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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Plans for the development of cryogenic engines for space exploration

The NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) is conducting a broad range of basic research and focused technology development activities in both aeronautical and space propulsion. By virtue of the successful conduct of these programs, LeRC is strongly qualified to lead Advanced Development and subsequent development programs on cryogenic space propulsion systems on support of the Space Exploration Initiative. A review is provided of technology status, including recent progress in the ongoing activities, and a top level description of the proposed program.

Stone, James R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Technical prospects for utilizing extraterrestrial propellants for space exploration

NASA's LeRC has supported several efforts to understand how lunar and Martian produced propellants can be used to their best advantage for space exploration propulsion. A discussion of these efforts and their results is presented. A Manned Mars Mission Analysis Study identified that a more thorough technology base for propellant production is required before the net economic benefits of in situ propellants can be determined. Evaluation of the materials available on the moon indicated metal/oxygen combinations are the most promising lunar propellants. A hazard analysis determined that several lunar metal/LOX monopropellants could be safely worked with in small quantities, and a characterization study was initiated to determine the physical and chemical properties of potential lunar monopropellant formulations. A bipropellant metal/oxygen subscale test engine which utilizes pneumatic injection of powdered metal is being pursued as an alternative to the monopropellant systems. The technology for utilizing carbon monoxide/oxygen, a potential Martian propellant, was studied in subscale ignition and rocket performance experiments.

Linne, Diane L.↗
NASA NTRS2021

What to Take? When to Make? How to Break Even? Avoid Mistakes in Microbial Biomanufacturing in Support of Human Near-to-Deep-Space Exploration

In this whitepaper, we call for the concept of biomanufacturing to be expanded and widely adopted as a support function of human Space-travel. To demonstrate the impact and value of this strategy, we identify the specific offworld scenarios where the concept is most applicable, as well as the vital inventories that can be made available thereby. This will serve to increase capabilities of human operations beyond Earth-orbit and allow for extended mission design through greater autonomy while minimizing risks through redundancy. To this end, we sketch the potential routes and systems to arrive at these goals, in the form of specialized microbial cell factories that can most meaningfully leverage the resources available along the journey. The strategic vision presented here relies heavily on Synthetic Biology as it integrates with major plans for In Situ Resource Utilization and highlights applications that engineered biology is uniquely suited to address. We finish by advocating for the research and development investments that need to be made in order to significantly increase readiness of these technologies over the coming decade. This dovetails with current efforts to return humans to the Moon with Mars on the horizon. Besides ensuring the feasibility and sustainability of crewed Space exploration and habitation, the advancement of these technologies may spawn a new scalable microgravity-based biotechnology industry that contributes to the creation of a circular economy on Earth.

Biomanufacturing↗
NASA NTRS1993

NASA safety program activities in support of the Space Exploration Initiatives Nuclear Propulsion program

The activities of the joint NASA/DOE/DOD Nuclear Propulsion Program Technical Panels have been used as the basis for the current development of safety policies and requirements for the Space Exploration Initiatives (SEI) Nuclear Propulsion Technology development program. The Safety Division of the NASA Office of Safety and Mission Quality has initiated efforts to develop policies for the safe use of nuclear propulsion in space through involvement in the joint agency Nuclear Safety Policy Working Group (NSPWG), encouraged expansion of the initial policy development into proposed programmatic requirements, and suggested further expansion into the overall risk assessment and risk management process for the NASA Exploration Program. Similar efforts are underway within the Department of Energy to ensure the safe development and testing of nuclear propulsion systems on Earth. This paper describes the NASA safety policy related to requirements for the design of systems that may operate where Earth re-entry is a possibility. The expected plan of action is to support and oversee activities related to the technology development of nuclear propulsion in space, and support the overall safety and risk management program being developed for the NASA Exploration Program.

