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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 NTRS1993

The systems engineering overview and process (from the Systems Engineering Management Guide, 1990)

The past several decades have seen the rise of large, highly interactive systems that are on the forward edge of technology. As a result of this growth and the increased usage of digital systems (computers and software), the concept of systems engineering has gained increasing attention. Some of this attention is no doubt due to large program failures which possibly could have been avoided, or at least mitigated, through the use of systems engineering principles. The complexity of modern day weapon systems requires conscious application of systems engineering concepts to ensure producible, operable and supportable systems that satisfy mission requirements. Although many authors have traced the roots of systems engineering to earlier dates, the initial formalization of the systems engineering process for military development began to surface in the mid-1950s on the ballistic missile programs. These early ballistic missile development programs marked the emergence of engineering discipline 'specialists' which has since continued to grow. Each of these specialties not only has a need to take data from the overall development process, but also to supply data, in the form of requirements and analysis results, to the process. A number of technical instructions, military standards and specifications, and manuals were developed as a result of these development programs. In particular, MILSTD-499 was issued in 1969 to assist both government and contractor personnel in defining the systems engineering effort in support of defense acquisition programs. This standard was updated to MIL-STD499A in 1974, and formed the foundation for current application of systems engineering principles to military development programs.

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NASA NTRS1959

1958 NASA/USAF Space Probes (Able-1): Summary - Volume 1

Early in calendar year 1958 Space Technology Laboratories, Inc. (STL) (then Space Technology Laboratories, a division of the Ramo-Wooldridge Corp.) developed for the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (AFBMD) an Advanced Re-entry Test Vehicle (ARTV) for the purpose of testing ballistic missile nose cones at the full range of 5500 nautical miles. The two-stage ARTV utilized the Thor ballistic missile and the second stage propulsion system developed for the Vanguard program. In late 1957 and early 1958, STL/AFBMD prepared studies of various missile combinations which could be utilized for space testing. The Thor, in combination with the Vanguard second and third stages, was one of the vehicles considered which offered a very early capability of placing a reasonable payload in a lunar orbit. These STL/AFBMD studies were presented to various appropriate groups including the Killian, Millikan, H. J . Stewart Committees; Headquarters, Air Research and Development Command, and ARDC Centers. Subsequently the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) contacted STL relative to the availability of hardware for an early lunar shot. By utilizing existing spares already purchased for the ARTV, and by making use of the ARTV contractors already in being, it appeared feasible to launch by the third quarter of calendar year 1958 a payload which would be captured by the moon's gravitational force. On 27 March 1958, ARPA directed STL to proceed with a program of three lunar shots. As much as possible, these shots were to utilize existing ARTV spare hardware and impose no interference with the ballistic missile programs. In September this program was transferred to the direction of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). On 17 August 1958 the first launching of the Able-1 vehicle was attempted, but the flight was terminated by a propulsion failure of the first stage. Subsequent launchings were attempted on 13 October and 8 November 1958. Of these launchirigs the October attempt was the most successful. Although the payload did not reach the vicinity of the moon, a maximum altitude of 71,700 was attained, and useful scientific data was obtained from the instrumentation.

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NASA NTRS1958

The Explorer Rocket Research Program

Since September of 1956, nine Jupiter-C missiles have been launched from the firing pad at Cape Canaveral. The first Jupiter-C firing tested the propulsion system, air frame, and guidance components of the missile, and the second and third firings tested a model of the Jupiter nose cone under realistic re-entry conditions. The remaining six Jupiter-C missiles were used as the launching vehicles for EXPLORER satellites I through VI (Fig. 1). Of the six satellite firings, EXPLORERs I, III, and IV achieved satisfactory orbits. The Jupiter-C missile was designed and developed as a joint program under the technical direction of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed the three high-speed stages, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency handled the development, construction, and operation of the first-stage booster rocket and the guidance system. Many other organizations have contributed to the success of the EXPLORER satellite program, most notably the State University of Iowa, the Air Force Cambridge Research Center, and the satellite tracking teams of the Vanguard organization.

