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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

Dragonfly Entry and Descent Flight Mechanics Modeling and Analysis

Dragonfly is a New Frontiers Program mission that will deliver a rotorcraft lander to Saturn’s moon, Titan [1]. The focus of this work is to analyze the trajectory from cruise stage separation until lander separation. This analysis is done by the NASA Langley (LaRC) EDL team using Program to Optimize Trajectories II (POST2)[2]. This poster provides an overview of the current design and the robustness of the overall entry sequence as assessed using a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. This mission is led by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), presented here is the design and analysis as of the Dragonfly EDL Assembly Preliminary Design Review (PDR).

Modeling↗

NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) Saturn Mini-Probes Mission

The original Cassini mission concept for intensive Saturn exploration included dual atmospheric probes - to Titan and Saturn. The Saturn probe was lost in Cassini Project cost reduction, but the Saturn atmospheric goals are still important to the planetary science community - especially it measurements can be acquired during synoptic coverage by the Cassini Orbiter. New advanced technology and design heritage from the Pluto Fast Flyby mission permit a low cost mission concept for launch early in the first decade of the 21st century, in time to take advantage of the Cassini spacecraft being in orbit around Saturn. This paper will describe such a concept. The mini-probe carrier can be a relatively simple design, depending on a solar array/battery power system design instead of Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) with their attendant programmatic complexities, costs, and constraints. The Atlas IIAS/Star 48B, Proton, and STS with upper stage are launch vehicle options which permit modest payload deliveries to Saturn with relatively short flight times (3 to 4 years) such that the mini-probes arrive in the time period when the Cassini Orbiter is operating at Saturn. The Cassini time-line with a compatible SMP mission sequence is described. An example mission concept includes a carrier spacecraft with three 10 to 20 kg mini-probes, launched in the late summer of 2001 by an Atlas IIAS/Star 48B on a 3.8 year trip to Saturn. Preliminary evaluation of the Cassini time-line suggests compatibility of the probe entries with collecting the data for Earth-return.

Saturn Cassini miniprobes cost Pluto Fast Flyby↗

NASA NTRS2018

TPS for Outer Planets

This invited talk will provide an assessment of the TPS needs for Outer Planet In-situ missions to destinations with atmosphere. The talk will outline the drivers for TPS from destination, science, mission architecture and entry environment. An assessment of the readiness of the TPS, both currently available and under development, for Saturn, Titan, Uranus and Neptune are provided. The challenges related to sustainability of the TPS for future missions are discussed.

Outer Planets↗

NASA NTRS2008

The Saturn System's Icy Satellites: New Results from Cassini

Cassini-Huygens is a multidisciplinary, international planetary mission consisting of an orbiting spacecraft and a probe. The Huygens probe successfully landed on Titan's surface on January 14, 2005, while the orbiter has performed observations of Saturn, its rings, satellites, and magnetosphere since it entered orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. The Cassini mission has been prolific in its scientific discoveries about the Saturn system. In this special section, we present new mission results with a focus on the 'icy satellites,' which we define as all Saturn's moons with the exception of Titan. The results included in this section have come out of the Cassini SOST--Satellites Orbiter Science Team--a multi-instrument and multidiscipline group that works together to better understand the icy satellites and their interactions with Saturn and its rings. Other papers included in this issue present ground-based observations and interior modeling of these icy moons.

Cassini↗

NASA NTRS2018

Titan Trek and IcyMoons Trek: Two New Online NASA Visualization and Analysis Portals for Saturn's Moons

Saturn’s moons are the focus of two new online visualization and analysis tools produced by NASA. The Solar System Treks family of online portals provides a suite of interactive visualization and analysis tools. These enable mission planners, lunar scientists, engineers, students, and the general public to access mapped data products from past and current missions for a growing number of planetary bodies. They integrate data from a variety of instruments aboard a number of missions. This presentation will introduce two new portals in the Solar System Trek suite. Titan Trek highlights Saturn’s largest moon, and IcyMoons Trek features a number of Saturn’s other moons as studied by the Cassini mission.

Law, E.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Human Transportation System (HTS) study, volume 2

This report summarizes work completed under the Human Transportation System Study. This study was conducted by the New Initiatives Office at JSC with the technical support of Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, McDonnell-Douglas, Martin Marietta, and Rockwell. The study was designed to generate information on determining the appropriate path to follow for new system development to meet the Nation's space transportation needs. The study evaluates 18 transportation architecture options using a parametric set of mission requirements. These options include use of current systems (e.g., Shuttle, Titan, etc. ) as well as proposed systems (e.g., PLS, Single-Stage-to-Orbit, etc.) to assess the impact of various considerations, such as the cost of alternate access, or the benefit of separating people and cargo. The architecture options are compared to each other with six measurable evaluation criteria or attributes. They are: funding profile, human safety, probability of mission success, architecture cost risk, launch schedule confidence, and environmental impact. Values for these attributes are presented for the architecture options, with pertinent conclusions and recommendations.