Sawyer, J. C., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Secondary Payload Opportunities on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Enable Science and Deep Space Exploration

For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated launch vehicle has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). With this milestone, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft are on the path to launch a new era of deep space exploration. This first launch of SLS and the Orion Spacecraft is planned no later than November 2018 and will fly along a trans-lunar trajectory, testing the performance of the SLS and Orion systems for future missions. NASA is making investments to expand the science and exploration capability of the SLS by developing the capability to deploy small satellites during the trans-lunar phase of the mission trajectory. Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) will include thirteen 6U Cubesat small satellites to be deployed beyond low earth orbit. By providing an earth-escape trajectory, opportunities are created for the advancement of small satellite subsystems, including deep space communications and in-space propulsion. This SLS capability also creates low-cost options for addressing existing Agency strategic knowledge gaps and affordable science missions. A new approach to payload integration and mission assurance is needed to ensure safety of the vehicle, while also maintaining reasonable costs for the small payload developer teams. SLS EM-1 will provide the framework and serve as a test flight, not only for vehicle systems, but also payload accommodations, ground processing, and on-orbit operations. Through developing the requirements and integration processes for EM-1, NASA is outlining the framework for the evolved configuration of secondary payloads on SLS Block upgrades. The lessons learned from the EM-1 mission will be applied to processes and products developed for future block upgrades. In the heavy-lift configuration of SLS, payload accommodations will increase for secondary opportunities including small satellites larger than the traditional Cubesat class payload. The payload mission concept of operations, proposed payload capacity of SLS, and the payload requirements for launch and deployment will be described to provide potential payload users an understanding of this unique exploration capability.

Singer, Jody↗
NASA NTRS1994

Prediction of solar flares for the Space Exploration Initiative

The 21st century is likely to see the start of the manned exploration and settlement of the inner solar system. NASA's plans for this endeavor are focused upon the Space Exploration Initiative which calls for a return to the Moon, to stay, followed by manned missions to Mars. To execute these missions safely provides solar physics with both a challenge and an opportunity. As the past solar maximum has clearly demonstrated, the Sun, through the solar flare process, is capable of generating and accelerating to high energies large fluxes of protons whose cumulative dose to unprotected astronauts can be fatal. It will be the responsibility of solar physicists to develop an accurate physical description of the mechanisms of flare energy storage and release, and of particle acceleration and propagation through interplanetary space upon which to base a sound method of flare and energetic particle prediction.

Davis, John M.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Radiation Transport and Shielding for Space Exploration and High Speed Flight Transportation

Transportation of ions and neutrons in matter is of direct interest in several technologically important and scientific areas, including space radiation, cosmic ray propagation studies in galactic medium, nuclear power plants and radiological effects that impact industrial and public health. For the proper assessment of radiation exposure, both reliable transport codes and accurate data are needed. Nuclear cross section data is one of the essential inputs into the transport codes. In order to obtain an accurate parametrization of cross section data, theoretical input is indispensable especially for processes where there is little or no experimental data available. In this grant period work has been done on the studies of the use of relativistic equations and their one-body limits. The results will be useful in choosing appropriate effective one-body equation for reaction calculations. Work has also been done to improve upon the data base needed for the transport codes used in the studies of radiation transport and shielding for space exploration and high speed flight transportation. A phenomenological model was developed for the total absorption cross sections valid for any system of charged and/or uncharged collision pairs for the entire energy range. The success of the model is gratifying. It is being used by other federal agencies, national labs and universities. A list of publications based on the work during the grant period is given below and copies are enclosed with this report.

Maung, Khin Maung↗
NASA NTRS2018

Pulmonary Inflammatory Responses to Acute Meteorite Dust Exposures - Implications for Human Space Exploration

New initiatives to begin Lunar and Martian human surface operations within the next few decades are illustrative of the resurgence of interest in human space exploration. However, as with all exploration, there are risks. The previous manned missions to the Moon highlight a major hazard for future human exploration of the Moon and beyond: surface dust. Not only did the dust cause mechanical and structural integrity issues with the suits, the dust 'storm' generated upon reentrance into the crew cabin caused "lunar hay fever" and "almost blindness.". It was further reported that the allergic response to the dust worsened with each exposure. Due to the prevalence of these high exposures, the Human Research Roadmap developed by NASA identifies the Risk of Adverse Health and Performance Effects of Celestial Dust Exposure as an area of concern.

Harrington, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Bifurcation Analysis of DC Electric Power Systems for Deep Space Exploration Spacecraft

Electric power system reliability is a crucial factor in the application of both manned and unmanned spacecraft that could alter the success of space exploration missions. Understanding the behavior of these electric systems is essential to determine the safe operating conditions, and subsequently, prevent undesired conditions which may cause system-wide blackouts, leaving the spacecraft in a vulnerable position. This study will use bifurcation analysis to determine the behavior of DC spacecraft electric power systems and identify the major causes of voltage instability.

