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The Optical Communications Demonstrator (OCD) is a laboratory-based lasercom demonstration terminal designed to validate several key technologies, including beacon acquisition, high bandwidth tracking, precision beam pointing, and point-ahead compensation functions.
The Optical Communications Demonstrator is a laboratory-based lasercom demonstration instrument designed to validate effective beacon acquisition, high bandwidth tracking, precision beam pointing, and point ahead compensation functions. The instrument is designed using an array detector for both spatial acquisition and high bandwidth tracking, and a fiber coupled laser transmitter. The array detector tracking concept provides wide field of view acquisition as well as high update rate using a single output channel device. At the same time, it permits effective platform jitter compensation and point ahead control using only one steering mirror. The use of fiber coupled transmitter further modularizes transmitter design and de-couples the thermal management problem. The reduction in design complexity can lead to a reduced system cost and an improved system reliability. Furthermore, it can permit the implementation of a new generation of lasercom instruments capable of realizing the inherent advantages of optical frequency communication systems.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) demonstration as a partnership between NASA and Industry with the goal of accelerating routine unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in the national airspace (NAS). In order to accomplish this goal, NASA partnered separately with Bell and two other industry teams each pioneering the development, integration, and testing of their UAS, with the intent to make progress towards type certification. The program culminated in flight demonstrations representing future commercial operations by each partner.
NASA will soon begin a series of tests that will collect nationally representative data on how people perceive low noise supersonic overflights. For half a century, civilian aircraft have been required to fly slower than the speed of sound over land to prevent “creating an unacceptable situation” on the ground due to sonic booms. However, new aircraft shaping techniques have led to dramatic changes in how shockwaves from supersonic flight merge together as they travel to the ground. What used to sound like a boom on the ground will be transformed into a thump. NASA is now building a full-scale, piloted demonstration aircraft called the X-59 to demonstrate low noise supersonic flight. In 2024, the X-59 aircraft will commence a national series of community overflight tests to collect data on how people perceive “sonic thumps.” The community response data will be provided to national and international noise regulators as they consider creating new standards that allow supersonic flight over land at acceptably low noise levels.
OSAM-2 began as a NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Tipping Point project in 2016 in which an investment made in ground development and demonstration and/or flight demonstration will result in: Significant advancement of technology’s maturation High likelihood for utilization of technology in commercially fielded space application Significant improvement in ability to successfully bring space technology to market Topic area was “Robotic In-Space Manufacturing and Assembly of Spacecraft and Space Structures” Made In Space, Inc. (now Redwire) proposed Archinaut One, an in-space robotic precision manufacturing and assembly system for larger-than-deployable structures Manufacturing / assembly in the operational environment allows manufactured parts to be designed for that environment (and not for launch loads and need to deploy) In 2020 NASA budget language, NASA began using On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing Mission 2 (OSAM-2) for Archinaut One Restore-L + SPIDER (SPace Infrastructure DExterous Robot) became OSAM-1 Note: Slide 7 contains video animation, best viewed in presentation mode, run time 2 mins 25 secs.
The NASA Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration Program is aimed at advancing electrified powertrains for future aircraft platforms through flight demonstrations for various passenger classes and power levels. The objective of this paper is to establish non-electrified reference models for 2030 aircraft with advanced technologies for the large single aisle (150 passenger) and small single aisle (100 passenger) vehicle classes. Current state-of-art aircraft are first identified and modeled using a proprietary design tool called Environmental Design Space. Next, through a comprehensive literature review, engine, airframe and composite material technologies that are expected to be available by 2030 are identified, and their respective benefits are applied to the 2030 vehicles. The engine cycle and the aircraft design are then optimized to provide the maximum fuel burn benefit while meeting all the specified aircraft requirements. While the large single aisle aircraft range requirement is kept the same as the current state-of-art aircraft, the small single aisle aircraft is optimized for a reduced range of 1000 nmi. Expected fuel burn benefit from these technologies along with any propulsive, aerodynamic and weight benefit will be summarized in this paper.
