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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Recent Progress at NASA in LlSA Formulation and Technology Development

Over the last year, the NASA portion of the LISA team has been focused its effort on advancing the formulation of the mission and responding to a major National Academy review. This talk will describe advances in, and the current state of: the baseline mission architecture, the performance requirements, the technology development and plans for final integration and test. Interesting results stimulated by the NASINRC Beyond Einstein Program Assessment Review will also be described.

Stebbins, Robin↗
NASA NTRS1981

High voltage DC switchgear development for multi-kW space power system: Aerospace technology development of three types of solid state power controllers for 200-1100VDC with current ratings of 25, 50, and 80 amperes with one type utilizing an electromechanical device

Three types of solid state power controllers (SSPC's) for high voltage, high power DC system applications were developed. The first type utilizes a SCR power switch. The second type employes an electromechanical power switch element with solid state commutation. The third type utilizes a transistor power switch. Significant accomplishments include high operating efficiencies, fault clearing, high/low temperature performance and vacuum operation.

Billings, W. W.↗
NASA NTRS2005

[Microfabricated X-ray Optics Technology Development for the Constellation X-Mission]

MIT has previously developed advanced methods for the application of silicon microstructures (so-called microcombs) in the precision assembly of foil x-ray optics in support of the Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-ray Telescope (SXT) technology development at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). During the first year of the above Cooperative Agreement, MIT has developed a new, mature, potentially high- yield process for the manufacturing of microcombs that can be applied to a range of substrates independent of thickness. MIT also developed techniques to extract microcomb accuracy from an assembly truss metrology test stand and to extend the dynamic range of its Shack-Hartmann foil metrology tool. The placement repeatability of foil optics with microcombs in the assembly truss has been improved by a factor of two to approximately 0.15 micron. This was achieved by electric contact determination in favor of determining contact through force measurements. Development work on a stress-free thin foil holder was also supported by this agreement and successfully continued under a different grant.

Schattenburg, Mark L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Next Generation Life Support (NGLS): High Performance EVA Glove (HPEG) Technology Development Element

The overall objective is to develop advanced gloves for extra vehicular activity (EVA) for future human space exploration missions and generate corresponding standards by which progress may be quantitatively assessed. The glove prototypes that result from the successful completion of this technology development activity will be delivered to NASA's Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) and ultimately to be included in an integrated test with the next generation spacesuit currently under development.

Walsh, Sarah↗
NASA NTRS1984

Advanced on-site power plant development technology program

A 30-cell, full area short stack containing advanced cell features was tested for 2900 hours. A stack acid addition approach was selected and will be evaluated on the stack at 5000 hours test time. A brassboard inverter was designed and fabrication was initiated. Evaluation of this brassboard inverter will take place in 1984. A Teflon coated commercial heat exchanger was selected as the preferred approach for the acid condenser. A reformer catalyst with significantly less pressure drop and equivalent performance relative to the 40-K baseline catalyst was selected for the development reformer. The early 40-kW field power plant history was reviewed and adjustments were made to the On-Site Technology Development Program to address critical component issues.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2006

Atmosphere Revitalization Technology Development for Crewed Space Exploration

As space exploration objectives extend human presence beyond low Earth orbit, the solutions to technological challenges presented by supporting human life in the hostile space environment must build upon experience gained during past and present crewed space exploration programs. These programs and the cabin atmosphere revitalization process technologies and systems developed for them represent the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) past and present operational knowledge base for maintaining a safe, comfortable environment for the crew. The contributions of these programs to the NASA s technological and operational working knowledge base as well as key strengths and weaknesses to be overcome are discussed. Areas for technological development to address challenges inherent with the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) are presented and a plan for their development employing unit operations principles is summarized

Perry, Jay L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Technology Development of Miniaturized Far-Infrared Sources for Biomolecular Spectroscopy

The objective of this project was to develop a purely solid-state based, thus miniaturized, far-infrared (FIR) (also known as terahertz (THz)) wave source using III-V semiconductor nanostructures for biomolecular detection and sensing. Many biomolecules, such as DNA and proteins, have distinct spectroscopic features in the FIR wavelength range as a result of vibration-rotation-tunneling motions and various inter- and intra-molecule collective motions. Spectroscopic characterization of such molecules requires narrow linewidth, sufficiently high power, tunable (in wavelength), and coherent FIR sources. Unfortunately, the FIR frequency is one of the least technologically developed ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum. Currently available FIR sources based on non-solid state technology are bulky, inefficient, and very often incoherent. In this project we investigated antimonide based compound semiconductor (ABCS) nanostructures as the active medium to generate FIR radiation. The final goal of this project was to demonstrate a semiconductor THz source integrated with a pumping diode laser module to achieve a compact system for biomolecular applications.

