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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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At least 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Mass Spectrometry–Based Proteogenomics: New Therapeutic Opportunities for Precision Medicine

Proteogenomics refers to the integration of comprehensive genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic measurements from the same samples with the goal of fully understanding the regulatory processes converting genotypes to phenotypes, often with an emphasis on gaining a deeper understanding of disease processes. Although specific genetic mutations have long been known to drive the development of multiple cancers, gene mutations alone do not always predict prognosis or response to targeted therapy. The benefit of proteogenomics research is that information obtained from proteins and their corresponding pathways provides insight into therapeutic targets that can complement genomic information by providing an additional dimension regarding the underlying mechanisms and pathophysiology of tumors. This review describes the novel insights into tumor biology and drug resistance derived from proteogenomic analysis while highlighting the clinical potential of proteogenomic observations and advances in technique and analysis tools.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1974

Earth Observatory Satellite system definition study. Report no. 6: Space shuttle interfaces/utilization

The impacts of achieving compatibility of the Earth Observatory Satellite (EOS) with the space shuttle and the potential benefits of space shuttle utilization are discussed. Mission requirements and mission suitability, including the effects of multiple spacecraft missions, are addressed for the full spectrum of the missions. Design impact is assessed primarily against Mission B, but unique requirements reflected by Mission A, B, and C are addressed. The preliminary results indicated that the resupply mission had the most pronounced impact on spacecraft design and cost. Program costs are developed for the design changes necessary to achieve EOS-B compatibility with Space Shuttle operations. Non-recurring and recurring unit costs are determined, including development, test, ground support and logistics, and integration efforts. Mission suitability is addressed in terms of performance, volume, and center of gravity compatibility with both space shuttle and conventional launch vehicle capabilities.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

The exploration metaphor

NASA's experience in planetary exploration has demonstrated that the desktop workstation is inadequate for many visualization situations. The primary mission displays for the unmanned Surveyor missions to the moon during the mid-1960's, for example, were environmental images assembled on the inside surfaces of spherical shells. Future exploration missions will greatly benefit from advances in digital computer and display technology, but there remain unmet user interface needs. Alternative user interfaces and metaphors are needed for planetary exploration and other interactions with complex spatial environments. These interfaces and metaphors would enable the user to directly explore environments and naturally manipulate objects in those environments. Personal simulators, virtual workstations, and telepresence user interfaces are systems capable of providing this integration of user space and task space. The Exploration Metaphor is a useful concept for guiding the design of user interfaces for virtual environments and telepresence. To apply the Exploration Metaphor is to assert that computing is like exploration, and to support objects, operations, and contexts comparable to those encountered in the exploration of natural environments. The Exploration Metaphor, under development for user interfaces in support of NASA's planetary exploration missions and goals, will also benefit other applications where complex spatial information must be visualized. Visualization methods and systems for planetary exploration are becoming increasingly integrated and interactive as computing technology improves. These advances will benefit from virtual environment and telepresence interface technology. A key development has been the processing of multiple images and other sensor data to create detailed digital models of the planets and moons. Data from images of the Earth, Mars, and Miranda, for example, have been converted into 3D models, and dynamic virtual fly-overs have been computed as demonstrations. Similar processing of lower altitude photography and the use of computer aided design tools promise to produce very detailed models in the future.

Mcgreevy, Michael W.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Experiences Using Formal Methods for Requirements Modeling

This paper describes three cases studies in the lightweight application of formal methods to requirements modeling for spacecraft fault protection systems. The case studies differ from previously reported applications of formal methods in that formal methods were applied very early in the requirements engineering process, to validate the evolving requirements. The results were fed back into the projects, to improve the informal specifications. For each case study, we describe what methods were applied, how they were applied, how much effort was involved, and what the findings were. In all three cases, the formal modeling provided a cost effective enhancement of the existing verification and validation processes. We conclude that the benefits gained from early modeling of unstable requirements more than outweigh the effort needed to maintain multiple representations.

Easterbrook, Steve↗
NASA NTRS1997

Experiences Using Lightweight Formal Methods for Requirements Modeling

This paper describes three case studies in the lightweight application of formal methods to requirements modeling for spacecraft fault protection systems. The case studies differ from previously reported applications of formal methods in that formal methods were applied very early in the requirements engineering process, to validate the evolving requirements. The results were fed back into the projects, to improve the informal specifications. For each case study, we describe what methods were applied, how they were applied, how much effort was involved, and what the findings were. In all three cases, formal methods enhanced the existing verification and validation processes, by testing key properties of the evolving requirements, and helping to identify weaknesses. We conclude that the benefits gained from early modeling of unstable requirements more than outweigh the effort needed to maintain multiple representations.

