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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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24 records · Page 2

Development of a Turn Key Cryogenic Cooling Module for Space Flight Based on a Commercial Cryocooler

Commercial cryocoolers have significant price and lead time advantages over coolers built exclusively for the space market, but there are many challenges that must be overcome before using a COTS cooler for flight. The initial cost advantage is significantly narrowed by the cost of adapting the COTS cooler for flight. JPL is developing a “turnkey” cryogenic cooling solution based on a commercial cryocooler with the intention that it can become a standard product. The goal is to develop a complete, fully redundant cryogenic cooling solution based on the Thales 9310. The system includes the cooler, brackets to provide mounting and cooling, supporting structures, vibration isolation, thermal straps, thermal switches, and drive electronics. This paper discusses qualification of the various components for flight, including launch vibration and thermal performance testing, as well as a full up testing of the completed assembly.

Ramsey, Perry G.↗

Development of a Turn Key Cryogenic Cooling Module for Space Flight Based on a Commercial Cryocooler

Commercial cryocoolers have significant price and lead time advantages over coolers built exclusively for the space market, but there are many challenges that must be overcome before using a COTS cooler for flight. The initial cost advantage is significantly narrowed by the cost of adapting the COTS cooler for flight. JPL is developing a “turn key” cryogenic cooling solution based on a commercial cryocooler with the intention that it can become a standard product. The goal is to develop a complete, fully redundant cryogenic cooling solution based on the Thales 9310. The system includes the cooler, brackets to provide mounting and cooling, supporting structures, vibration isolation, thermal straps, thermal switches, and drive electronics. This paper discusses qualification of the various components for flight, including launch vibration and thermal performance testing, as well as a full up testing of the completed assembly.

Ramsey, Perry G.↗

Hypervelocity Impact Study for Migration from Kevlar® KM2® 705 to KM2® Plus 775: Material Property Measurement and Evaluation as a Ballistic Enhancement in Whipple Shields

Dupont™, the manufacturer of Kevlar®, has begun migrating from KM2® to KM2® Plus for ballistic textiles. Kevlar® KM2® has become an essential element of numerous meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) shield systems primarily as a multi-layer insulation (MLI) enhancement, and as such, the migration has implications for numerous system level risk assessments for future vehicles that will need to use the newer KM2® Plus fiber system. While the chemical makeup of the two fabrics are identical, differences in processing have yielded higher tenacities and toughness for the KM2® Plus system. To address this migration, the Hypervelocity Impact Technology (HVIT) group in NASA Exploration Sciences at Johnson Space Center (JSC) has worked with the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) and the MPCV European Service Module (MPCV-ESM) group of the European Space Agency (ESA) with its contractors Airbus and Thales Alenia Space-Italy (TAS-I) to study how KM2® Plus in the woven form of 850 denier 775 compares with KM2® in the woven form of 850 denier 705. The two forms of Kevlar® fabrics have been compared by direct-impact with a known mass and as the rear wall in Whipple shields using the two-stage, light-gas-gun at the Remote Hypervelocity Test Laboratory (RHTL) of NASA JSC White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). From these examinations, it has been found that KM2® Plus does in fact improve the ballistic performance as a ballistic enhancement of MLI with an estimated improvement of 9.5±6.1% between the two fabrics, and on a mass basis, the estimated mass of KM2® Plus 775 is 3.6±0.7% lighter than KM2 705, which means the mass performance improvement is even higher.

Joshua E Miller↗

Tours of High-containment and Pristine Facilities in Support of Mars Sample Return (MSR) Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) Definition Studies

During 2019 and 2020, the NASA Tiger Team RAMA (acronym of the authors) toured several high-containment biosafety laboratories and pristine space-mission facilities worldwide to better understand their practices, capabilities, and lessons-learned to aid in planning a Sample Receiving Facility (SRF) in support of Mars Sample Return (MSR). The team also included tours of a manufacturer of mobile and modular high-containment facilities as well as manufacturers of isolators and gloveboxes. In addition, the team visited the European Space Agency (ESA)ultraclean and sterile ISO 3 / airborne molecular contamination -9 (AMC-9) isolator line to clean and assemble the most critical hardware for ESA’s ExoMars Mars Lander System, and researchers developing a novel double-walled isolator (DWI) and robotic handling techniques in support of an MSR SRF. The RAMA team visits covered several construction modalities for an MSR SRF: (1) a new traditional fixed facility; (2) use of an existing fixed Biosafety Level 4(BSL-4) facility; (3) a novel modular BSL-4 approach; and (4) a hybrid combination of fixed, modular, and existing facilities. A new fixed facility approach can be tailored to MSR’s needs and is the approach used by all U.S. BSL-4 laboratories constructed to date. However, this approach could be the most expensive modality, take the longest to implement (8-12 years), and have significant programmatic risk of delay. The utilization of an existing BSL-4 facility may be possible depending on the final contamination control and science requirements for the MSR SRF. Due to the internal dimensions of the labs visited and facility structural requirements, it is unlikely that any modification can be made to the facility to meet cleanliness requirements. Furthermore, due to possible construction delays, possible capacity issues, and potential cross contamination vectors from in-house select agents, there may also be significant programmatic risks for sharing an existing facility. Another approach is building a contemporary modular facility. This is a novel approach that has recently been used for a BSL-3/3Ag facilities. The modular elements would be installed in a traditional building or shell structure. A modular facility has many advantages over a traditional fixed facility with lower costs, shorter design/construction/ commissioning schedule, and flexibility for easier retrofits and future expansion. Lastly, a hybrid approach of combining the use of either: (1) a modular facility inside a new fixed facility or (2) a modular and/or fixed BSL-4 annex in conjunction with an existing BSL-4 space should be considered. The advantage of a hybrid approach is that the facility could leverage the strengths of other approaches. Beyond facility construction approaches, the RAMA team investigated technologies and techniques for isolating and handling Martian samples in pristine environments. For example, ESA has been studying and developing a DWI breadboard along with other sample-handling technologies. The research and development investment for clean, remote manipulation and robotics at the start of the facility design phase would be beneficial to the SRF. Additionally, under-standing the lessons learned from Thales Alenia Space during the construction and operation of the most advanced state-of-the-art precision cleaning, sterilization, and assembly glovebox isolators ever developed for spacecraft hardware are also critical for the SRF. The RAMA team lays out a summary of the 18 facilities toured, and includes 43 observations,18 findings, and 22 areas of possible follow-up that the RAMA team and others could pursue to enable further findings. The observations and findings illustrate that constructing an MSR SRF would combine the complexity of both high-containment and pristine facilities, and merging these technologies would be challenging, but achievable.

Mars Sample Return↗