of which contain 2 UV-A LEDs (1 chamber is masked off to serve as a control) and each channel is equipped with its own reservoir and peristaltic pump head. The 10 DFR runs discussed in this report include 4 initial experimental runs that contained blank microscope slides to test the UVA LEDs alone, 2 that incorporated solid silver coupons, 2 that utilized titanium dioxide (Ti02) coupons as a photocatalyst, and 2 runs that utilized silver coated acrylic slides. Both the CBR and DFR experiments were analyzed for microbial content via heterotrophic plate counts (HPC) and acridine orange direct counts (AODC). Ofthe materials used in the CBR, only two materials performed as anti~icrobials under high shear conditions (a reduction of 5 or more logs) showing a>7 log reduction in viable microbes.

Morford, Megan A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

NASA Desert RATS 2011 Education Pilot Project and Classroom Activities

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) is a multi-year series of tests of hardware and operations carried out annually in the high desert of Arizona, as an analog to future exploration activities beyond low Earth orbit [1]. For the past several years, these tests have occurred in the San Francisco Volcanic Field, north of Flagstaff. For the 2011 Desert RATS season, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) at NASA headquarters provided support to develop an education pilot project that would include student activities to parallel the Desert RATS mission planning and exploration activities in the classroom, and educator training sessions. The development of the pilot project was a joint effort between the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Directorate and the Aerospace Education Services Project (AESP), managed at Penn State University.

Gruener, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Benefits of Power and Propulsion Technology for a Piloted Electric Vehicle to an Asteroid

NASA s goal for human spaceflight is to expand permanent human presence beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). NASA is identifying potential missions and technologies needed to achieve this goal. Mission options include crewed destinations to LEO and the International Space Station; high Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit; cis-lunar space, lunar orbit, and the surface of the Moon; near-Earth objects; and the moons of Mars, Mars orbit, and the surface of Mars. NASA generated a series of design reference missions to drive out required functions and capabilities for these destinations, focusing first on a piloted mission to a near-Earth asteroid. One conclusion from this exercise was that a solar electric propulsion stage could reduce mission cost by reducing the required number of heavy lift launches and could increase mission reliability by providing a robust architecture for the long-duration crewed mission. Similarly, solar electric vehicles were identified as critical for missions to Mars, including orbiting Mars, landing on its surface, and visiting its moons. This paper describes the parameterized assessment of power and propulsion technologies for a piloted solar electric vehicle to a near-Earth asteroid. The objective of the assessment was to determine technology drivers to advance the state of the art of electric propulsion systems for human exploration. Sensitivity analyses on the performance characteristics of the propulsion and power systems were done to determine potential system-level impacts of improved technology. Starting with a "reasonable vehicle configuration" bounded by an assumed launch date, we introduced technology improvements to determine the system-level benefits (if any) that those technologies might provide. The results of this assessment are discussed and recommendations for future work are described.

Mercer, Carolyn R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

EMU Lessons Learned Database

As manned space exploration takes on the task of traveling beyond low Earth orbit, many problems arise that must be solved in order to make the journey possible. One major task is protecting humans from the harsh space environment. The current method of protecting astronauts during Extravehicular Activity (EVA) is through use of the specially designed Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU). As more rigorous EVA conditions need to be endured at new destinations, the suit will need to be tailored and improved in order to accommodate the astronaut. The Objective behind the EMU Lessons Learned Database(LLD) is to be able to create a tool which will assist in the development of next-generation EMUs, along with maintenance and improvement of the current EMU, by compiling data from Failure Investigation and Analysis Reports (FIARs) which have information on past suit failures. FIARs use a system of codes that give more information on the aspects of the failure, but if one is unfamiliar with the EMU they will be unable to decipher the information. A goal of the EMU LLD is to not only compile the information, but to present it in a user-friendly, organized, searchable database accessible to all familiarity levels with the EMU; both newcomers and veterans alike. The EMU LLD originally started as an Excel database, which allowed easy navigation and analysis of the data through pivot charts. Creating an entry requires access to the Problem Reporting And Corrective Action database (PRACA), which contains the original FIAR data for all hardware. FIAR data are then transferred to, defined, and formatted in the LLD. Work is being done to create a web-based version of the LLD in order to increase accessibility to all of Johnson Space Center (JSC), which includes converting entries from Excel to the HTML format. FIARs related to the EMU have been completed in the Excel version, and now focus has shifted to expanding FIAR data in the LLD to include EVA tools and support hardware such as the Pistol Grip Tool (PGT) and the Battery Charger Module (BCM), while adding any recently closed EMU-related FIARs.