Easterbrook, Steve↗
NASA NTRS2006

Sensor Management for Applied Research Technologies (SMART)-On Demand Modeling (ODM) Project

NASA requires timely on-demand data and analysis capabilities to enable practical benefits of Earth science observations. However, a significant challenge exists in accessing and integrating data from multiple sensors or platforms to address Earth science problems because of the large data volumes, varying sensor scan characteristics, unique orbital coverage, and the steep learning curve associated with each sensor and data type. The development of sensor web capabilities to autonomously process these data streams (whether real-time or archived) provides an opportunity to overcome these obstacles and facilitate the integration and synthesis of Earth science data and weather model output. A three year project, entitled Sensor Management for Applied Research Technologies (SMART) - On Demand Modeling (ODM), will develop and demonstrate the readiness of Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) capabilities that integrate both Earth observations and forecast model output into new data acquisition and assimilation strategies. The advancement of SWE-enabled systems (i.e., use of SensorML, sensor planning services - SPS, sensor observation services - SOS, sensor alert services - SAS and common observation model protocols) will have practical and efficient uses in the Earth science community for enhanced data set generation, real-time data assimilation with operational applications, and for autonomous sensor tasking for unique data collection.

Goodman, M.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Minimizing EVA Airlock Time and Depress Gas Losses

This paper describes the need and solution for minimizing EVA airlock time and depress gas losses using a new method that minimizes EVA out-the-door time for a suited astronaut and reclaims most of the airlock depress gas. This method consists of one or more related concepts that use an evacuated reservoir tank to store and reclaim the airlock depress gas. The evacuated tank can be an inflatable tank, a spent fuel tank from a lunar lander descent stage, or a backup airlock. During EVA airlock operations, the airlock and reservoir would be equalized at some low pressure, and through proper selection of reservoir size, most of the depress gas would be stored in the reservoir for later reclamation. The benefit of this method is directly applicable to long duration lunar and Mars missions that require multiple EVA missions (up to 100, two-person lunar EVAs) and conservation of consumables, including depress pump power and depress gas. The current ISS airlock gas reclamation method requires approximately 45 minutes of the astronaut s time in the airlock and 1 KW in electrical power. The proposed method would decrease the astronaut s time in the airlock because the depress gas is being temporarily stored in a reservoir tank for later recovery. Once the EVA crew is conducting the EVA, the volume in the reservoir would be pumped back to the cabin at a slow rate. Various trades were conducted to optimize this method, which include time to equalize the airlock with the evacuated reservoir versus reservoir size, pump power to reclaim depress gas versus time allotted, inflatable reservoir pros and cons (weight, volume, complexity), and feasibility of spent lunar nitrogen and oxygen tanks as reservoirs.

Trevino, Luis A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Fully Employing Software Inspections Data

Software inspections provide a proven approach to quality assurance for software products of all kinds, including requirements, design, code, test plans, among others. Common to all inspections is the aim of finding and fixing defects as early as possible, and thereby providing cost savings by minimizing the amount of rework necessary later in the lifecycle. Measurement data, such as the number and type of found defects and the effort spent by the inspection team, provide not only direct feedback about the software product to the project team but are also valuable for process improvement activities. In this paper, we discuss NASA's use of software inspections and the rich set of data that has resulted. In particular, we present results from analysis of inspection data that illustrate the benefits of fully utilizing that data for process improvement at several levels. Examining such data across multiple inspections or projects allows team members to monitor and trigger cross project improvements. Such improvements may focus on the software development processes of the whole organization as well as improvements to the applied inspection process itself.

Shull, Forrest↗
NASA NTRS2013

Effects of Type and Strength of Force Feedback on Movement Time in a Target Selection Task

Future cockpits will likely include new onboard technologies, such as cockpit displays of traffic information, to help support future flight deck roles and responsibilities. These new technologies may benefit from multimodal feedback to aid pilot information processing. The current study investigated the effects of multiple levels of force feedback on operator performance in an aviation task. Participants were presented with two different types of force feedback (gravitational and spring force feedback) for a discrete targeting task, with multiple levels of gain examined for each force feedback type. Approach time and time in target were recorded. Results suggested that the two highest levels of gravitational force significantly reduced approach times relative to the lowest level of gravitational force. Spring force level only affected time in target. Implications of these findings for the design of future cockpit displays will be discussed.

