Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “SPACE STORAGE”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 379 records · Page 21

Mission Applicability and Benefits of Thin-Film Integrated Power Generation and Energy Storage

This paper discusses the space mission applicability and benefits of a thin-film integrated power generation and energy storage device, i.e., an "Integrated Power Source" or IPS. The characteristics of an IPS that combines thin-film photo-voltaic power generation with thin-film energy storage are described. Mission concepts for a thin-film IPS as a spacecraft main electrical power system, as a decentralized or distributed power source and as an uninterruptible power supply are discussed. For two specific missions, preliminary sizing of an IPS as a main power system is performed and benefits are assessed. IPS developmental challenges that need to be overcome in order to realize the benefits of an IPS are examined. Based on this preliminary assessment, it is concluded that the most likely and beneficial application of an IPS will be as the main power system on a very small "nanosatellite," or in specialized applications serving as a decentralized or distributed power source or uninterruptible power supply.

Hoffman, David↗

Feasibility of self-structured current accessed bubble devices in spacecraft recording systems

The self-structured, current aperture approach to magnetic bubble memory is described. Key results include: (1) demonstration that self-structured bubbles (a lattice of strongly interacting bubbles) will slip by one another in a storage loop at spacings of 2.5 bubble diameters, (2) the ability of self-structured bubbles to move past international fabrication defects (missing apertures) in the propagation conductors (defeat tolerance), and (3) moving bubbles at mobility limited speeds. Milled barriers in the epitaxial garnet are discussed for containment of the bubble lattice. Experimental work on input/output tracks, storage loops, gates, generators, and magneto-resistive detectors for a prototype device are discussed. Potential final device architectures are described with modeling of power consumption, data rates, and access times. Appendices compare the self-structured bubble memory from the device and system perspectives with other non-volatile memory technologies.

Nelson, G. L.↗

Auroral interactions with ISSA

Due to its high inclination orbit, International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) will occasionally experience surface charging by the high energy electrons of the auroral environment. This study looks at the frequency of these occurrences and recapitulates a charging model. ISSA should expect about 80 auoral encounters annually. If the plasma contactor is not run continuously, the vehicle may charge several hundred volts. Charge storage on standard space station coatings should not be a problem, but care must be taken that materials are not introduced inadvertently that cannot bleed off accumulated charge in a reasonable time. A conductivity requirement may be used to ensure surface materials do not charge to high voltages, or store charge for long periods of time.

Purvis, Carolyn K.↗

Space station experiment definition: Long term cryogenic fluid storage

A preliminary design of an experiment to demonstrate and evaluate long-term cryogenic fluid storage and transfer technologies has been performed. This Long-Term Cryogenic Fluid Storage (LTCFS) experiment is a Technology Development Mission (TDM) experiment proposed by the NASA Lewis Research Center to be deployed on the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) space station. Technologies required by future orbital cryogenic systems such as Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTV's) were defined, and critical technologies requiring demonstration were chosen to be included in the experiment. A three-phase test program was defined to test the following types of technologies: (1) Passive Thermal Technologies; (2) Fluid Transfer Technologies; and (3) Active Refrigeration Technologies. The development status of advanced technologies required for the LTCFS experiment is summarized, including current, past and future programs.

Riemer, David H.↗

ASME Section VIII Recertification of a 33,000 Gallon Vacuum-jacketed LH2 Storage Vessel for Densified Hydrogen Testing at NASA Kennedy Space Center

The Ground Operations Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen (GODU-LH2) has been developed at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. GODU-LH2 has three main objectives: zero-loss storage and transfer, liquefaction, and densification of liquid hydrogen. A cryogenic refrigerator has been integrated into an existing, previously certified, 33,000 gallon vacuum-jacketed storage vessel built by Minnesota Valley Engineering in 1991 for the Titan program. The dewar has an inner diameter of 9.5 and a length of 71.5; original design temperature and pressure ranges are -423 F to 100 F and 0 to 95 psig respectively. During densification operations the liquid temperature will be decreased below the normal boiling point by the refrigerator, and consequently the pressure inside the inner vessel will be sub-atmospheric. These new operational conditions rendered the original certification invalid, so an effort was undertaken to recertify the tank to the new pressure and temperature requirements (-12.7 to 95 psig and -433 F to 100 F respectively) per ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section VIII, Division 1. This paper will discuss the unique design, analysis and implementation issues encountered during the vessel recertification process.