Matthews, Kevin M., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Feasibility of Large High-Powered Solar Electric Propulsion Vehicles: Issues and Solutions

Human exploration beyond low Earth orbit will require the use of enabling technologies that are efficient, affordable, and reliable. Solar electric propulsion (SEP) has been proposed by NASA s Human Exploration Framework Team as an option to achieve human exploration missions to near Earth objects (NEOs) because of its favorable mass efficiency as compared to traditional chemical systems. This paper describes the unique challenges and technology hurdles associated with developing a large high-power SEP vehicle. A subsystem level breakdown of factors contributing to the feasibility of SEP as a platform for future exploration missions to NEOs is presented including overall mission feasibility, trip time variables, propellant management issues, solar array power generation, array structure issues, and other areas that warrant investment in additional technology or engineering development.

Capadona, Lynn A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Extravehicular Activity Systems Education and Public Outreach in Support of NASA's STEM Initiatives in Fiscal Year 2011

NASA's goals to send humans beyond low Earth orbit will involve the need for a strong engineering workforce. Research indicates that student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) areas is on the decline. According to the Department of Education, the United States President has mandated that 100,000 educators be trained in STEM over the next decade to reduce this trend. NASA has aligned its Education and Public Outreach (EPO) initiatives to include emphasis in promoting STEM. The Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Systems Project Office at the NASA Johnson Space Center actively supports this NASA initiative by providing subject matter experts and hands-on, interactive presentations to educate students, educators, and the general public about the design challenges encountered as NASA develops EVA hardware for exploration missions. This paper summarizes the EVA Systems EPO efforts and metrics from fiscal year 2011.

Paul, Heather↗
NASA NTRS2004

Development of a Lunar Consumables Storage and Distribution Depot

NASA is in the preliminary planning stages for a future lunar base as a response to President George W. Bush's recent announcement of a new sustained exploration program beyond low earth orbit. Kennedy Space Center engineers are supporting this program by utilizing experience in Spaceport system design and operations to help develop a Lunar Consumables Depot. This depot will store propellants, life support fluids, and other consumables either transported from Earth or manufactured from In Situ resources. The depot will distribute these consumables in an energy efficient manner to end users including spacecraft, habitation modules, and rovers. This paper addresses some of the changes to lunar base architecture design as a result of advances in knowledge of lunar resources over the past 35 years, as well as technology advances in the area of In Situ Resource Utilization and consumable storage and distribution. A general system level description of the depot will be presented, including overall design philosophy and high level requirements. Finally, specific subsystem technologies that have been or will be developed by KSC will be addressed. Examples of these technologies are automated umbilicals, cryogenic refrigerators, novel storage vessels, advanced heat switches and heat exchangers, and self healing gaskets and wires.

Mueller, Robert P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Space Environments and Effects Concept: Transitioning Research to Operations and Applications

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a course to expand human presence beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) while expanding its mission to explore the solar system. Destinations such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA), Mars and its moons, and the outer planets are but a few of the mission targets. NASA has established numerous offices specializing in specific space environments disciplines that will serve to enable these missions. To complement these existing discipline offices, a concept focusing on the development of space environment and effects application is presented. This includes space climate, space weather, and natural and induced space environments. This space environment and effects application is composed of 4 topic areas; characterization and modeling, engineering effects, prediction and operation, and mitigation and avoidance. These topic areas are briefly described below. Characterization and modeling of space environments will primarily focus on utilization during Program mission concept, planning, and design phases. Engineering effects includes materials testing and flight experiments producing data to be used in mission planning and design phases. Prediction and operation pulls data from existing sources into decision-making tools and empirical data sets to be used during the operational phase of a mission. Mitigation and avoidance will develop techniques and strategies used in the design and operations phases of the mission. The goal of this space environment and effects application is to develop decision-making tools and engineering products to support the mission phases of mission concept through operations by focusing on transitioning research to operations. Products generated by this space environments and effects application are suitable for use in anomaly investigations. This paper will outline the four topic areas, describe the need, and discuss an organizational structure for this space environments and effects application.