Unmanned spacecraft↗

NASA NTRS1993

Human Transportation System (HTS) study: Executive summary

This report summarizes work completed under the Human Transportation System Study. This study was conducted by the New Initiatives Office at JSC with the technical support of Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, McDonnell-Douglas, Martin Marietta, and Rockwell. The study was designed to generate information on determining the appropriate path to follow for new system development to meet the Nation's space transportation needs. The study evaluates 18 transportation architecture options using a parametric set of mission requirements. These options include use of current systems (e.g., Shuttle, Titan, etc.) as well as proposed systems (e.g., PLS, Single-Stage-to-Orbit, etc.) to assess the impact of various considerations, such as the cost of alternate access, or the benefit of separating people and cargo. The architecture options are compared to each other with six measurable evaluation criteria or attributes. They are: funding profile, human safety, probability of mission success, architecture cost risk, launch schedule confidence, and environmental impact. Values for these attributes are presented for the architecture options, with pertinent conclusions and recommendations.

Unmanned spacecraft↗

NASA NTRS1993

Human Transportation System (HTS) study, volume 1

This report summarizes work completed under the Human Transportation System Study. This study was conducted by the New Initiatives Office at JSC with the technical support of Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed, McDonnell-Douglas, Martin Marietta, and Rockwell. The study was designed to generate information on determining the appropriate path to follow for new system development to meet the Nation's space transportation needs. The study evaluates 18 transportation architecture options using a parametric set of mission requirements. These options include use of current systems (e.g., Shuttle, Titan, etc.) as well as proposed systems (e.g., PLS, Single-Stage-to-Orbit, etc.) to assess the impact of various considerations, such as the cost of alternate access, or the benefit of separating people and cargo. The architecture options are compared to each other with six measurable evaluation criteria or attributes. They are: funding profile, human safety, probability of mission success, architecture cost risk, launch schedule confidence, and environmental impact. Values for these attributes are presented for the architecture options, with pertinent conclusions and recommendations.

Unmanned spacecraft↗

NASA NTRS1996

Cassini Radar EQM Model: Instrument Description and Performance Status

The spaeccraft of the Cassini Mission is planned to be launched towards Saturn in October 1997. The mission is designed to study the physical structure and chemical composition of Titan. The results of the tests performed on the Cassini radar engineering qualification model (EQM) are summarized. The approach followed in the verification and evaluation of the performance of the radio frequency subsystem EQM is presented. The results show that the instrument satisfies the relevant mission requirements.

Borgarelli, L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Cassini radar: Instrument description and performance status

The spacecraft of the Cassini mission is planned to be launched towards Saturn in October 1997. The mission is designed to study the physical structure and chemical composition of Titan. The results of the tests performed on the Cassini radar engineering qualification model (EQM) are summarized. The approach followed in the verification and evaluation of the performance of the radio frequency subsystem EQM is presented. The results show that the instrument satisfies the most relevant mission requirements.

Johnson, W. T. K.↗

NASA NTRS1980

An entry and landing probe for Titan

Results of a recent study of entry and landing probes for the exploration of Titan are presented. The probes considered were based on a wide range of exploration mission possibilities. They included: an atmospheric science probe; an intermediate, atmospheric and limited surface science probe; and a larger atmospheric and expanded surface science probe. Because of lower gravity on Titan and its atmosphere characteristics, the entry environment is less severe than that of Mars. However, the large uncertainties in the current definition of the atmosphere and uncertainties in Titan's surface characteristics have required trade-offs of various combinations of entry and descent shapes and hard lander configurations. Results show that all probe classes are feasible without major developments.

Murphy, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Entry and Landing Probe for Titan

Results of a recent study of entry and landing probes for the exploration of Titan are presented. The probes considered were based on a wide range of exploration mission possibilities. They included: an atmospheric science probe, an intermediate atmospheric and limited surface science probe, and a larger atmospheric and expanded surface science probe. Because of lower gravity on Titan and its atmospheric characteristics, the entry environment is less severe than that of Mars. However, the large uncertainties in the current definition of the atmosphere and the uncertainties in Titan's surface characteristics have required tradeoffs of various combinations of entry and descent shapes and hard lander configurations. Results show that all probe classes are feasible without major developments.