CDTI↗
NASA NTRS2015

Rao-Blackwellization for Adaptive Gaussian Sum Nonlinear Model Propagation

When dealing with imperfect data and general models of dynamic systems, the best estimate is always sought in the presence of uncertainty or unknown parameters. In many cases, as the first attempt, the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) provides sufficient solutions to handling issues arising from nonlinear and non-Gaussian estimation problems. But these issues may lead unacceptable performance and even divergence. In order to accurately capture the nonlinearities of most real-world dynamic systems, advanced filtering methods have been created to reduce filter divergence while enhancing performance. Approaches, such as Gaussian sum filtering, grid based Bayesian methods and particle filters are well-known examples of advanced methods used to represent and recursively reproduce an approximation to the state probability density function (pdf). Some of these filtering methods were conceptually developed years before their widespread uses were realized. Advanced nonlinear filtering methods currently benefit from the computing advancements in computational speeds, memory, and parallel processing. Grid based methods, multiple-model approaches and Gaussian sum filtering are numerical solutions that take advantage of different state coordinates or multiple-model methods that reduced the amount of approximations used. Choosing an efficient grid is very difficult for multi-dimensional state spaces, and oftentimes expensive computations must be done at each point. For the original Gaussian sum filter, a weighted sum of Gaussian density functions approximates the pdf but suffers at the update step for the individual component weight selections. In order to improve upon the original Gaussian sum filter, Ref. [2] introduces a weight update approach at the filter propagation stage instead of the measurement update stage. This weight update is performed by minimizing the integral square difference between the true forecast pdf and its Gaussian sum approximation. By adaptively updating each component weight during the nonlinear propagation stage an approximation of the true pdf can be successfully reconstructed. Particle filtering (PF) methods have gained popularity recently for solving nonlinear estimation problems due to their straightforward approach and the processing capabilities mentioned above. The basic concept behind PF is to represent any pdf as a set of random samples. As the number of samples increases, they will theoretically converge to the exact, equivalent representation of the desired pdf. When the estimated qth moment is needed, the samples are used for its construction allowing further analysis of the pdf characteristics. However, filter performance deteriorates as the dimension of the state vector increases. To overcome this problem Ref. [5] applies a marginalization technique for PF methods, decreasing complexity of the system to one linear and another nonlinear state estimation problem. The marginalization theory was originally developed by Rao and Blackwell independently. According to Ref. [6] it improves any given estimator under every convex loss function. The improvement comes from calculating a conditional expected value, often involving integrating out a supportive statistic. In other words, Rao-Blackwellization allows for smaller but separate computations to be carried out while reaching the main objective of the estimator. In the case of improving an estimator's variance, any supporting statistic can be removed and its variance determined. Next, any other information that dependents on the supporting statistic is found along with its respective variance. A new approach is developed here by utilizing the strengths of the adaptive Gaussian sum propagation in Ref. [2] and a marginalization approach used for PF methods found in Ref. [7]. In the following sections a modified filtering approach is presented based on a special state-space model within nonlinear systems to reduce the dimensionality of the optimization problem in Ref. [2]. First, the adaptive Gaussian sum propagation is explained and then the new marginalized adaptive Gaussian sum propagation is derived. Finally, an example simulation is presented.

state estimation↗
NASA NTRS2018

Multi-Operator Multi-UAV (MOMU) Control: Exploring the Influence of Sensor Tools and Playbook Task Delegation