Edwards, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Space Environments and Spacecraft Effects Concept: Transitioning Research to Operations and Applications

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is embarking on a course to expand human presence beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) while expanding its mission to explore the solar system. Destinations such as Near Earth Asteroids (NEA), Mars and its moons, and the outer planets are but a few of the mission targets. NASA has established numerous organizations specializing in specific space environments disciplines that will serve to enable these missions. To complement these existing discipline organizations, a concept is presented focusing on the development of a space environment and spacecraft effects organization. This includes space climate, space weather, natural and induced space environments, and effects on spacecraft materials and systems. This space environment and spacecraft effects organization would be comprised of Technical Working Groups (TWG) focusing on, for example: a) Charged Particles (CP), b) Space Environmental Effects (SEE), and c) Interplanetary and Extraterrestrial Environments (IEE). These technical working groups will generate products and provide knowledge supporting four functional areas: design environments, environment effects, operational support, and programmatic support. The four functional areas align with phases in the program mission lifecycle and are briefly described below. Design environments are used primarily in the mission concept and design phases of a program. Environment effects focuses on the material, component, sub-system and system-level selection and the testing to verify design and operational performance. Operational support provides products based on real time or near real time space weather observations to mission operators to aid in real time and near-term decision-making. The programmatic support function maintains an interface with the numerous programs within NASA and other federal agencies to ensure that communications are well established and the needs of the programs are being met. The programmatic support function also includes working in coordination with the program in anomaly resolution and generation of lesson learned documentation. The goal of this space environment and spacecraft effects organization is to develop decision-making tools and engineering products to support the mission phases of mission concept through operations by focusing on transitioning research to application. Products generated by this space environments and spacecraft effects organization are suitable for use in anomaly investigations. This paper will describe the organizational structure for this space environments and spacecraft effects organization, and outline the scope of conceptual TWG's and their relationship to the functional areas.

Edwards, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) Integrated Roadmap Development

This white paper documents a roadmap for development of Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) Systems (ECLSS) capabilities required to enable beyond-Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Exploration missions. In many cases, the execution of this Exploration-based roadmap will directly benefit International Space Station (ISS) operational capability by resolving known issues and/or improving overall system reliability. In addition, many of the resulting products will be applicable across multiple Exploration elements such as Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV), Deep Space Habitat (DSH), and Landers. Within the ECLS community, this white paper will be a unifying tool that will improve coordination of resources, common hardware, and technologies. It will help to align efforts to focus on the highest priority needs that will produce life support systems for future human exploration missions that will simply run in the background, requiring minimal crew interaction.

Metcalf, Jordan L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Human Exploration Missions - Maturing Technologies to Sustain Crews

Human exploration missions beyond low earth orbit will be long duration with abort scenarios of days to months. Providing crews with the essentials of life such as clean air and potable water means recycling human metabolic wastes back to useful products. Individual technologies are under development for such things as CO2 scrubbing, recovery of O2 from CO2, turning waste water into potable water, and so on. But in order to fully evaluate and mature technologies fully they must be tested in a relevant, high-functionality environment; a systems environment where technologies are challenged with real human metabolic wastes. It is for this purpose that an integrated systems ground testing capability at the Johnson Space Center is being readied for testing. The relevant environment will include deep space habitat human accommodations, sealed atmosphere of 8 psi total pressure and 32% oxygen concentration, life support systems (food, air, water), communications, crew accommodations, medical, EVA, tools, etc. Testing periods will approximate those of the expected missions (such as a near Earth asteroid, Earth ]Moon L2 or L1, the moon, and Mars). This type of integrated testing is needed not only for research and technology development but later during the mission design, development, test, and evaluation phases of preparing for the mission.

Mukai, Chiaki↗