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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

Towards a Common Basis of Comparison Across a Broad Trade Space of Mars Architecture Options

Humanity’s fascination with Mars predates the advent of space access, but the coming-of-age of rocket propulsion in the mid-20th century provided the technological foundation for considering a human visit to the red planet. Werner von Braun’s “The Mars Project,” published in 1953, is acknowledged as the first integrated Mars mission architecture plan [1]; since then, the reformulation and refinement of Mars architectures and system concepts has been an ongoing activity, as continued study and planning for human Mars missions is necessary in order to incorporate evolving mission objectives, technology advancements, and the increasing body of knowledge regarding human factors and the various environments of space. Historical Mars architecture studies represent an enormous body of work, but apart from a couple of high-level reviews [2], tapping into the findings and philosophies of these varied works entails a tedious and time-consuming individual effort. The unfortunate result of the widely scattered corpus of Mars architectures is that knowledge and understanding acquired in previous studies is not consistently and effectively brought to bear in the studies of today. The primary vehicle for bringing forward past learning is human recall, which both is imperfect and experiences significant attrition. An effort is underway in the Advanced Concepts Office (ACO) at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to recapture and re-baseline previous architecture studies in order to establish a broad basis of comparison for future Mars architecture studies. Recapturing involves gathering and organizing data and documentation from previous efforts; re-baselining entails developing models capable of reproducing the original results, and then utilizing these models to implement a common set of ground rules and assumptions across the resulting trade space of Mars architecture options. This paper will present the methodology ACO is employing in performing this architecture meta-study, including a discussion on the challenges involved in re-baselining without losing the intent behind previous concepts. As part of this discussion some initial results will be presented, along with a list of studies targeted for inclusion. It is expected that the completed basis of comparison results will be presented as a follow-on paper in the following year.

Stephen James Edwards↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Space Launch System Payload Stage Capability for Ultra-High Characteristic Energy Missions

The Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle is NASA’s cornerstone capability for a new era of human and robotic exploration of deep space. The unrivalled performance of SLS provides the capability to launch the first woman and next man to walk on the lunar surface and to support development of a sustained human presence in cislunar space, and ultimately human missions to Mars. As an evolvable capability with unique launch performance, the opportunities enabled by SLS also include game-changing benefits for science missions, including probes to the outer solar system and beyond. For the last two years, the SLS Program has worked with the Interstellar Probe team at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory(APL) to provide data that describe how SLS could support a mission that would break through the boundary of the heliosphere and into pristine interstellar space only a decade after launch, enabling earlier science return and greatly increasing spacecraft life in the interstellar medium. In record-breaking time, the ISP as launched on SLS may answer questions raised by the extended mission of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft. While SLS and its efficient Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) offer benefits for exploration of the outer planets, adding one or more additional stages to this architecture makes it even more capable for missions beyond our solar system, offering more realistically appealing flight times that would allow the mission scientists to reap the rewards of exploration. During the time the SLS Program has been working with the Interstellar Probe team, it has identified an expedited path to the Block 2 capability planned for the Interstellar Probe mission, and further matured performance numbers for diverse multi-stage configurations using a combination of commercially available liquid hydrogen (LH2)/liquid oxygen (LOX) upper stages and solid motor kick stages. That work has demonstrated the SLS payload stage capability provides significant benefits and opens trade space for multiple missions in consideration during planning for the next Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey. This presentation details the significant benefits SLS can provides for very high characteristic (C3) energy missions by coupling the capabilities of SLS to current commercial rocket propulsion stage systems. These capabilities are explored specifically in the context of an Interstellar Probe architecture in which a small, capable science probe, coupled with carefully tailored mission design trajectories, could be used to explore the outer solar system and the interstellar medium. The presentation will also address the operational logistics of integrating such a mission, explaining the options available for “non-standard” SLS payloads, including processing those with radioisotope power generators or additional propulsion stages. An SLS system overview and capabilities will be presented, along with vehicle configuration and orbit performance capability studies, explaining how SLS is enabling for a variety of high-energy science mission profiles, including launching an exploratory probe bound for interstellar space only a decade after launch.

Rob Stough↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Principles of Directed Energy Deposition for Aerospace Applications

Metal Additive Manufacturing is changing how components are fabricated for rocket propulsion and aerospace applications. Many additive manufacturing technologies are evolving, and active research is being conducted across academia, industry, and government to advance processes, materials, design, post-processing and applications. While much focus has been on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) techniques, several large-scale techniques are also rapidly evolving using directed energy deposition (DED).