Falling liquid film amine sorbent reactors have been successfully employed to scrub CO 2 aboard submarines for decades. However, applying such proven methods aboard orbiting and coast spacecraft is significantly challenged by the nearly weightless environment, where liquid sprays and films do not fall, and vapor bubbles and gases do not rise. The Capillary Sorbent (CapiSorb) Visible System (CVS) is a technology demonstration experiment performed aboard the ISS April 18 – 21, 2023. The system establishes stable steady thin liquid film flows in Contactor (absorber) and Degasser (desorber/stripper) replacing the passive role of gravity with the combined passive roles of surface tension, wetting, and system geometry. A TOX-0 fructose ersatz liquid sorbent is employed enabling ‘transparent’ experiments performed and filmed by the crew safely in the open cabin of the ISS. Completed objectives include demonstrations of stable passive ‘massively’ parallel planar thin film capillary flows across atmospheric pressure Contactor and sealed heated Degasser. The impacts of varying flow rate, flow direction, heat input, viscosity, positive and negative Degasser pressures, condensate collection and return, fluid distribution, interfacial stability, and others are reported. At least 49 diagnostics are recorded for digitization and subsequent thermal-fluids model validation by a single HD video downlink during the nearly 22 hours of operations. An overview of the flight hardware including description of the components, diagnostics, crew procedures, flight operations, and summary of accomplishments is reported in Ref. 1. Further details of the diagnostics, tests performed, and data reduction is reported in Ref. 2. This report collects both1,2 into a single report adding methods of data digitization, reduction, and archive along with analyses and discussions of technology impacts.
These slides were given as part of Panel 7: “Electric Flight Demonstrations: Test Results, Upcoming Tests, and Certification” a part of iTEC+EATS 2026 held in Novi MI. The presentation represents NASA’s recent and current investments in demonstrating megawatt and multi-megawatt electrified aircraft propulsion
Three thrusters were fabricated to definitized thruster drawings using new rhenium vapor deposition technology. Two of the thrusters were operated using ammonia as propellant and one was operated using hydrogen propellant for performance determination. All demonstrated consistent operational specific impulse performance while demonstrating thermal performance better than the development units from which they evolved. Two of the thrusters were subjected to environmental structural testing including vibration, acceleration and shock loading to specifications. Both of the thrusters subjected to the environmental tests passed all required tests. The third, spare, thruster was introduced into the life test portion of the program. Two thrusters were then subjected to a life cycling test program under typical spacecraft operating power levels. During the life test sequence, the hydrogen thruster accrued 720 operating life test cycles, more than 370 on-off cycles and 365 hours of powered up time. The ammonia accrued approximately 380 on-off cycles and 392.2 on time hours of operation during the 720 cycling hour test. Both thrusters completed the scheduled operational life test in reasonably good condition, structurally integral and capable of indefinite further operation.
Free fluid electrophoresis, a process used to separate particulate species according to surface charge, size, or shape was suggested as a promising technique to utilize the near zero gravity condition of space. Fluid electrophoresis on earth is disturbed by gravity-induced thermal convection and sedimentation. An apparatus was developed to demonstrate the principle and possible problems of electrophoresis on Apollo 14 and the separation boundary between red and blue dye was photographed in space. The basic operating elements of the Apollo 14 unit were used for a second flight demonstration on Apollo 16. Polystyrene latex particles of two different sizes were used to simulate the electrophoresis of large biological particles. The particle bands in space were extremely stable compared to ground operation because convection in the fluid was negligible. Electrophoresis of the polystyrene latex particle groups according to size was accomplished although electro-osmosis in the flight apparatus prevented the clear separation of two particle bands.