New concepts of operations for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) will require a change from the current 2:1 operator to vehicle crew configuration. One particular control paradigm, largely driven by logistics, manpower, and training burdens, as well as the desire to force multiply, involves a single operator simultaneously managing multiple UAVs. This mode of operations has shown to significantly increase cognitive workload and decrease situation awareness, as operators are required to simultaneously attend to multiple sources of information. One potential way to mitigate potential drawbacks of multi-vehicle control by a single operator is to migrate to a multi-operator multi-UAV (MOMU) crew configuration, whereby M operators control N (> M) vehicles. This type of crew configuration can be organized in several ways to dynamically manage cognitive workload, match operator qualifications and skills to mission requirements, increase utilization of available assets, and thereby achieve maximum force multiplication. The present experiment examined task performance in a simulated MOMU environment and evaluated the potential benefits of sensor management aids ("Tools") as well as integrated sensor and flight automation ("Plays") compared to a fully manual condition ("Manual"). Tools support the operator by facilitating rapid understanding and management of sensor information, while the Plays support the operator by offloading/automating subtasks. Six pairs of participants were recruited for this study and tasked with sharing a pool of UAVs in order to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) missions in adjacent Areas of Operation (AOs). Participants were given four tasks to accomplish, in order of priority: 1) prosecute High Value Targets (HVTs); 2) identify / track targets (military vehicles); 3) identify / mark civilian vehicles; and 4) respond to chat messages. Performance on the mission tasks was measured in terms of accuracy and reaction time. A composite mission score was also calculated using a payoff matrix that weighted each task according to priority. The results indicate that Playbook demonstrated better performance overall with higher accuracy rates and the highest composite score compared to Tools and Manual. The implications of these results to supporting future MOMU concepts of operations is discussed.

Playbook↗
NASA NTRS2019

Fusion-Enabled Pluto Orbiter and Lander

Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is a unique fusion engine concept based on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC) fusion reactor conceived by Dr. Sam Cohen of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. DFD would enable the Pluto orbiter and lander context mission and more broadly enable true "rapid transit" to outer-planet and near interstellar space. The truly game-changing levels of thrust and power in a modestly sized package could integrate with our current launch infrastructure while radically expanding the science capability of these missions. Our Phase I was our first funded work on the DFD, with previous work at PSS occurring only under internal R&D. We established the feasibility of our Pluto mission trajectories using straight-line and planar models, including a departure spiral from Earth and insertion at Pluto. We developed our first thrust and specific impulse model using the results of the UEDGE multi-fluid code. Our specific power model was improved. During this Phase II effort, we continued our efforts to increase the fidelity of the designs for the RF, magnet, and shielding subsystems. Dedicated thrust augmentation experiments were run on the PFRC experiment, using a supersonic gas puffing valve. For the first time, we analyzed the design of a closed-loop operation mode and estimated the hardware that would be required for a dual-mode engine. In an exciting new development, we have invented a new thermophotovoltaic thermal conversion method that has the potential to have efficiencies of a Brayton or Stirling system. Our report presents details of these analyses. Our roadmap to bringing DFD to flight predicts that with sufficient support, a first flight unit could be built by 2040. We anticipate that three machine generations are required before this point: a ~1 T PFRC-3 machine hitting new plasma temperature and density levels, a ~5 T PFRC-4 machine with first demonstration of D-3He fusion, and a flight. (The current experiment, PFRC-2, is limited to about 0.1 T). In order to achieve a flight in 2035-2040, the TRL of the supporting systems must be increased in parallel, including low mass radiators, cryogenic propellant storage, and large (>100 kW) thermal conversion systems. Fortunately, many of these systems are dual-use and are required for other technologies including fission systems, so DFD would contribute to and benefit from those programs. This NIAC support and the results of our work have led to multiple follow-on contracts. We won two NASA STTRs focused on DFD subsystems, one on the RF system and one on the superconducting magnets, and our magnet STTR is now midway through a Phase II. We will be receiving a superconducting test magnet for experiments at PPPL this summer. In addition, we won an ARPA-E OPEN grant; this is the first time that OPEN has included fusion technologies, and we are part of a cohort of three alternative fusion companies now supported directly by DOE. We are very optimistic that if we are able to meet our experimental milestones in the next 12-18 months, we will be competitive for additional DOE grants to build PFRC-3.

Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2019

Development and Analysis of the Automated Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool Parametric Study Wrapper

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office (ODPO) Safety Group at the Johnson Space Center analyzes reentering spacecraft at the end of life. The program primarily used by ODPO in this effort is the Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (ORSAT). ORSAT utilizes shape primitives as well as a variety of other parameters (material, size, thickness, aerodynamic mass, orbit inclination, etc.) to simulate the reentry process and ultimately, to determine if a spacecraft could be hazardous to the population on the ground. The NASA ODPO plans to automate the ORSAT process to run multiple ORSAT input files either concurrently or consecutively. This type of automation program will provide several benefits. First, there is a need to run large parametric studies for ORSAT analysts to gain a greater understanding of reentering object’s sensitivity to certain input variables. Secondly, a database of pre-run ORSAT cases will be used to develop a survivability model, which could be made available to spacecraft developers as a design for demise (D4D) tool. The recently completed Automated Object Reentry Survival Analysis Tool (AutoORSAT) Wrapper is currently being used to build a survivability database, the first step in developing a survivability model. Already, the data that AutoORSAT has produced provides a greater understanding of the sensitivity of variables such as the initial temperature of the spacecraft, spacecraft breakup altitude, and the aerodynamic mass of spacecraft.

