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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 NTRS2013

Cryogenics Testbed Laboratory Flange Baseline Configuration

As an intern at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), I was involved in research for the Fluids and Propulsion Division of the NASA Engineering (NE) Directorate. I was immersed in the Integrated Ground Operations Demonstration Units (IGODU) project for the majority of my time at KSC, primarily with the Ground Operations Demonstration Unit Liquid Oxygen (GODU L02) branch of IGODU. This project was established to develop advancements in cryogenic systems as a part of KSC's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program. The vision of AES is to develop new approaches for human exploration, and operations in and beyond low Earth orbit. Advanced cryogenic systems are crucial to minimize the consumable losses of cryogenic propellants, develop higher performance launch vehicles, and decrease operations cost for future launch programs. During my internship, I conducted a flange torque tracking study that established a baseline configuration for the flanges in the Simulated Propellant Loading System (SPLS) at the KSC Cryogenics Test Laboratory (CTL) - the testing environment for GODU L02.

Acuna, Marie Lei Ysabel D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Spiral Arms in the Asymmetrically Illuminated Disk of MWC 758 and Constraints on Giant Planets

We present the first near-IR scattered light detection of the transitional disk associated with the Herbig Ae star MWC 758 using data obtained as part of the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru, and 1.1 micrometer Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS data. While submillimeter studies suggested there is a dust-depleted cavity with r = 0".35, we find scattered light as close as 0".1 (20-28 AU) from the star, with no visible cavity at H, K', or Ks . We find two small-scaled spiral structures that asymmetrically shadow the outer disk. We model one of the spirals using spiral density wave theory, and derive a disk aspect ratio of h approximately 0.18, indicating a dynamically warm disk. If the spiral pattern is excited by a perturber, we estimate its mass to be 5(exp +3)(sub -4) M(sub J), in the range where planet filtration models predict accretion continuing onto the star. Using a combination of non-redundant aperture masking data at L' and angular differential imaging with Locally Optimized Combination of Images at K' and Ks , we exclude stellar or massive brown dwarf companions within 300 mas of the Herbig Ae star, and all but planetary mass companions exterior to 0".5. We reach 5 sigma contrasts limiting companions to planetary masses, 3-4 M(sub J) at 1".0 and 2 M(sub J) at 1".55, using the COND models. Collectively, these data strengthen the case for MWC 758 already being a young planetary system.

Grady, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Acoustic Emission Analysis Applet (AEAA) Software

NASA Glenn Research and NASA White Sands Test Facility have developed software supporting an automated pressure vessel structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on acoustic emissions (AE). The software, referred to as the Acoustic Emission Analysis Applet (AEAA), provides analysts with a tool that can interrogate data collected on Digital Wave Corp. and Physical Acoustics Corp. software using a wide spectrum of powerful filters and charts. This software can be made to work with any data once the data format is known. The applet will compute basic AE statistics, and statistics as a function of time and pressure (see figure). AEAA provides value added beyond the analysis provided by the respective vendors' analysis software. The software can handle data sets of unlimited size. A wide variety of government and commercial applications could benefit from this technology, notably requalification and usage tests for compressed gas and hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Future enhancements will add features similar to a "check engine" light on a vehicle. Once installed, the system will ultimately be used to alert International Space Station crewmembers to critical structural instabilities, but will have little impact to missions otherwise. Diagnostic information could then be transmitted to experienced technicians on the ground in a timely manner to determine whether pressure vessels have been impacted, are structurally unsound, or can be safely used to complete the mission.

Nichols, Charles T.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Additional Developments in Atmosphere Revitalization Modeling and Simulation

NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program is developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities, and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. These forays beyond the confines of earth's gravity will place unprecedented demands on launch systems. They must launch the supplies needed to sustain a crew over longer periods for exploration missions beyond earth's moon. Thus all spacecraft systems, including those for the separation of metabolic carbon dioxide and water from a crewed vehicle, must be minimized with respect to mass, power, and volume. Emphasis is also placed on system robustness both to minimize replacement parts and ensure crew safety when a quick return to earth is not possible. Current efforts are focused on improving the current state-of-the-art systems utilizing fixed beds of sorbent pellets by evaluating structured sorbents, seeking more robust pelletized sorbents, and examining alternate bed configurations to improve system efficiency and reliability. These development efforts combine testing of sub-scale systems and multi-physics computer simulations to evaluate candidate approaches, select the best performing options, and optimize the configuration of the selected approach. This paper describes the continuing development of atmosphere revitalization models and simulations in support of the Atmosphere Revitalization Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) project within the AES program.

Coker, Robert F.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Avionics Architectures for Exploration: Building a Better Approach for (Human) Spaceflight Avionics

The field of Avionics is advancing far more rapidly in terrestrial applications than in space flight applications. Spaceflight Avionics are not keeping pace with expectations set by terrestrial experience, nor are they keeping pace with the need for increasingly complex automation and crew interfaces as we move beyond Low Earth Orbit. NASA must take advantage of the strides being made by both space-related and terrestrial industries to drive our development and sustaining costs down. This paper describes ongoing efforts by the Avionics Architectures for Exploration (AAE) project chartered by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Program to evaluate new avionic architectures and technologies, provide objective comparisons of them, and mature selected technologies for flight and for use by other AES projects. Results from the AAE project's FY13 efforts are discussed, along with the status of FY14 efforts and future plans.