Liquefaction↗

Optimization of echo-enabled harmonic generation toward coherent EUV and soft X-ray free-electron laser at NSLS-II

Prebunching via echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) is an efficient way to reduce the radiator length and improve the longitudinal coherence as well as output stability in storage-ring-based free-electron lasers. We propose a conceptual design, which uses two straight sections to seed coherent extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray emission with nearly MHz repetition rate. To take the large energy spread (10 –3 ) of a storage ring into account and utilize the existing bending magnets between the two straight sections as the first chicane, we implement a special modeling tool, named EEHG optimizer. This tool has been successfully applied to maximize the prebunching with a reasonably low energy modulation, thereby generating intense coherent X-ray pulses within a short undulator length (a few meters) limited by the available space of a storage ring. Numerical simulations confirm that the optimized EEHG parameters can be directly applied to generate a 10 MW scale peak power with fully coherent ultrafast EUV to soft X-ray pulses based on the NSLS-II parameters. This method can be easily extended to other types of diffraction-limited storage rings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Development of Storage Methods for Saccharomyces Strains to be Utilized for In situ Nutrient Production in Long-Duration Space Missions

Long-duration space missions will benefit from closed-loop life support technologies that minimize mass, volume, and power as well as decrease reliance on Earth-based resupply. A system for In situ production of essential vitamins and nutrients can address the documented problem of degradation of stored food and supplements. Research has shown that the edible yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used as an on-demand system for the production of various compounds that are beneficial to human health. A critical objective in the development of this approach for long-duration space missions is the effective storage of the selected microorganisms. This research investigates the effects of different storage methods on survival rates of the non-sporulating probiotic S. boulardii, and S. cerevisiae spores and vegetative cells. Dehydration has been shown to increase long-term yeast viability, which also allows increased shelf-life and reduction in mass and volume. The process of dehydration causes detrimental effects on vegetative cells, including oxidative damage and membrane disruption. To maximize cell viability, various dehydration methods are tested here, including lyophilization (freeze-drying), air drying, and dehydration by vacuum. As a potential solution to damage caused by lyophilization, the efficacy of various cryoprotectants was tested. Furthermore, in an attempt to maintain higher survival rates, the effect of temperature during long-term storage was investigated. Data show spores of the wild-type strain to be more resilient to dehydration-related stressors than vegetative cells of either strain, and maintain high viability rates even after one year at room temperature. In the event that engineering the organism to produce targeted nutrient compounds interferes with effective sporulation of S. cerevisiae, a more robust method for improving vegetative cell storage is being sought. Therefore, anhydrobiotic engineering of S. cerevisiae and S. boulardii is being conducted

nutrient↗

Development of Storage Methods for Saccharomyces Strains to be Utilized for In Situ Nutrient Production in Long-Duration Space Missions

Long-duration space missions will benefit from closed-loop life support technologies that minimize mass, volume, and power as well as decrease reliance on Earth-based resupply. A system for In situ production of essential vitamins and nutrients can address the documented problem of degradation of stored food and supplements. Research has shown that the edible yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used as an on-demand system for the production of various compounds that are beneficial to human health. A critical objective in the development of this approach for long-duration space missions is the effective storage of the selected microorganisms. This research investigates the effects of different storage methods on survival rates of the non-sporulating probiotic S. boulardii, and S. cerevisiae spores and vegetative cells. Dehydration has been shown to increase long-term yeast viability, which also allows increased shelf-life and reduction in mass and volume. The process of dehydration causes detrimental effects on vegetative cells, including oxidative damage and membrane disruption. To maximize cell viability, various dehydration methods are tested here, including lyophilization (freeze-drying), air drying, and dehydration by vacuum. As a potential solution to damage caused by lyophilization, the efficacy of various cryoprotectants was tested. Furthermore, in an attempt to maintain higher survival rates, the effect of temperature during long-term storage was investigated. Data show spores of the wild-type strain to be more resilient to dehydration-related stressors than vegetative cells of either strain, and maintain high viability rates even after one year at room temperature. In the event that engineering the organism to produce targeted nutrient compounds interferes with effective sporulation of S. cerevisiae, a more robust method for improving vegetative cell storage is being sought. Therefore, anhydrobiotic engineering of S. cerevisiae and S. boulardii is being conducted.

life support↗

Accessing Data Stored in Amazon S3 Using the Hyrax OPeNDAP Server

For three years we have been investigating data storage and retrieval in the Amazon Cloud, striving to optimize both storage structures and (cache-enhanced retrieval processes. These optimizations are hidden from data users, who simply employ the Data Access Protocol (DAP), a popular, Web-based Application Programmer Interface (API) developed by OPeNDAP. We present our collected findings and their realization in the Hyrax data server. Specific techniques include caching data on spinning disk; accessing sharded data in place; optimizing the organizational structures for data within the flat key-value space of Simple Storage Service (S3); and employing an API extension that permits simultaneous operations on many datasets in a single request.