Smith, Andrew N.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Towards an Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS): A Coupled Hydrologic-Hydraulic System for Water Balance Assessments

Effective management of water resources requires reliable estimates of land surface states and fluxes, including water balance components. But most land surface models run in uncoupled mode and do not produce river discharge at catchment scales to be useful for water resources management applications. Such integrated systems are also rare over India where hydrometeorological extremes have wreaked havoc on the economy and people. So, an Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS) with a coupled land surface and a hydrodynamic model has been developed and driven by multiple meteorological forcings (0.1°, daily) to estimate land surface states, channel discharge, and floodplain inundation. ILDAS benefits from an integrated framework as well as the largest suite of observation records collected over India and has been used to produce a reanalysis product for 1981–2021 using four forcing datasets, namely, Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), ECMWF’s ERA-5, and Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) gridded precipitation. We assessed the uncertainty and bias in these precipitation datasets and validated all major components of the terrestrial water balance, i.e., surface runoff, soil moisture, terrestrial water storage anomalies, evapotranspiration, and streamflow, against a combination of satellite and in situ observation datasets. Our assessment shows that ILDAS can represent the hydrological processes reasonably well over the Indian landmass with IMD precipitation showing the best relative performance. Evaluation against ESA-CCI soil moisture shows that MERRA-2 based estimates outperform the others, whereas ERA-5 performs best in simulating evapotranspiration when evaluated against MODIS ET. Evaluations against observed records show that CHIRPS-based estimates have the highest performance in reconstructing surface runoff and streamflow. Once operational, this system will be useful for supporting transboundary water management decision making in the region.

Indian Land Data Assimilation System (ILDAS)↗
DOE OSTI2022

A techno-economic assessment framework for hydrogen energy storage toward multiple energy delivery pathways and grid services

Hydrogen energy storage (HES) transforms and stores electric energy from the grid into hydrogen, and supplements other energy storage and demand response resources in addressing challenges in renewable-intensive power systems. Understanding how to optimally utilize an HES system to maximize its economic benefits from stacked value streams is highly important to its development and deployment. Here, in this paper, we present a techno-economic assessment framework for an HES system considering three common energy delivery pathways and multiple grid and end-user services. Models are developed to capture the operational capability, flexibility, and constraints associated with hydrogen production, compression, storage, and utilization as well as different grid services in an economic assessment. To define the technically achievable benefits, an optimal dispatch formulation is proposed to maximize the economic benefits over a representative year with an hourly time step considering the trade-offs among different value streams. Representative case studies are designed and carried out to show how system configuration, energy delivery pathways, and grid services may affect economic benefits. It was found that value streams from bundling grid services account for up to 76% of the total benefits and are critical for an HES project to be financially viable.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2016

Analysis of Multi-Flight Common Routes for Traffic Flow Management

When severe convective weather requires rerouting aircraft, FAA traffic managers employ severe weather avoidance plans (e.g., Playbook routes, Coded Departure Routes, etc.) These routes provide pilots with safe paths around weather-affected regions, and provide controllers with predictable, and often well-established flight plans. However, they often introduce large deviations to the nominal flight plans, which may not be necessary as weather conditions change. If and when the imposed traffic management initiatives (TMIs) become stale, updated shorter path flight trajectories may be found en route, providing significant time-savings to the affected flights. Multiple Flight Common Routes (MFCR) is a concept that allows multiple flights that are within a specified proximity or region, to receive updated shorter flight plans in an operationally efficient manner. MFCR is believed to provide benefits to the National Airspace System (NAS) by allowing traffic managers to update several flight plans of en route aircraft simultaneously, reducing operational workload within the TMUs of all affected ARTCCs. This paper will explore some aspects of the MFCR concept by analyzing multiple flights that have been selected for rerouting by the NAS Constraint Evaluation and Notification Tool (NASCENT). Various methods of grouping aircraft with common or similar routes will be presented, along with a comparison of the efficacy of these methods.