Murphy, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Comparisons of Selected Atmospheric Escape Mechanisms on Venus, Mars and Titan

The similarities and differences of the escape mechanisms for H+ and D+ from Venus, H+ and D+ from Mars, and heavier ions (approximately 17 and approximately 28 amu) from Titan are described. The dominant escape process for hydrogen and deuterium on Venus is thought to originate in the night side ionosphere, located in the night side H and D bulge region, where the polarization electric field is the dominant force accelerating ionospheric H+ and D+ upward into the induced magnetic tail of Titan. The resulting loss rates approximately 8.6 x 10(exp26)/s and approximately 3.2 x 10(exp 23)/s for H+ and D+, respectively, are consistent with the large observed D/H ratio - 160 times that of terrestrial water and an ancient ocean more than 10 m of liquid uniformly distributed on the surface. In contrast, Jeans escape is the dominant loss mechanism for H and D on Mars, which has a D/H ratio approximately 5.3 times that of terrestrial water. The resulting loss rates for H and D of approximately 3.7 x 10(exp 26/s and approximately 10(exp 22)/s, respectively, can be related to possible ancient water reservoirs below the surface. When horizontal atmospheric winds are taken into account, the Jeans escape rates for H and D are enhanced considerably, as are the corresponding water reservoirs. On Titan, 28 amu ions were observed to escape along its induced magnetic tail by the Voyager 1 Plasma Science Instrument (PLS). In analogy with Venus, the escaping ions were thought to originate in the ionosphere. The Cassini mission permits a test of this principle due to the numerous flybys of Titan through both the ionosphere and the tail. A polarization electric field is obtained in the ionosphere of the TA flyby, yielding an upward acceleration of 17 and 28 amu ionospheric ions that is consistent with the flux of heavy ionospheric ions observed escaping along the magnetic tail by the Cassini Ion Mass Spectrometer (CAPS) during the T9 flyby.

Hartle, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Cassini Maneuver Experience Through the Last Icy Satellite Targeted Flybys of the Mission

The Cassini spacecraft will reach its spectacular end-of-mission in September 2017, after having spent a successful twenty years in space gathering invaluable scientific data about Saturn, its rings, and moons. Cassini has flown the most complex gravity-assist trajectory ever designed, which requires frequent maneuvering to achieve the desired targets. After so many years in operation the propellant is starting to dwindle, making it of paramount importance that the maneuvers be designed to prioritize preserving propellant. This paper highlights the strategies for 50 planned maneuvers during twelve Titan flybys and the last Dione and Enceladus flybys of the mission.

Hernandez, Sonia↗

NASA NTRS1972

Study to adapt solar electric propulsion to the Pioneer F and G spacecraft

The addition of an electric thrust subsystem to the spin-stabilized Pioneer F and G spacecraft to improve performance capability for certain missions is discussed. The evaluation was performed for the Atlas and Titan launch vehicles with Centaur and TE-364-4 stages and for electric thrust stages of 8- and 5-kw with three 30- and five 15-cm thrusters respectively. The combination of a spinning spacecraft with electric propulsion is a concept only recently evaluated and the penalty from spinning over three-axis stabilized is not as significant as might initally be thought. There are major gains in weight, cost, and reliability, the disadvantages being lower data rate during the thrust phase and less efficient pointing. A variety of missions were evaluated from a solar approach mission into 0.14 AU to a flyby mission of Neptune at approximately 30 AU. Performance improvements were present for all missions evaluated.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2014

The Double Flybys of the Cassini Mission: Navigation Challenges and Lessons Learned

Since 2004, the Cassini spacecraft has flown by Titan and other Saturn moons numerous times, successfully accomplishing its 100th targeted encounter of Titan in March 2014. The navigation of Cassini is challenging, even more so with "double flybys," two encounters separated by at most a few days. Because of this tight spacing, there is not enough time for a maneuver in between. Additionally, maneuvers prior to a double flyby only target one of the two encounters. This paper discusses the challenges faced by the Cassini Navigation Team with each double flyby, as well as lessons learned during operational support of each dual encounter. The strengths and weaknesses of the targeting strategies considered for each double flyby are also detailed, by comparing downstream ?V costs and changes to the non-targeted flyby conditions.

maneuver↗

NASA NTRS2014

Automated Scheduling of Science Activities for Titan Encounters by Cassini

In an effort to demonstrate the efficacy of automated planning and scheduling techniques for large missions, we have adapted ASPEN (Activity Scheduling and Planning Environment) [1] and CLASP (Compressed Large-scale Activity Scheduling and Planning) [2] to the domain of scheduling high-level science goals into conflict-free operations plans for Titan encounters by the Cassini spacecraft.

Ray, Trina L.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Automated Scheduling of Science Activities for Titan Encounters by Cassini

Ray, Trina L.↗