Robillard, G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An opportunity analysis system for space surveillance experiments with the MSX

The Mid-Course Space Experiment consists of a set of payloads on a satellite being designed and built under the sponsorship of Ballistic Missile Defense Office. The MSX satellite will conduct a series of measurements of phenomenology of backgrounds, missile targets, plumes and resident space objects (RSO's); and will engage in functional demonstrations in support of detection, acquisition and tracking for ballistic missile defense and space-based space surveillance missions. A complex satellite like the MSX has several constraints imposed on its operation by the sensors, the supporting instrumentation, power resources, data recording capability, communications and the environment in which all these operate. This paper describes the implementation of an opportunity and feasibility analysis system, developed at Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specifically to support the experiments of the Principal Investigator for space-based surveillance.

Sridharan, Ramaswamy↗
NASA NTRS2019

Ablators for Human and Robotic Exploration of the Moon, Mars and Beyond

When Apollo was designed to carry astronauts safely back from the Moon, at return speeds exceeding 11 km/s, it required development of a new lightweight ablative material to protect the capsule and crew from the intense heat of entry. Soon after the Apollo program, successful Mars Viking Lander missions employed a different and much lighter ablator in more benign entry conditions. On the other hand, the Pioneer-Venus and Galileo Probe missions that followed required yet another ablative system, to manage the extreme heating at those destinations, which was like flying a ballistic missile nose tip into a thermonuclear explosion. NASA had to invent a new heat-shield concept based on the rocket nozzle and ballistic missile ablative materials. In the mid 1990's, as the Science focus returned to Mars, advances in manufacturing, testing and materials technology led to innovative lightweight ablators that enabled comet and asteroid sample return missions and facilitated large lander missions such as MSL and Mars 2020. NASA's current plans for robotic and human exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond introduce different constraints and new expectations for ablators. Human missions to Moon and Mars, sample return missions from Mars, and exploration of Uranus and Neptune, the two planets we are yet to explore, will require ablators that can withstand extreme environments, with verifiable robustness, and with raw materials and manufacturing approaches that are sustainable in the longer term. This talk will review the history of ablators as well as current ablative TPS development that addresses the requirements for future missions to Moon, Mars and beyond.

Mars and Beyond↗
NASA NTRS2018

Government Quality Management Systems: Case Study from the Hawaii Missile Alert

The unfortunate Hawaii False Ballistic Missile Alert event on January 13, 2018 provides many examples of how a Quality Management System (QMS, e.g. ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems-Requirements) can be applied to government operations, and illustrates the need for existing quality standards to provide more clarity in their applicability to services. The event provides a valuable case study for those who ask the question: how do QMS systems and standards apply to government services? The following information is taken from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (EMA) investigation report.

Shepherd, Christena C.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Advanced Concepts Research for Flywheel Technology Applications

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) (formerly the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization) is embarking on a program to employ the use of High Altitude Airships (HAAs) for surveillance of coastal areas as a part of homeland defense. It is envisioned that these HAAs will fly at 70,000 feet continuously for at least a year, therefore requiring a regenerative electric power system. As part of a program to entice the MDA to utilize the NASA GRC expertise in electric power and propulsion as a means of risk reduction, an internal study program was performed to examine possible configurations that may be employed on a HAA to meet a theoretical surveillance need. This entailed the development of a set of program requirements which were flowed down to system and subsystem level requirements as well as the identification of environmental and infrastructure constraints. Such infrastructure constraints include the ability to construct a reasonably sized HAA within existing airship hangers, as the size of such vehicles could reach in excess of 600 ft. The issues regarding environments at this altitude are similar to those that would be imposed on satellite in Low Earth Orbit. Additionally, operational constraints, due to high winds at certain times of the year were also examined to determine options that could be examined to allow year round coverage of the US coast.

Keith, Theo G., Jr.↗