dynamic weather routes↗
DOE OSTI2024

Measurement of Neutron Multiplicity in Charged Current Neutrino Interactions on Oxygen

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton gadolinium-doped water Cherenkov detector located 100~meters downstream in the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). Its primary goals are to (1) measure the neutron yield from $\nu_\mu$ interactions as a function of momentum transfer $Q^2$ so that neutrino-nucleus interaction models can be better constrained, and (2) demonstrate the power of novel, fast-timing detectors with the first deployment of Large Area Picosecond PhotoDetectors (LAPPDs). Current knowledge of neutrino-nucleus interactions fall short in modeling the topologies of such interactions, leading to inaccurate reconstruction of event kinematics such as particle energy, direction, and vertex. As a consequence, the accuracy of cross section measurements is impacted, which is necessary for precise physics measurements. Neutrons are an indication of inelasticity and affect the determination of the energy of the parent neutrino. Quantifying the neutron yield is a step towards reducing the associated uncertainties, and thus improving our understanding of these complex interactions and benefiting the next generation of long-baseline neutrino experiments. ANNIE will make use of LAPPDs to measure neutron multiplicity of CC-0$\pi$ $\nu_\mu$ interactions on oxygen, making it the first experiment to deploy an array of these photodetectors. Because the LAPPD is a novel photodetection technology, much customization is required to integrate it into existing electronics. The first half of this thesis covers the significant progress made towards the first deployment of the LAPPD system. From its test stand at Fermilab, the LAPPD system was systematically tested and put together until deployment readiness was achieved. I present my contributions to the design, fabrication, and testing of the waterproof housing and cables, and the commissioning of the LVHV board that powers the LAPPD and its readout electronics. These efforts brought the LAPPD system significantly closer to deployment, and eventually first data. The second half of this thesis presents the vertex and energy reconstruction algorithms developed to analysis the beam data with PMT-only information. While much progress has been made towards the deployment of LAPPDs, with several in the detector tank, efforts to integrate the LAPPD datastream are in progress. Thus, I developed a ring edge detection technique using PMT data to fit the muon vertex and determine its energy. The analysis in this thesis finds average neutron yields of $\Bar{n}_{data} = 0.452 \pm 0.039 (\text{stat}) \pm 0.27 (\text{sys})$ for a selection of muon neutrino candidates in the fiducial volume of ANNIE and corrected with an averaged neutron detection efficiency. An equivalent analysis for simulated beam data results in an average neutron yield of $\Bar{n}_{MC} = 0.582 \pm 0.018 (\text{stat}) \pm 0.25 (\text{sys})$. Future work includes application of efficiency corrections at a positional level, quantification of all systematic uncertainties, and neutron multiplicity measurements with other event topologies.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS2019

Modular Active Self-Assembling Space Telescope Swarms

The Phase I study included a detailed exploration of a specific mission concept based on this architecture - a 31-meter diameter version of the LUVOIR (Large Ultraviolet Optical Infrared Surveyor) mission concept with the same wavelength coverage and wave-front quality requirements. The study focused on establishing the feasibility of the proposed concept with respect to what were identified as the most challenging aspects of the mission: the ability to find orbital solutions using solar sail propulsion for both the initial transfers and subsequent rendezvous trajectories; and the ability to generate the required final primary mirror surface out of uniformly polished individual module mirrors using deformation via mechanical degrees of freedom. As a result of the Phase I work it was shown that both orbital and optical solutions are feasible, but will require technology advancement in multiple key areas. In particular, improvements to solar sail areal densities and loading factors will allow us to more easily find fully general solutions for the transfer trajectories, while lower mass, ultra-precise cryogenic linear actuators will likely be needed to form the final mirror shape. However, it was found that current state of the art in solar sails was sufficient for rendezvous trajectories once on-orbit, that the requisite wave-front quality could be achieved with actuation requirements not more stringent than those being carried by LUVOIR, and that there exists a well-defined design space in which the module spacecraft designs can be optimized. The technology development required to progress this work overlaps significantly with numerous NASA technology roadmaps, as well as the Exoplanet Exploration Program's technologies gap list, meaning that continued development of this concept would directly benefit a variety of NASA programs, as well as enabling the completely unique capabilities provided by a 31-meter optical space telescope...Our architecture requires only a single module type allowing us to directly leverage the cost and efficiency benefits of true mass production, in direct contrast to previously explored self-assembling swarm concepts, which typically include multiple module types.

Astronomy↗