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A new task has recently been initiated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to design, fabricate and test an inflatable rover that can be used for various planetary applications, including operation on the Earth's moon, on Mars, on Saturn's moon Titan and on Jupiter's moon, Europa.
Deployment dynamic behavior of an inflatable space structure is analyzed using a combination of gas dynamic analysis and rigid body kinematics simulations. Modeling technique is presented for deployment of a simple cantilever boom that is rolled up on a cylindrical mandrel.
The Decadal Survey identified Titan as one of the top priority science destinations in the large moons category, while NASA's proposed Design Reference Mission Set ranked a Titan in-situ explorer second, after a recommended Europa Geophysical Observer mission. This paper discusses a Titan rover concept, enabled by a single advanced Radioisotope Power System that could provide about 110We (BOL). The concept targets the smaller Flagship or potentially the New Frontiers mission class. This MSL class rover would traverse on four 1.5 m diameter inflatable wheels during its 3 years mission duration and would use as much design and flight heritage as possible to reduce mission cost. Direct to Earth communication would remove the need for a relay orbiter. Details on the strawman instrument payload, and rover subsystems are given for this science driven mission concept. In addition, power system trades between Advanced RTG, TPV, and Advanced Stirling and Brayton Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) are outlined. While many possible approaches exist for Titan in-situ exploration, the Titan rover concept presented here could provide a scientifically interesting and programmatically affordable solution.
In 2012, two large-scale models of a Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic decelerator were tested in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex at NASA Ames Research Center. One of the objectives of this test was to measure model deflections under aerodynamic loading that approximated expected flight conditions. The measurements were acquired using stereo photogrammetry. Four pairs of stereo cameras were mounted inside the NFAC test section, each imaging a particular section of the HIAD. The views were then stitched together post-test to create a surface deformation profile. The data from the photogram- metry system will largely be used for comparisons to and refinement of Fluid Structure Interaction models. This paper describes how a commercial photogrammetry system was adapted to make the measurements and presents some preliminary results.
NASA's Low Density Supersonic Decelerator Program is developing new technologies that will enable the landing of heavier payloads in low density environments, such as Mars. A recent flight experiment conducted high above the Hawaiian Islands has demonstrated the performance of several decelerator technologies. In particular, the deployment of the Robotic class Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (SIAD-R) was highly successful, and valuable data were collected during the test flight. This paper outlines the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis used to estimate the aerodynamic and aerothermal characteristics of the SIAD-R. Pre-flight and post-flight predictions are compared with the flight data, and a very good agreement in aerodynamic force and moment coefficients is observed between the CFD solutions and the reconstructed flight data.
This paper reviews recent advances and future challenges in analytical and experimental methods for understanding and verifying the deployment of inflatable structures in space.
Space inflatable structures technology continues to make progress in the past two years.
Inflatable antenna technology is being developed by JPL/NASA to enable the capabilities of low mass, high packaging efficiency, and low-cost deployment for future spacecraft high-grain and large aperture antennas.
The author has analyzed the use of a light-weight inflatable hypersonic drag device, called a ballute, (balloon + parachute) for flight in planetary atmospheres, for entry, aerocapture, and aerobraking.
Space inflatable structures technology is one of the emerging technologies that can potentially revolutionize the designs and applications of large space structural systems.
Inflatable technology has been identified as a potential solution to the problem of achieving small mass, high packaging efficiency, and reliable deployment for future NASA spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) antennas.
Three inflatable array antennas recently developed for spacecraft applications are a 3.3m x 1.0m L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) array, a 1.0m-diameter X-band telecom reflectarray, and a 3m-diameter Ka-band telecom reflectarray.
One important challenge in implementing inflatable structures technology for future space missions is the development and validation of anlaysis and simulation methodologies. This paper reviews selected topics previously addressed by various researchers in this area.
Inflatable structures have been identified as one of the enabling technologies to achieve low mass, high packaging efficiency, and reliable deployment for future NASA spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) array antennas.
A description is given of the hardware developed for the In- Space Technology Experiment Program (IN-STEP) flight experiment, which was flown to demonstrate the concept of large inflatable antennas in space.
Piezo induced deformations are proposed as a means of achieving a higher degree of on-orbit surface accuracy of inflatable antennas.
To help guide NASA and industry in the development and certification of crewed softgoods structures, this document details the fundamental testing, data, and documents recommended for the evaluation of a softgoods inflatable designed for crewed occupation in a space environment. This is not a requirements document but supports NASA-imposed standards used for certification. This document is intended to support and guide the development of programmatic requirements to demonstrate a design has followed a systematic and comprehensive design, fabrication, and test program.
The NASA TransHab project was a flight development program of a crewed inflatable habitat designed for in-space use. Through the course of the development, several novel technologies were developed and patented by NASA. One of these patents included information regarding a custom seam stitch that was used in the TransHab restraint layer design. As the patent protection has ended, the details of the custom seam stitch are being disclosed. The seam stitch developed during the TransHab program is known as the ‘tapered diamond stitch’ and includes both a ‘single’ and ‘double’ tapered diamond pattern for ‘end termination’ and ‘continuous’ webbing components respectively. It was designed for 1-in wide Kevlar webbings with load ratings of 6,000 lbf and 12,500 lbf. The stitch pattern was designed to gradually transfer load along the length of the seam using a tapered diamond geometry. The diamond stitch has been shown in tensile testing to provide greater than 85% load strength efficiency, compared to the pristine webbing.