Kono, Junichiro↗
NASA NTRS1996

Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control Program: Technology Development Requirements

Human missions in space, from the International Space Station on towards potential human exploration of the moon, Mars and beyond into the solar system, will require advanced systems to maintain an environment that supports human life. These systems will have to recycle air and water for many months or years at a time, and avoid harmful chemical or microbial contamination. NASA's Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control program has the mission of providing future spacecraft with advanced, integrated networks of microminiaturized sensors to accurately determine and control the physical, chemical and biological environment of the crew living areas. This document sets out the current state of knowledge for requirements for monitoring the crew environment, based on (1) crew health, and (2) life support monitoring systems. Both areas are updated continuously through research and space mission experience. The technologies developed must meet the needs of future life support systems and of crew health monitoring. These technologies must be inexpensive and lightweight, and use few resources. Using these requirements to continue to push the state of the art in miniaturized sensor and control systems will produce revolutionary technologies to enable detailed knowledge of the crew environment.

Jan, Darrell↗
NASA NTRS2005

Technology Development for the Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-Ray Telescope

The Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-ray Telescope (SXT) is a large diameter, high throughput, grazing incidence imaging mirror system, designed to perform high sensitivity spectroscopy of cosmic X-ray sources in the 0.2-10.0 keV band. The baseline effective area requirement is -3 m# at 1 keV. The system-level angular-resolution requirement is a 15-arcseconds half-power diameter, with a 5-arcsecond goal. The effective area is attained through a modular design, involving the nesting of many confocal, thin-walled Wolter I mirror segments. Considerable progress has been made in developing thin, thermally formed, glass mirror substrates that meet or better the angular-resolution requirement. Several approaches to mounting and aligning reflector segments into a mirror system are under investigation. We report here on the progress of the SXT technology development program toward reaching the performance goals.

Petre, Robert↗
NASA NTRS1994

Free Flight Rotorcraft Flight Test Vehicle Technology Development

A rotary wing, unmanned air vehicle (UAV) is being developed as a research tool at the NASA Langley Research Center by the U.S. Army and NASA. This development program is intended to provide the rotorcraft research community an intermediate step between rotorcraft wind tunnel testing and full scale manned flight testing. The technologies under development for this vehicle are: adaptive electronic flight control systems incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, small-light weight sophisticated sensors, advanced telepresence-telerobotics systems and rotary wing UAV operational procedures. This paper briefly describes the system's requirements and the techniques used to integrate the various technologies to meet these requirements. The paper also discusses the status of the development effort. In addition to the original aeromechanics research mission, the technology development effort has generated a great deal of interest in the UAV community for related spin-off applications, as briefly described at the end of the paper. In some cases the technologies under development in the free flight program are critical to the ability to perform some applications.

Hodges, W. Todd↗
NASA NTRS2007

Advanced Stirling Technology Development at NASA Glenn Research Center

The NASA Glenn Research Center has been developing advanced energy-conversion technologies for use with both radioisotope power systems and fission surface power systems for many decades. Under NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Planetary Science Theme, Technology Program, Glenn is developing the next generation of advanced Stirling convertors (ASCs) for use in the Department of Energy/Lockheed Martin Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG). The next-generation power-conversion technologies require high efficiency and high specific power (watts electric per kilogram) to meet future mission requirements to use less of the Department of Energy's plutonium-fueled general-purpose heat source modules and reduce system mass. Important goals include long-life (greater than 14-yr) reliability and scalability so that these systems can be considered for a variety of future applications and missions including outer-planet missions and continual operation on the surface of Mars. This paper provides an update of the history and status of the ASC being developed for Glenn by Sunpower Inc. of Athens, Ohio.

Shaltens, Richard K.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Hard X-ray Optics Technology Development for Astronomy at the Marshall Space Flight Center

Grazing-incidence telescopes based on Wolter 1 geometry have delivered impressive advances in astrophysics at soft-x-ray wavelengths, while the hard xray region remains relatively unexplored at fine angular resolution and high sensitivities. The ability to perform ground-breaking science in the hard-x-ray energy range had been the motivation for technology developments aimed at fabricating low-cost, light-weight, high-quality x-ray mirrors. Grazing-incidence x-ray optics for high-energy astrophysical applications is being developed at MSFC using the electroform-nickel replication process.