Data access↗

Moon Base Life Support Design Depends on Launch Cost, Crew Size, and Mission Duration

Brief human space missions such as Apollo and the Space Shuttle used material storage for life support but a long mission such as a space station uses a recycling life support system. The upcoming Moon visits will probably be brief with few crew at first but in the future there may be a long-term or even permanent Moon base with a large crew. The initial life support system will probably use storage and resupply of materials from Earth, but it could be replaced later by recycling, especially if launch cost per kilogram is high. Moon base life support design is investigated considering requirements, performance, reliability, cost, and risk. The launch cost, crew size, and mission duration are variable parameters that affect the life support design choice. Greater launch cost, crew size, or mission duration all tend to make recycling more cost-effective than resupply.

Jones, Harry W.↗

Advances in cryogenic engineering. Volume 31; Proceedings of the Cryogenic Engineering Conference, MIT, Cambridge, MA, Aug. 12-16, 1985

The present conference on the applications of state-of-the-art cryogenic engineering technologies considers topics associated with the development status of the 'Superconducting SuperCollider', superconducting magnetic energy storage methods, large magnets for fusion and other physics researches, cryogenic hardware improvements, and phenomena and applications of superconducting magnet-employing acoustic emission test equipment. Also discussed are design criteria for superconducting magnet stability, heat exchangers and heat transfer to liquid He and N, heat and mass transfer characteristics of He II, refrigeration techniques for magnetic resonance imaging and other small systems, refrigeration for liquefaction and for superconducting fusion as well as for accelerator and generator systems, magnetic refrigeration, cryocooling and refrigeration for space applications, the storage and transfer of cryogenic fluids, the properties of cryogenic liquids, and air liquefaction equipment.

Fast, R. W.↗

Nanotube Production Devices Expand Research Capabilities

In order for the Hubble Space Telescope to take incredible, never-seen-before shots of celestial bodies and then send them back to Earth, the spacecraft needs power. While in orbit, Hubble cannot plug into an electrical outlet or stop at a store for some batteries. One of the ways NASA supplies power aboard a spacecraft is by harnessing energy from the most powerful entity in the solar system: the Sun. Since the 1960s, photovoltaic technology, or technology that converts sunlight into electricity, has been instrumental in the exploration of space. To build upon existing photovoltaic technology, NASA s Glenn Research Center has worked on a variety of innovative designs and materials to incorporate into photovoltaic cells, the building blocks of solar power systems. One of these materials is the carbon nanotube - a tiny structure about 50,000 times finer than the average human hair, with notably high electrical and thermal conductivity and an extreme amount of mechanical strength. Such properties give carbon nanotubes great potential to enhance the reliability of power generation and storage devices in space and on Earth. Dennis J. Flood, the branch chief of the photovoltaic division at Glenn in the 1990s, was looking into using carbon nanotubes to improve the efficiency of solar cells when he ran into a major roadblock - high-quality carbon nanotubes were not readily available. To address this problem, one of the chemists in Flood s group came up with a process and system for growing them. A senior chemist at Glenn, Aloysius F. Hepp, devised an injection chemical vapor deposition process using a specific organometallic catalyst in a two-zone furnace. Hepp's group found the unique process produced high-quality carbon nanotubes with less than 5 percent metal impurity. In addition, the process was more efficient than existing techniques, as it eliminated pre-patterning of the substrate used for growing the nanotubes, a timely and cost-prohibitive step.

Source record↗

Effects of electron irradiation on high temperature superconductors and contacts to high temperature superconductors

The discovery of a new class of ceramic superconductors with transition temperatures above liquid nitrogen has opened the doors for exciting space applications. Energy storage, pointing maneuvers, magnetic shielding, and sensitive detection of electromagnetic radiation are some of the longer term possible applications. One near term application involves low electrical resistance, high thermal resistance connections between a detector operating at approximatly or equal to 4 and the electronics operating at approximatly or equal to 77 K. The new high temperature superconductors could accomplish this providing the necessary electrical connections to the ground plane while isolating the system thermally, thus prolonging the life of the mission. With such possibilities it is clearly of value to study the effects of radiation that would be experienced during a typical space mission. In this work we focused specifically on the effects of the electron radiation environment.

