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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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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Electric Propulsion Development Activities for Space Nuclear Propulsion Applications

Given increased worldwide support for advanced nuclear technology for terrestrial applications, there is a renewed interest in the possibility of nuclear-reactor-powered spacecraft. NASA continues investing in the technology areas necessary to support NASA’s future scientific and exploration goals. One of those technologies areas is electric propulsion, a highly efficient means for in-space propulsion that increases fuel economy by ionizing and accelerating an onboard propellant using spacecraft electrical power. The current NASA portfolio of electric propulsion investments in support of space nuclear applications focuses on a range of future applications with total system power levels of 50 kilowatts to multimegawatt. These investments support a fast-paced incremental rate for technology development advancement to support these applications. Systems at the 50-kilowatt power level can be accomplished today with existing technology and systems at the multimegawatt level will require further technology developments over the coming decade. Propulsion systems based an array of multiple Hall thrusters have been identified the most likely technology option for the near-term applications and systems utilizing lithium-fueled magneto-plasma-dynamic thrusters have been identified as the most promising alternative technology option for the far-term applications at very high-power levels.

Electric propulsion↗
NASA NTRS1978

The 1977 Goddard Space Flight Center Battery Workshop

The papers presented were derived from transcripts taken at the Tenth Annual Battery Workshop held at the Goddard Space Flight Center, November 15-17, 1977. The Workshop was attended by manufacturers, users, and government representatives interested in the latest results of testing, analysis, and development of the sealed nickel cadmium cell system. The purpose of the Workshop was to share flight and test experience, stimulate discussion on problem areas, and to review the latest technology improvements.

G Halpert↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Off‑World Additive Manufacturing - Augmenting NASA‑STD‑6030

This slide presents a summary for a soon to be released white paper on augmenting NASA-STD-6030 for off-world manufacturing. It examines the driving need for in-space manufacturing and its corresponding risks, challenges, potential solutions, and technology development needed to qualify a process.

NASA-STD-6030↗
NASA NTRS2026

Advanced Materials Testing Plan for the Space Suit Portable Life Support System

The Space Suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) has a tight mass requirement to meet while also meeting other requirements for supporting a crewmember in space, on the Moon, or on Mars. To meet these requirements, atypical materials must be considered to close the mass budget allocations. However, many of these materials and processes are relatively new and untested. Therefore, initial analysis and testing of some new and advanced processes have been conducted following a roadmap presented last year. This material testing has focused primarily on thermoplastics, both additively manufactured and machined, to assess plating and fastening operations that will be required. These processes will provide additional strength and shielding capability typically only achieved with metallics. This testing has also helped to define a forward plan to certify these materials and processes for critical spaceflight applications. This report will review testing plated thermoplastics both for strength and thermal properties. It will also review fastener and fastening options and look at insert and fastener testing. It will also review state-of-the-art methods being considered elsewhere and some additional testing being conducted. Using the testing results researched here, there will be recommendations on applications for each of these types of methods going forward.

Ryan Ogilvie↗
NASA NTRS2026

Advanced Materials Testing Plan for the Space Suit Portable Life Support System

The Space Suit Portable Life Support System (PLSS) has a tight mass requirement to meet while also meeting other requirements for supporting a crewmember in space, on the Moon, or on Mars. To meet these requirements, atypical materials must be considered to close the mass budget allocations. However, many of these materials and processes are relatively new and untested. Therefore, initial analysis and testing of some new and advanced processes have been conducted following a roadmap presented last year. This material testing has focused primarily on thermoplastics, both additively manufactured and machined, to assess plating and fastening operations that will be required. These processes will provide additional strength and shielding capability typically only achieved with metallics. This testing has also helped to define a forward plan to certify these materials and processes for critical spaceflight applications. This report will review testing plated thermoplastics both for strength and thermal properties. It will also review fastener and fastening options and look at insert and fastener testing. It will also review state-of-the-art methods being considered elsewhere and some additional testing being conducted. Using the testing results researched here, there will be recommendations on applications for each of these types of methods going forward.

