The InterPlanetary Superhighway and the development of space
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The 472 Dimpled Ball Grid Array (D-BGA) package has not been used in past space flight environments, therefore it is necessary to determine the robustness and reliability of the solder joints. The 472 D-BGA packages passed the above environmental tests within the specifications and are now qualified for use on space flight electronics.
Space inflatable and rigidizable structures technology is one of the emerging technologies that can potentially revolutionize the design and applications of large space structural systems.
Launch cost, which is often directly proportional to launch volume and mass, is a significant portion of the life-cycle cost of a space mission.
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Investigations of microbial contamination of the cooling system aboard the International Space Station (ISS) suggested that there may be a relationship between heat exchanger (HX) materials and the degree of microbial colonization and biofilm formation. Experiments were undertaken to test the hypothesis that biofilm formation is influenced by the type and previous exposure of HX surfaces. Acidovorax delafieldii, Comamonas acidovorans, Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava, Pseudomonas stutzeri, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, originally isolated from ISS cooling system fluid, were cultured on R2A agar and suspended separately in fresh filter-sterilized ISS cooling fluid, pH 8.3. Initial numbers in each suspension ranged from 10(exp 6)-10(exp 7) CFU/ml, and a mixture contained greater than 10(exp 7) CFU/ml. Coupons of ISS HX material, previously used on orbit (HXOO) or unused (HXUU), polycarbonate (PC) and 316L polished stainless steel (SS) were autoclaved, covered with multispecies suspension in sterile tubes and incubated in the dark at ambient (22-25 C). Original HX material contained greater than 90% Ni, 4.5% Si, and 3.2% B, with a borate buffer. For approximately 10 weeks, samples of fluid were plated on R2A agar, and surface colonization assessed by SYBR green or BacLight staining and microscopy. Suspension counts for the PC and SC samples remained steady at around 10(exp 7) CFU/ml. HXUU counts declined about 1 log in 21 d then remained steady, and HXOO counts declined 2 logs in 28 d, fluctuated and stabilized about 10(exp 3) CFU/ml from 47-54 d. Predominantly yellow S. paucimobilis predominated on plates from HXOO samples up to 26 d, then white or translucent colonies of other species appeared. All colony types were seen on plates from other samples throughout the trial. Epifluorescence microscopy indicated microbial growth on all surfaces by 21 d, followed by variable colonization. After 54 d, all but the HXOO samples had well-distributed live and dead cells; the HXOO samples had few cells and most were live by BacLight. The results suggest that HX materials themselves are inhibiting microbial growth on the surfaces. The HX exposed on orbit to cooling system fluid inhibited growth of some species originally isolated from the system, whereas the unused HX material had a moderate effect compared to no inhibition with PC or SS controls. It is possible that chemistry or microbiology of the ISS system increased deposition of inhibitory compounds on the HXOO coupon surfaces; these may inhibit inoculated species to differing degrees.
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BioSentinel is an autonomous fully self-contained science mission that will conduct the first study of the biological response to space radiation outside low Earth orbit (LEO) in over 40 years. The 4-unit (4U) BioSentinel biosensor system, is housed within a 6-Unit (6U) spacecraft, and uses yeast cells in multiple independent microfluidic cards to detect and measure DNA damage that occurs in response to ambient space radiation. Cell growth and metabolic activity will be measured using a 3-color LED detection system and a metabolic indicator dye with a dedicated thermal control system per fluidic card.
Gores are pie-shaped panels that are welded together to form the dome ends of rocket fuel tanks as shown in figure 1. Replacing aluminum alloy 2219 with aluminum (Al)-lithium (Li) alloy 2195 as the Space Launch System (SLS) cryogenic tank material would save enormous amounts of weight. In fact, it has been calculated that simply replacing Al 2219 gores with Al 2195 gores on the SLS core stage domes could save approximately 3,800 pound-mass. This is because the Al-Li 2195 alloy exhibits both higher mechanical properties and lower density than the SLS baseline Al 2219 alloy. Indeed, the known advantages of Al 2195 led to its use as a replacement for Al 2219 in the shuttle external tank program. The required thicknesses of Al 2195 gores for either SLS core stage tanks or upper stage tanks will depend on the specific design configurations. The required thicknesses or widths may exceed the current experience base in the manufacture of such gores by the stretch-forming process. Accordingly, the primary objective of this project was to enhance the formability of Al 2195 by optimizing the heat treatment and stretch-forming process for gore thicknesses up to 0.75 inches, which envelop the maximum expected gore thicknesses for SLS tank configurations.
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No abstract available