Caton, Randall↗

Real-time data reduction at 100 Tbps: Challenge and opportunity for AI-based data reduction for next-generation large-scale nuclear physics collider experiment

The modern large-scale nuclear physics (NP) experiments in high-energy particle colliders utilize streaming-readout electronics to digitize detector response at O(100) Tbps bandwidth. Prominent examples at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) include the sPHENIX experiment at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), which is under construction, and the experiments proposed for the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), planned for the 2030s . One of the main challenges for these streaming readout systems is to manage the data rate with sufficient data reduction in real time so the end-data fit persistent storage for offline analysis, which is typically at O(1000) times smaller and O(100) Gbps. Such data reduction traditionally is achieved via real-time high level triggers, which select and save a small subset of collisions of interest. Although triggering is applicable to high energy collider experiments such as those at the Large Hardron Collider at CERN, it is insufficient for these nuclear physics experiments which study diverse collision topologies. And traditional triggering approach is inefficient to preserve the max information harvested from the operation of colliders that costs O(100)M per year to DOE. Meanwhile, in recent years, ML-based high-throughput data reduction has emerged as a promising approach to efficiently preserve max information for a given space of persistent storage, e.g. via AI data compression, feature extraction, and noise filtering.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The NASA high temperature superconductivity program

It has been recognized from the onset that high temperature superconductivity held great promise for major advances across a broad range of NASA interests. The current effort is organized around four key areas: communications and data, sensors and cryogenics, propulsion and power, and space materials technology. Recently, laser ablated YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films on LaAIO produced far superior RF characteristics when compared to metallic films on the same substrate. This achievement has enabled a number of unique microwave device applications, such as low insertion loss phase shifters and high Q filters. Melt texturing and melt quenched techniques are being used to produce bulk materials with optimized magnetic properties. These yttrium enriched materials possess enhanced flux pinning characteristics and will lead to prototype cryocooler bearings. Significant progress has also occurred in bolometer and current lead technology. Studies are being conducted to evaluate the effect of high temperature superconducting materials on the performance and life of high power magneto-plasma-dynamic thrusters. Extended studies were also performed to evaluate the benefit of superconducting magnetic energy storage for LEO space station, lunar and Mars mission applications. The project direction and level of effort of the program are also described.

Sokoloski, Martin M.↗

Shuttle interaction study extension

The following areas of Space Shuttle technology were discussed: variable altitude strategy, spacecraft servicing, propellant storage, orbiter plume impingement, space based design, mating (docking and berthing), shuttle fleet utilization, and mission/traffic model.

Source record↗

Cryogenic Orbital Nitrogen Experiment (CONE): Phase A/B design study

Subcritical cryogenic fluid management (CFM) has long been recognized as an enabling technology for future space missions. Subcritical liquid storage and supply are two of the five CFM technology areas that need to be studied in the low gravity on-orbit environment. The Cryogenic Orbital Nitrogen Experiment (CONE) is a LN2 cryogenic storage and supply system demonstration placed in orbit by the National Space Transportation System (NSTS) Orbiter and operated as an in-bay payload. In-space demonstration of CFM using LN2 with a few well defined areas of focus would provide the confidence level required to implement subcritical cryogen use and is the first step towards the more far reaching issue of cryogen transfer and tankage resupply. A conceptual approach for CONE was developed and an overview of the program is described including the following: (1) a description of the background and scope of the technology objectives; (2) a description of the payload design and operation; and (3) the justification for CONE relating to potential near term benefits and risk mitigation for future systems. Data and criteria is provided to correlate in-space performance with analytical and numerical modeling of CFM systems.

Bailey, William J.↗

Prospects and progress of high Tc superconductivity for space applications

Current research in the area of high temperature superconductivity is organized around four key areas: communications and data, sensors and cryogenics, propulsion and power, and space materials technology. Recently, laser ablated YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films on LaAlO3 produced far superior RF characteristics when compared to metallic films on the same substrate. The achievement has enabled a number of unique microwave device applications, such as low insertion loss phase shifters and high-Q filters. Melt texturing and melt-quenched techniques are being used to produce bulk material with optimized magnetic properties. These yttrium-enriched materials possess enhanced flux pinning characteristics and could lead to prototype cryocooler bearings. Significant progress has also occurred in bolometer and current lead technology. Studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of high temperature superconducting materials on the performance and life of high power magnetoplasma-dynamic thrusters. Extended studies were also performed to evaluate the benefit of superconducting magnetic energy storage for LEO space station, lunar, and Mars mission applications.

Romanofsky, Robert R.↗