In the course of extended life attitude control system (ELACS) research sponsored by NASA a hybrid programable attitude control electronics (HYPACE) concept was developed and demonstrated. The wide variety of future planetary missions demanded a new control approach to accommodate the automatic fault tolerance and long the life requirements of such missions. HYPACE provides an adaptable, analog/digital design approach that permits preflight and in-flight accommodation of mission changes, component performance variations, and spacecraft changes, through programing. This enabled broad multimission flexibility of application in a cost effective manner. Previously, flight control computers have not been not flown on planetary missions because of weight and power problems. These problems were resolved in the design of HYPACE. The HYPACE design, which was demonstrated in breadboard form on a single-axis gas-bearing spacecraft simulation, uses a single control channel to perform the attitude control functions sequentially, thus significantly reducing the number of component parts over hard-wired designs.
The feasibility of using a combination of spacecraft-based optical data and earth-based Doppler data to perform near-real-time approach navigation was demonstrated by the Mariner Mars 71 Project. The important findings, conclusions, and recommendations are documented. A summary along with publications and papers giving additional details on the objectives of the demonstration are provided. Instrument calibration and performance as well as navigation and science results are reported.
An upconverter has been used to convert infrared photons from astronomical sources to higher frequency quanta that were detected with a pulse-counting photomultiplier photometer. It is pointed out that these observations represent the first successful astronomical demonstration of infrared upconversion. Upconversion is carried out in an optically nonlinear medium, which in the upconverter described is a lithium iodate crystal. A 0.6943-micrometer high peak power ruby laser pump was developed for the demonstration.
The prototype system for Deep Space Network clock synchronization by VLBI has been demonstrated to operate successfully over intercontinental baselines in a series of experiments between Deep Space Stations at Madrid, Spain, and Goldstone, California. As predicted by analysis and short baseline demonstration, the system achieves reliable synchronization between 26m and 64m antenna stations with 17 and 37K nominal system temperatures using under one million bits of data from each station. Semi-real-time operation is feasible since this small amount of data can be transmitted to JPL and processed within minutes. The system resolution is 50 to 400ns, depending on the amount of data processed and the source intensity. The accuracy is believed to be comparable to the resolution, although it could be independently confirmed to only about 5 microseconds using LORAN C.
Mariner 10 was the first mission which contained many elements of the advanced navigation system which will be used in the late 1970's and 1980's. Preliminary navigation demonstrated were conducted using S/X charged particle calibrations, simultaneous Doppler data, nearly simultaneous range data, and bright object/star imaging data. The results of these demonstrations are very encouraging and a navigation system based upon these data types should be an order of magnitude better than the current system.
A laboratory demonstration model of a device for removing contaminant films from optical surfaces in space was developed. The development of a plasma tube, which would produce the desired cleaning effects under high vacuum conditions, represented the major problem in the program. This plasma tube development is discussed, and the resulting laboratory demonstration-model device is described.
Proposed are photovoltaic system tests and demonstrations covering a wide range of applications in order to develop low cost photovoltaic cells suitable for terrestrial applications. Program objectives are: (1) tests and model system demonstrations; (2) device performance and diagnostics; and (3) endurance of solar cell modules and arrays.
The Centaur propellant management and thermal control techniques required for zero gravity coasting were successfully demonstrated during an extended mission following spacecraft separation on the TC-2 flight. As part of the demonstration, two successful engine starts were accomplished. The first engine start followed a one-hour zero gravity coast, and the second engine start followed a three-hour zero gravity coast. All of the Centaur systems performed satisfactorily, the design parameters for zero gravity coasting were verified, and no significant problems were encountered. The flight results showed that the propellant location and behavior, propellant heating, and tank pressure rise rates observed during the zero-gravity coasts were less severe than expected. Consequently, the majority of the propellants remained at the tank bottom, the propellant collection times were very short, and more than 7 hours of coast could have been achieved before a tank venting was required. The tank pressurization prior to the engine starts provided boost pump Net Positive Suction Head values well in excess of the values required. The LO2 tank pressurization was accomplished by a new bubbler method that greatly reduced the helium usage.