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

In-Situ Alloying of GRCop-42 via Additive Manufacturing: Precipitate Analysis

GRCop-42, a Cu-4at% Cr-2at% Nb alloy, was designed as a high temperature, high strength, high heat flux material for rocket engine combustion chamber liners by NASA Glenn Research Center. In situ alloying of GRCop-42 (ISGRCop-42) using powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) takes elemental powders of Cu, Cr, and Nb to be introduced into the PBF environment and develop the GRCop alloy while simultaneously building an AM component. Elemental powders were milled together prior to printing in an effort to facilitate the alloying process. Success of the in situ alloying process may provide lower cost, faster lead times, alloying optimization, and more design freedom in the development of regeneratively-cooled rocket propulsion systems. Evaluation of the ISGRCop-42 was conducted using a phase extraction procedure to isolate the Cr2Nb precipitates from the pure Cu matrix. The isolated precipitates were then examined using x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS). It was found that ISGRCop-42 successfully and repeatedly formed Cr2Nb at a yield as high as 89% of potential Cr2Nb. Further, it was identified that the preparation of the powder was the most influential factor in alloying success, and the second most influential factor was the laser power.

In Situ alloying↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Plume-Surface Interaction: Preliminary Observations from a Physics Focused Ground Test

Near surface operations conducted by spacecraft using rocket propulsion, such as during landing or the initial portion of ascent, may induce surface interactions that pose a risk to the spacecraft itself or nearby assets. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is conducting a multi-year project to mature the capability to predict plume-surface interactions (PSI) and reduce uncertainty through modeling, simulation, and ground testing. The Physics Focused Ground Test (PFGT), conducted in summer 2021, aimed to collect PSI data for plume, erosion, and ejecta physics to characterize PSI behaviors across a range of parameters relevant to the validation of computational modeling and with consideration to flight-relevant, though not flight-scale, environments. PFGT is a sub-scale, intrusive half-plane, inert-gas test conducted in a 15 foot-diameter vacuum chamber using a supersonic, heated, gaseous nitrogen plume. Tests were conducted with six regolith simulants, varying in complexity from spherical glass beads to BP-1 lunar soil simulant, and varied vacuum chamber ambient pressures to simulate Martian and lunar conditions. Nozzle height and mass flow rate were also varied to observe PSI behaviors and transitions of interest. Three high speed cameras captured crater formation and ejecta behavior during each test. An overview of this experiment is presented along with preliminary observations and analysis.

Wesley A Chambers↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Principles of Directed Energy Deposition for Aerospace Applications

Metal Additive Manufacturing is changing how components are being fabricated for rocket propulsion and aerospace applications. Many additive manufacturing technologies are evolving, and active research is being conducted across academia, industry, and government to advance processes, materials, design, post-processing, and applications. While much focus has been on Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) techniques, several large-scale techniques are also rapidly evolving using directed energy deposition (DED) techniques. This lecture will provide an overview of various DED technologies, a comparison among the technologies, various materials, parameters used to deposit, and several examples of DED applications for propulsion and aerospace components.

Additive Manufacturing↗
NASA NTRS2018

EDEN Mars Transit Habitat Concept of Operations

EDEN is a transportation/orbital habitat that carries large amounts of crew members, food, and supplies from Earth to Mars and back, but can also act as a permanent, simulated-1g-environment space station in Martian orbit. The focus of the project is to create a temporary, but long-term living environment that focuses on human health and food production. The project is composed of four major habitable parts (in addition to other major components). Moving from the center out, the first is a central core that acts as a hub that connects to the structural spokes, the main propulsion rockets and serves as a place for other spacecraft to dock onto, in addition to housing some of the basic station control, navigation and automated computer systems. The second set of parts are the spokes that connect the ring to the central core; these are the primary structural components with elevators in the middle carrying people from the ring to the core. The ‘lower’ portions, near the ring and it’s 1g environment, also act as storage centers. The third part is the 2-story outer ring of the craft, which holds all of the food production along with medical bays, a control center and a few parks. This ring also integrates the rigid keystone modules, which are the interface between the spokes, the expandable-construction portions of the ring and the habitation pods. The keystone modules also incorporate redundant, distributed ECLSS systems, medical storage, airlocks, and other integral station functions. The last parts are the habitation pods; these hold the sleeping quarters along with the bathrooms, showers, kitchen space and lounge areas. These expandable modules latch onto the keystone modules of the ring, which serves as a circulatory link between the different habitation pods.