Ryan Ogilvie↗
DOE OSTI2027

Market participation strategy of hybrid energy resources: A New York ISO case study

Drawing on existing market designs with independent resource participation in electricity markets, this study analyzes participation models for hybrid resources combining renewable generation and storage. Two models are considered: in the first, the components operate independently, with the Independent System Operator (ISO) managing the storage state of charge (SoC); in the second, the hybrid resource acts as an integrated unit, submitting offers as a “black box” and managing its SoC internally. Using a production cost model for the zonal New York Bulk Power System, we evaluate trade-offs in system reliability, market efficiency, and asset profitability. Our results provide several key insights for policymakers, showing that the ISO-managed granular model enhances social welfare through explicit SoC management, while the simpler integrated model is more computationally efficient, but may cause more real-time violations and lower overall profits.

Bansal, Rajni Kant↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Roman Space Telescope Optical System: Status, Test, and Verification Update

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (“Roman”) is NASA’s next flagship observatory. Launching in 2026, Roman will explore the nature of dark energy as well as expand the census of exoplanets in our galaxy via microlensing. Roman’s large field of view, agile survey capabilities, and excellent stability enable these scientific objectives, yet present unique challenges for the design, test, and verification of its optical system. Roman recently completed a comprehensive thermal vacuum test of the Spacecraft bus + Integrated Payload Assembly (SCIPA), followed by integrating the Outer Barrel Assembly (OBA), Solar Array Sunshield (SASS), and Deployable Aperture Cover (DAC) with SCIPA to complete the Observatory. This paper will present an overview of the thermal vacuum optical testing as well as a status of the optical system performance and verification.

Matthew Bolcar↗
NASA NTRS2011

Exploring the Model Design Space for Battery Health Management

Battery Health Management (BHM) is a core enabling technology for the success and widespread adoption of the emerging electric vehicles of today. Although battery chemistries have been studied in detail in literature, an accurate run-time battery life prediction algorithm has eluded us. Current reliability-based techniques are insufficient to manage the use of such batteries when they are an active power source with frequently varying loads in uncertain environments. The amount of usable charge of a battery for a given discharge profile is not only dependent on the starting state-of-charge (SOC), but also other factors like battery health and the discharge or load profile imposed. This paper presents a Particle Filter (PF) based BHM framework with plug-and-play modules for battery models and uncertainty management. The batteries are modeled at three different levels of granularity with associated uncertainty distributions, encoding the basic electrochemical processes of a Lithium-polymer battery. The effects of different choices in the model design space are explored in the context of prediction performance in an electric unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) application with emulated flight profiles.

Saha, Bhaskar↗
DOE OSTI2026

Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Space Charge in Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) Detectors

Overview This project focused on developing a high-fidelity numerical framework to simulate the multiphysics environment within Liquid Argon Time Projection Chamber (LArTPC) detectors. The primary objective was to characterize the complex interplay between ion transport, background fluid dynamics, and electric field distortions—a critical factor for the calibration and sensitivity of next-generation High Energy Physics experiments, such as DUNE. Technical Achievements The research successfully yielded a hybrid numerical space-charge solver utilizing a Cell-Centered Finite Volume Method (FVM) for ion transport coupled with a Finite Element Method (FEM) for electric potential. Key accomplishments include: • Verification & Validation: The 3-D solver was rigorously verified against 1-D analytical solutions, demonstrating high numerical accuracy in predicting space-charge-induced field deviations. • Field Distortion Analysis: 3D simulations revealed that space charge effects introduce significant non-uniformities in the electric field. Critically, the research identified that background LAr flow velocities, when comparable to ion drift velocities, markedly exacerbate these distortions. • Technology Transfer: The resulting source code and comprehensive user manuals were successfully transferred to collaborators at Fermilab, providing a portable computational tool for the broader scientific community. Challenges and Future Directions While the space-charge solver achieved all performance metrics, the integrated fluid dynamics modeling encountered convergence challenges stemming from the extreme 200-fold disparity in length scales between the detector's 37 mm inlet pipes and the 8-meter global domain. To address this, the project has identified a clear technical pivot toward Hierarchical Geometric Adaptive Mesh Refinement (HG-AMR). By implementing an h-type refinement strategy with hanging nodes, future iterations of this solver will be capable of resolving localized high-gradient inlet flows without the prohibitive computational costs of regular grids. This advancement, combined with data-driven uncertainty quantification based on MicroBooNE-style calibration, will enable the precise modeling of detector responses in large-scale cryogenic environments where direct measurement remains difficult. Impact The computational tools developed under this award provide a foundation for enhancing the energy resolution and spatial reconstruction of noble liquid detectors. By bridging the gap between theoretical fluid dynamics and experimental field calibration, this work supports the DOE’s mission to advance the frontiers of neutrino physics and dark matter detection.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1970