Bifurcation Analysis↗
NASA NTRS2011

Product Lifecycle Management and Sustainable Space Exploration

This slide presentation reviews the use of product lifecycle management (PLM) in the general aerospace industry, its use and development at NASA and at Marshall Space Flight Center, and how the use of PLM can lead to sustainable space exploration.

Caruso, Pamela W.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Wernher von Braun: Reflections on His Contributions to Space Exploration

In 1950, Dr. Wernher von Braun and approximately 100 of his team members came to Huntsville, Alabama, to begin work with the Army on what would later become America's historic space program. He would later serve as the first director of the Marshall Space Flight Center and led the development of the Saturn V launch vehicle that launched seven crewed American mission to the moon, as well as America s first space station, Skylab. Von Braun is best known for his team s technical achievements. He realized his dream of exploring outer space by helping place humans on the moon. His engineering and managerial talent during the Apollo era had contributed to a technological revolution. He was by all accounts a good engineer, but he was only one among many. What set Von Braun apart were his charisma, his vision, and his leadership skills. He inspired loyalty and dedication in the people around him. He understood the importance of communicating his vision to his team, to political and business leaders and the public. Today, the Marshall Center continues his vision by pursuing engineering and scientific projects that will continue to open space to exploration. This presentation will discuss Von Braun's impact on Huntsville, the Marshall Center, the nation and the world and look at his contributions in context of where world space exploration is today.

Goldman, Arthur E.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Evaluation of Composite Structures Technologies for Application to NASA's Vision for Space Exploration (CoSTS)

A trade study was conducted to determine the suitability of composite structures for weight and life cycle cost savings in primary and secondary structural systems for crew exploration vehicles, crew and cargo launch vehicles, landers, rovers, and habitats. The results of the trade study were used to identify and rank order composite material technologies that can have a near-term impact on a broad range of exploration mission applications. This report recommends technologies that should be developed to enable usage of composites on Vision for Space Exploration vehicles towards mass and life-cycle cost savings.

Deo, Ravi↗
NASA NTRS2007

Improvement of Risk Assessment from Space Radiation Exposure for Future Space Exploration Missions

Protecting astronauts from space radiation exposure is an important challenge for mission design and operations for future exploration-class and long-duration missions. Crew members are exposed to sporadic solar particle events (SPEs) as well as to the continuous galactic cosmic radiation (GCR). If sufficient protection is not provided the radiation risk to crew members from SPEs could be significant. To improve exposure risk estimates and radiation protection from SPEs, detailed variations of radiation shielding properties are required. A model using a modern CAD tool ProE (TM), which is the leading engineering design platform at NASA, has been developed for this purpose. For the calculation of radiation exposure at a specific site, the cosine distribution was implemented to replicate the omnidirectional characteristic of the 4 pi particle flux on a surface. Previously, estimates of doses to the blood forming organs (BFO) from SPEs have been made using an average body-shielding distribution for the bone marrow based on the computerized anatomical man model (CAM). The development of an 82-point body-shielding distribution at BFOs made it possible to estimate the mean and variance of SPE doses in the major active marrow regions. Using the detailed distribution of bone marrow sites and implementation of cosine distribution of particle flux is shown to provide improved estimates of acute and cancer risks from SPEs.

Kim, Myung-Hee Y.↗
NASA NTRS1997

A Low-Power High-Speed Smart Sensor Design for Space Exploration Missions

A low-power high-speed smart sensor system based on a large format active pixel sensor (APS) integrated with a programmable neural processor for space exploration missions is presented. The concept of building an advanced smart sensing system is demonstrated by a system-level microchip design that is composed with an APS sensor, a programmable neural processor, and an embedded microprocessor in a SOI CMOS technology. This ultra-fast smart sensor system-on-a-chip design mimics what is inherent in biological vision systems. Moreover, it is programmable and capable of performing ultra-fast machine vision processing in all levels such as image acquisition, image fusion, image analysis, scene interpretation, and control functions. The system provides about one tera-operation-per-second computing power which is a two order-of-magnitude increase over that of state-of-the-art microcomputers. Its high performance is due to massively parallel computing structures, high data throughput rates, fast learning capabilities, and advanced VLSI system-on-a-chip implementation.

Fang, Wai-Chi↗
NASA NTRS2011

Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle Concept Simulation of Operations in Proximity to a Near Earth Object

This paper details a project to simulate the dynamics of a proposed Multi-Mission Space Exploration Vehicle (MMSEV), and modeling the control of this spacecraft. A potential mission of the MMSEV would be to collect samples from a Near-Earth Object (NEO), a mission which would require the spacecraft to be able to navigate to an orbit keeping it stationary over an area of a spinning asteroid while a robotic arm interacts with the surface.