Jackson Behre↗
NASA NTRS2018

Food Sanitation Device for Use in Microgravity

EDEN is a transportation/orbital habitat that carries large amounts of crew members, food, and supplies from Earth to Mars and back, but can also act as a permanent, simulated-1g-environment space station in Martian orbit. The focus of the project is to create a temporary, but long-term living environment that focuses on human health and food production. The project is composed of four major habitable parts (in addition to other major components). Moving from the center out, the first is a central core that acts as a hub that connects to the structural spokes, the main propulsion rockets and serves as a place for other spacecraft to dock onto, in addition to housing some of the basic station control, navigation and automated computer systems. The second set of parts are the spokes that connect the ring to the central core; these are the primary structural components with elevators in the middle carrying people from the ring to the core. The ‘lower’ portions, near the ring and it’s 1g environment, also act as storage centers. The third part is the 2-story outer ring This project served as an engineering senior design project at Temple University, and as part of NASA’s eXploration and Habitation (X-Hab) 2018 Academic Innovation Challenge. The goal of the project was to design, construct, and test a device which would be used in microgravity to sanitize produce. This is part of a NASA’s effort to grow and sanitize fresh produce on the International Space Station (ISS), in order to provide more nutritious meal options to the astronauts. Our team designed a 3-D printed spherical device with UV-C LEDs lining the interior. The designed device consists of an 8” spherical chamber, 10 UV-C LEDs, and a touchscreen user interface to control the device. Our design meets the project requirements by offering several features: a simple user interface, minimal crew time to operate, no waste produced, and the ability to sanitize multiple types of produce. The main reductions in Salmonella bacteria and Aspergillus Flavus mold were not verified. However, the aerobic plate count requirement was greatly exceeded and validated. Testing of the device resulted in visual results confirming significant decrease in E. coli activity with increased UV-C exposure, as well as quantitative results confirming significant reduction in CFU/g for the aerobic plate count. These reductions achieved from 1.464 x 10 7 to 2 x 10 4 CFU/g (2.86 log reduction) after 5 minutes, were significantly more than the requirements given by NASA ( of the craft, which holds all of the food production along with medical bays, a control center and a few parks. This ring also integrates the rigid keystone modules, which are the interface between the spokes, the expandable-construction portions of the ring and the habitation pods. The keystone modules also incorporate redundant, distributed ECLSS systems, medical storage, airlocks, and other integral station functions. The last parts are the habitation pods; these hold the sleeping quarters along with the bathrooms, showers, kitchen space and lounge areas. These expandable modules latch onto the keystone modules of the ring, which serves as a circulatory link between the different habitation pods.

Damien Gordon↗
NASA NTRS2016

Additive Manufacturing a Liquid Hydrogen Rocket Engine

Space Propulsion is a 5 day event being held from 2nd May to the 6th May 2016 at the Rome Marriott Park Hotel in Rome, Italy. This event showcases products like Propulsion sub-systems and components, Production and manufacturing issues, Liquid, Solid, Hybrid and Air-breathing Propulsion Systems for Launcher and Upper Stages, Overview of current programmes, AIV issues and tools, Flight testing and experience, Technology building blocks for Future Space Transportation Propulsion Systems : Launchers, Exploration platforms & Space Tourism, Green Propulsion for Space Transportation, New propellants, Rocket propulsion & global environment, Cost related aspects of Space Transportation propulsion, Modelling, Pressure-Thrust oscillations issues, Impact of new requirements and regulations on design etc. in the Automotive, Manufacturing, Fabrication, Repair & Maintenance industries.

Jones, Carl P.↗
NASA NTRS1965

Toward modular nuclear-rocket systems.

Propulsion module consisting of Nerva-2-class engine and Saturn V stage would permit wide spectrum of space missions including near-Earth, cislunar and manned interplanetary flight

INTERPLANETARY PROPULSION CONFIGURATION↗
NASA NTRS1987

Low Thrust Space Propulsion

An overview of low rocket engine propulsion concepts for space missions is presented. Chemical and electrical rocket engines are shown. Animation illustrates propulsion applications.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Highlights of NASA's Special ETO Program Planning Workshop on rocket-based combined-cycle propulsion system technologies

A NASA workshop on rocket-based combined-cycle propulsion technologies is described emphasizing the development of a starting point for earth-to-orbit (ETO) rocket technologies. The tutorial is designed with attention given to the combined development of aeronautical airbreathing propulsion and space rocket propulsion. The format, agenda, and group deliberations for the tutorial are described, and group deliberations include: (1) mission and space transportation infrastructure; (2) vehicle-integrated propulsion systems; (3) development operations, facilities, and human resource needs; and (4) spaceflight fleet applications and operations. Although incomplete the workshop elevates the subject of combined-cycle hypersonic propulsion and develops a common set of priniciples regarding the development of these technologies.

Escher, W. J. D.↗