Optical Telescope Technology

Design optics and technology for large spaceborne astronomical telescopes

Office of Space Science and Applications↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tracing Phase Transformation and Lattice Evolution in a TRIP Sheet Steel under High-Temperature Annealing by Real-Time In Situ Neutron Diffraction

Real-time in situ neutron diffraction was used to characterize the crystal structure evolution in a transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) sheet steel during annealing up to 1000 °C and then cooling to 60 °C. Based on the results of full-pattern Rietveld refinement, critical temperature regions were determined in which the transformations of retained austenite to ferrite and ferrite to high-temperature austenite during heating and the transformation of austenite to ferrite during cooling occurred, respectively. The phase-specific lattice variation with temperature was further analyzed to comprehensively understand the role of carbon diffusion in accordance with phase transformation, which also shed light on the determination of internal stress in retained austenite. These results prove the technique of real-time in situ neutron diffraction as a powerful tool for heat treatment design of novel metallic materials.

Yu, Dunji [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000189467851)↗
DOE OSTI2026

Topographic effects on reflected acoustic waves from the OSIRIS-REx reentry observed from stratospheric balloons

During long-distance sound propagation in planetary atmospheres, acoustic waves may reflect off the air/surface interface one or more times. For low sound frequencies and flat interfaces, the incident and reflected wave tend to be nearly identical. However, this may not be the case when the downgoing acoustic wave encounters topography. Here, we describe a set of direct and reflected acoustic signals recorded on free-flying balloons during the hypersonic entry of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule (SRC). In two of the three cases presented here, an impulsive reflected arrival similar in form to the direct sonic boom of the SRC is observed, followed by a diffuse coda. In contrast, one of the floating stations lacked an impulsive reflection entirely, with only the coda present. We use full waveform modeling to show how reflection in the presence of complex topography can explain coda seen in all three examples as well as the lack of impulsive arrival on the third. Our results indicate that the complex signals often observed in long range acoustic propagation could be due, in part, to interactions with topography during transmission.

Lees, Jonathan M. [University of North Carolina, C↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Artemis I Space Launch System Base Heat Shield Thermal Protection System Performance

The Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage base heat shield experienced the highest external heating environments on the entire launch vehicle during Artemis I ascent flight. This result was consistent with design predictions. The base heat shield experiences P50 cork combustion dynamics at low altitudes, plume-induced recirculation at moderate altitudes and then in-space base flow physics out to Main Engine Cut-Off (MECO). The base heat shield thermal protection system (TPS) is composed of a P50 cork ablator which is bonded to a substrate. The heat shield protects the gimbal actuation system, RS-25 turbomachinery systems and other aft section sensitive components during ascent. This paper estimates the base heat shield TPS performance from Artemis I using flight data from the NASA Langley Research Center’s Scientifically Calibrated In-Flight Imagery (SCIFLI) Airborne Multispectral Imager (SAMI), development flight instrumentation (DFI) and other TPS recession flight measurements. Predictions from computational and ground test-derived engineering ablation models and observations are also applied. Since no base heat shield substrate thermocouple data were obtained for Artemis I, an estimate of the TPS performance data is derived here. This data assesses thermal margin of the SLS Core Stage base heat shield and best informs the Artemis II Crewed mission to the moon.

aerothermodynamics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Crewed Space Vehicle Battery Safety Requirements

This requirements document is applicable to all batteries on crewed spacecraft, including vehicle, payload, and crew equipment batteries. It defines the specific provisions required to design a battery that is safe for ground personnel and crew members to handle and/or operate during all applicable phases of crewed missions, safe for use in the enclosed environment of a crewed space vehicle, and safe for use in launch vehicles, as well as in unpressurized spaces adjacent to the habitable portion of a space vehicle. The required provisions encompass hazard controls, design evaluation, and verification. The extent of the hazard controls and verification required depends on the applicability and credibility of the hazard to the specific battery design and applicable missions under review. Evaluation of the design and verification program results shall be completed prior to certification for flight and ground operations. This requirements document is geared toward the designers of battery systems to be used in crewed vehicles, crew equipment, crew suits, or batteries to be used in crewed vehicle systems and payloads (or experiments). This requirements document also applies to ground handling and testing of flight batteries. Specific design and verification requirements for a battery are dependent upon the battery chemistry, capacity, complexity, charging, environment, and application. The variety of battery chemistries available, combined with the variety of battery-powered applications, results in each battery application having specific, unique requirements pertinent to the specific battery application. However, there are basic requirements for all battery designs and applications, which are listed in section 4. Section 5 includes a description of hazards and controls and also includes requirements.