Gubarev, Mikhail↗
NASA NTRS2012

Decision Gate Process for Assessment of a Technology Development Portfolio

The NASA Dust Management Project (DMP) was established to provide technologies (to TRL 6 development level) required to address adverse effects of lunar dust to humans and to exploration systems and equipment, which will reduce life cycle cost and risk, and will increase the probability of sustainable and successful lunar missions. The technology portfolio of DMP consisted of different categories of technologies whose final product is either a technology solution in itself, or one that contributes toward a dust mitigation strategy for a particular application. A Decision Gate Process (DGP) was developed to assess and validate the achievement and priority of the dust mitigation technologies as the technologies progress through the development cycle. The DGP was part of continuous technology assessment and was a critical element of DMP risk management. At the core of the process were technology-specific criteria developed to measure the success of each DMP technology in attaining the technology readiness levels assigned to each decision gate. The DGP accounts for both categories of technologies and qualifies the technology progression from technology development tasks to application areas. The process provided opportunities to validate performance, as well as to identify non-performance in time to adjust resources and direction. This paper describes the overall philosophy of the DGP and the methodology for implementation for DMP, and describes the method for defining the technology evaluation criteria. The process is illustrated by example of an application to a specific DMP technology.

Kohli, Rajiv↗
NASA NTRS1988

Prospects for coherent lidar systems and technology development

A coherent lidar is a powerful technique for remote measurements of velocity fields, and at middle infrared wavelengths it also has advantages compared with direct-detection lidar in extended range measurement of atmospheric species. These qualities are obtained at the cost of additional complexity and more stringent requirements on the coherence properties of the lasers which are used. An attempt is made to summarize the technological requirements of certain coherent lidar applications and discuss relevant technology development, emphasizing the CO2 and solid-state laser components.

Menzies, Robert T.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Technology Development for Hydrogen Propellant Storage and Transfer at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a major user of liquid hydrogen. In particular, NASA's John F. Kennedy (KSC) Space Center has operated facilities for handling and storing very large quantities of liquid hydrogen (LH2) since the early 1960s. Safe operations pose unique challenges and as a result NASA has invested in technology development to improve operational efficiency and safety. This paper reviews recent innovations including methods of leak and fire detection and aspects of large storage tank health and integrity. We also discuss the use of liquid hydrogen in space and issues we are addressing to ensure safe and efficient operations should hydrogen be used as a propellant derived from in-situ volatiles.

cryogenics↗
NASA NTRS1981

JPL antenna technology development

Plans for evaluating, designing, fabricating, transporting and deploying cost effective and STS compatible offset wrap rib antennas up to 300 meters in diameter for mobile communications, Earth resources observation, and for the orbiting VLBI are reviewed. The JPL surface measurement system, intended for large mesh deployable antenna applications will be demonstrated and validated as part of the antenna ground based demonstration program. Results of the offset wrap rib deployable antenna technology development will include: (1) high confidence structural designs for antennas up to 100 meters in diameter; (2) high confidence estimates of functional performance and fabrication cost for a wide range of antenna sizes (up to 300 meters in diameter); (3) risk assessment for fabricating the large size antennas; and (4) 55 meter diameter flight quality hardware that can be cost effectively completed toto accommodate a flight experiment and/or application.

Freeland, R. E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

NASA GRC Technology Development Project for a Stirling Radioisotope Power System

NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and Stirling Technology Company (STC) are developing a Stirling convertor for an advanced radioisotope power system to provide spacecraft on-board electric power for NASA deep space missions. NASA GRC is conducting an in-house project to provide convertor, component, and materials testing and evaluation in support of the overall power system development. A first characterization of the DOE/STC 55-We Stirling Technology Demonstration Convertor (TDC) under the expected launch random vibration environment was recently completed in the NASA GRC Structural Dynamics Laboratory. Two TDCs also completed an initial electromagnetic interference (EMI) characterization at NASA GRC while being tested in a synchronized, opposed configuration. Materials testing is underway to support a life assessment of the heater head, and magnet characterization and aging tests have been initiated. Test facilities are now being established for an independent convertor performance verification and technology development. A preliminary Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA), initial finite element analysis (FEA) for the linear alternator, ionizing radiation survivability assessment, and radiator parametric study have also been completed. This paper will discuss the status, plans, and results to date for these efforts.

Thieme, Lanny G.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Risk-Informed Decision Making: Application to Technology Development Alternative Selection

NASA NPR 8000.4A, Agency Risk Management Procedural Requirements, defines risk management in terms of two complementary processes: Risk-informed Decision Making (RIDM) and Continuous Risk Management (CRM). The RIDM process is used to inform decision making by emphasizing proper use of risk analysis to make decisions that impact all mission execution domains (e.g., safety, technical, cost, and schedule) for program/projects and mission support organizations. The RIDM process supports the selection of an alternative prior to program commitment. The CRM process is used to manage risk associated with the implementation of the selected alternative. The two processes work together to foster proactive risk management at NASA. The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters has developed a technical handbook to provide guidance for implementing the RIDM process in the context of NASA risk management and systems engineering. This paper summarizes the key concepts and procedures of the RIDM process as presented in the handbook, and also illustrates how the RIDM process can be applied to the selection of technology investments as NASA's new technology development programs are initiated.

Dezfuli, Homayoon↗