Near Earth Object (NEO)↗
NASA NTRS2022

FY22 X-Hab: Colorado School of Mines: Planetary Resource & In-Situ Material Habitat Outfitting for Space Exploration (PRISM-HOUSE)

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) was awarded a project under the Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (M2M X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge on June 10, 2021 for the proposed Planetary Resource & In-Situ Material Habitat Outfitting for Space Exploration (PRISM-HOUSE) lunar habitat system. The project deliverables have been executed concurrently with coursework in the CSM Space Resources program, specifically for the Space Resources Project I & II classes. A team was established in the fall semester of 2021 and a Systems Engineering process was followed to brainstorm initial concepts, determine objectives, flow down top-level requirements, and identify areas for which the project could best further the understanding of the overall system through targeted detailed design and design evaluation testing. This report summarizes the overall project, as well as specific work completed in the spring semester of 2022. PRISM-HOUSE is a lunar habitat system that is deployed on the lunar surface robotically and supports safe, long-term human occupancy while maximizing the use of in-situ resources and minimizing the mass of supplies and equipment that must be delivered from Earth. In this report, the team provides an overview and description of the objectives, the system, and how the current design was selected from various alternatives, as well as the resulting products of systems engineering tasks such as product and specification trees and flow-down requirements. A review of current risks and planned mitigation are reviewed. Four key PRISM-HOUSE systems are explored: the inflatable Habitat, External Structures & Environmental Protection (ESEP), Human Interior Goods (HIG), and ECLSS & Remote Outfitting (E&RO); for each, the team provides a detailed system description and an overview of analyses performed supporting final design, followed by a review of each Design Evaluation Test (DET) performed and resulting conclusions. The report closes with a suggestion of next steps.

Peter Corwin↗
NASA NTRS2011

Energy Storage Technology Development for Space Exploration

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is developing battery and fuel cell technology to meet the expected energy storage needs of human exploration systems. Improving battery performance and safety for human missions enhances a number of exploration systems, including un-tethered extravehicular activity suits and transportation systems including landers and rovers. Similarly, improved fuel cell and electrolyzer systems can reduce mass and increase the reliability of electrical power, oxygen, and water generation for crewed vehicles, depots and outposts. To achieve this, NASA is developing non-flow-through proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell stacks, and electrolyzers coupled with low permeability membranes for high pressure operation. The primary advantage of this technology set is the reduction of ancillary parts in the balance-of-plant fewer pumps, separators and related components should result in fewer failure modes and hence a higher probability of achieving very reliable operation, and reduced parasitic power losses enable smaller reactant tanks and therefore systems with lower mass and volume. Key accomplishments over the past year include the fabrication and testing of several robust, small-scale non-flow-through fuel cell stacks that have demonstrated proof-of-concept. NASA is also developing advanced lithium-ion battery cells, targeting cell-level safety and very high specific energy and energy density. Key accomplishments include the development of silicon composite anodes, lithiatedmixed- metal-oxide cathodes, low-flammability electrolytes, and cell-incorporated safety devices that promise to substantially improve battery performance while providing a high level of safety.

Mercer, Carolyn R.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Intelligent (Autonomous) Power Controller Development for Human Deep Space Exploration

As NASAs Evolvable Mars Campaign and other exploration initiatives continue to mature they have identified the need for more autonomous operations of the power system. For current human space operations such as the International Space Station, the paradigm is to perform the planning, operation and fault diagnosis from the ground. However, the dual problems of communication lag as well as limited communication bandwidth beyond GEO synchronous orbit, underscore the need to change the operation methodology for human operation in deep space. To address this need, for the past several years the Glenn Research Center has had an effort to develop an autonomous power controller for human deep space vehicles. This presentation discusses the present roadmap for deep space exploration along with a description of conceptual power system architecture for exploration modules. It then contrasts the present ground centric control and management architecture with limited autonomy on-board the spacecraft with an advanced autonomous power control system that features ground based monitoring with a spacecraft mission manager with autonomous control of all core systems, including power. It then presents a functional breakdown of the autonomous power control system and examines its operation in both normal and fault modes. Finally, it discusses progress made in the development of a real-time power system model and how it is being used to evaluate the performance of the controller and well as using it for verification of the overall operation.

Power Systems↗