Jeevarajan, Judith A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Hubble Space Telescope nickel-hydrogen flight spare battery test

For several years, MSFC has been engaged in a series of battery tests in support of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Program. Now that the HST is in orbit, many of these tests will continue in order to give those responsible for the HST a reasonable prediction on the performance of the flight batteries. These tests will also be a source of needed low earth orbit (LEO) data for nickel hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries and cells. One of the tests currently in progress at MSFC is a mission simulation test on a 22-cell Ni-H2 battery. This battery is composed of spare cells taken from the lot of cells out of which the Flight Spare Module was assembled. This module is one of two modules launched on the HST. This battery has been on test since Jun. 1989 and has completed nearly 8000 LEO cycles. A series of characterization tests were run prior to the start of the mission simulation and a launch scenario test was run in Feb. and Mar. 1990 to test the behavior of the cells through a simulated launch. The results from these tests as well as the overall performance of the battery as it continues to cycle are reported.

Brewer, Jeffrey C.↗
DOE OSTI1988

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 29, No. 1, January-March 1988]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT: 1 Core History and Nuclide Inventory of the Chernobyl Core at the Time of Accident by Gerald Kirchner and Cornelius C. Noack; GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 6 Nonprescriptive Nuclear Safety Regulation: The Example of Loss of Offsite Power by M. W. Golay, V. P. Manno, and C. Vlahoplus, Jr., 20 Nuclear Power Safety Goals in Light of the Chernobyl Accident by C. Whipple and C. Starr; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 29 Containment Loads from Severe Accidents—U.S. Program by W. Kerr and M. K. Dey; PLANT SAFETY FEATURES: 36 Safety Characteristics of Modern High-Temperature Reactors: Focus on German Designs by W. Kröger, H. Nickel, and R. Schulten; ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: 49 Radiation Hormesis and Nuclear Safety by C. C. Congdon; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 58 Evaluation of Nonradiological Water Chemistry at Power Reactors by Harvey Zibulsky, James J. Kottan, Walter J. Pasciak, Mary Ann Castrogivanni, and Sujit Banerjee, 64 Reactor Shutdown Experience Compiled by J. W. Cletcher, 67 Operating U.S. Power Reactors Compiled by E. G. Silver; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 85 General Administrative Activities Compiled by E. G. Silver, 94 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides by D. S. Queener, 100 Status of Power-Reactor Projects Undergoing Licensing Review Compiled by E. G. Silver, 103 Proposed Rule Changes as of Sept. 30, 1987; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 5 Northwestern University Short Course on Radiation Safety, 28 International Approach to Nuclear Safety (After Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl), 57 RPI Short Course on Modern Developments in Boiling Heat Transfer and Two-Phase Flow, 107 20th DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning Conference, 110 Third International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Power Plant Thermal Hydraulics and Operations, 108 The Authors, 111 Indexes to Nuclear Safety, Volume 28.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterization Testing of a 20 Kelvin Cryocooler for Space Applications

Future NASA space exploration missions will require long-duration storage and liquefaction of cryogenic liquids, enabled by active cooling provided by cryocoolers. Recent gap analyses of Lunar and Mars transportation systems have identified 20 K-class cryocoolers as a critical enabling technology for chemical and nuclear thermal propulsion architectures using liquid hydrogen propellant. To address this technology gap, NASA has undergone the development of a high-efficiency, high-capacity 20 K cryocooler via an SBIR partnership with Creare. While the January 2025 testing demonstrated functionality and compliance with contractual requirements, the objective of the NASA-led characterization effort was to generate a dataset for supporting future mission designs across a broader operating envelope, including off-nominal conditions. The cryocooler demonstrated strong performance, achieving a peak coefficient of performance of 17.68% relative to Carnot efficiency and a maximum lift capacity of 24.4 W at 21 K. Overall, the results confirm that the 20 W 20 K cryocooler provides a flexible range of capabilities to enable zero boil-off storage of liquid hydrogen for future Lunar and Mars missions. The data collected provide a strong foundation for model validation and future system design efforts.

Cryocooler↗