Goforth, Montgomery B.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Logistics Reduction and Repurposing Technology for Long Duration Space Missions

One of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) projects is the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project, which has the goal of reducing logistics resupply items through direct and indirect means. Various technologies under development in the project will reduce the launch mass of consumables and their packaging, enable reuse and repurposing of items and make logistics tracking more efficient. Repurposing also reduces the trash burden onboard spacecraft and indirectly reduces launch mass by replacing some items on the manifest. Examples include reuse of trash as radiation shielding or propellant. This paper provides the status of the LRR technologies in their third year of development under AES. Advanced clothing systems (ACS) are being developed to enable clothing to be worn longer, directly reducing launch mass. ACS has completed a ground exercise clothing study in preparation for an International Space Station (ISS) technology demonstration in 2014. Development of launch packaging containers and other items that can be repurposed on-orbit as part of habitation outfitting has resulted in a logistics-to-living (L2L) concept. L2L has fabricated and evaluated several multi-purpose cargo transfer bags (MCTBs) for potential reuse on orbit. Autonomous logistics management (ALM) is using radio frequency identification (RFID) to track items and thus reduce crew requirements for logistics functions. An RFID dense reader prototype is under construction and plans for integrated testing are being made. Development of a heat melt compactor (HMC) second generation unit for processing trash into compact and stable tiles is nearing completion. The HMC prototype compaction chamber has been completed and system development testing is underway. Research has been conducted on the conversion of trash-to-gas (TtG) for high levels of volume reduction and for use in propulsion systems. A steam reformation system was selected for further system definition of the TtG technology. And benefits analysis of all LRR technologies have been updated with the latest test and analysis results.

Broyan, James L.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Logistics Reduction and Repurposing Technology for Long Duration Space Missions

One of NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) projects is the Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) project, which has the goal of reducing logistics resupply items through direct and indirect means. Various technologies under development in the project will reduce the launch mass of consumables and their packaging, enable reuse and repurposing of items, and make logistics tracking more efficient. Repurposing also reduces the trash burden onboard spacecraft and indirectly reduces launch mass by one manifest item having two purposes rather than two manifest items each having only one purpose. This paper provides the status of each of the LRR technologies in their third year of development under AES. Advanced clothing systems (ACSs) are being developed to enable clothing to be worn longer, directly reducing launch mass. ACS has completed a ground exercise clothing study in preparation for an International Space Station technology demonstration in 2014. Development of launch packaging containers and other items that can be repurposed on-orbit as part of habitation outfitting has resulted in a logistics-to-living (L2L) concept. L2L has fabricated and evaluated several multi-purpose cargo transfer bags for potential reuse on-orbit. Autonomous logistics management is using radio frequency identification (RFID) to track items and thus reduce crew time for logistics functions. An RFID dense reader prototype is under construction and plans for integrated testing are being made. A heat melt compactor (HMC) second generation unit for processing trash into compact and stable tiles is nearing completion. The HMC prototype compaction chamber has been completed and system development testing is under way. Research has been conducted on the conversion of trash-to-gas (TtG) for high levels of volume reduction and for use in propulsion systems. A steam reformation system was selected for further system definition of the TtG technology.

Broyan, James Lee, Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Logistics Reduction Technologies for Exploration Missions

Human exploration missions under study are very limited by the launch mass capacity of existing and planned vehicles. The logistical mass of crew items is typically considered separate from the vehicle structure, habitat outfitting, and life support systems. Consequently, crew item logistical mass is typically competing with vehicle systems for mass allocation. NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) Project is developing five logistics technologies guided by a systems engineering cradle‐to‐grave approach to enable used crew items to augment vehicle systems. Specifically, AES LRR is investigating the direct reduction of clothing mass, the repurposing of logistical packaging, the use of autonomous logistics management technologies, the processing of spent crew items to benefit radiation shielding and water recovery, and the conversion of trash to propulsion gases. The systematic implementation of these types of technologies will increase launch mass efficiency by enabling items to be used for secondary purposes and improve the habitability of the vehicle as the mission duration increases. This paper provides a description and the challenges of the five technologies under development and the estimated overall mission benefits of each technology.

Broyan, James L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Affordable Development and Optimization of CERMET Fuels for NTP Ground Testing

CERMET fuel materials for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) are currently being developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. The work is part of NASA's Advanced Space Exploration Systems Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) Project. The goal of the FY12-14 project is to address critical NTP technology challenges and programmatic issues to establish confidence in the affordability and viability of an NTP system. A key enabling technology for an NCPS system is the fabrication of a stable high temperature nuclear fuel form. Although much of the technology was demonstrated during previous programs, there are currently no qualified fuel materials or processes. The work at MSFC is focused on developing critical materials and process technologies for manufacturing robust, full-scale CERMET fuels. Prototypical samples are being fabricated and tested in flowing hot hydrogen to understand processing and performance relationships. As part of this initial demonstration task, a final full scale element test will be performed to validate robust designs. The next phase of the project will focus on continued development and optimization of the fuel materials to enable future ground testing. The purpose of this paper is to provide a detailed overview of the CERMET fuel materials development plan. The overall CERMET fuel development path is shown in Figure 2. The activities begin prior to ATP for a ground reactor or engine system test and include materials and process optimization, hot hydrogen screening, material property testing, and irradiation testing. The goal of the development is to increase the maturity of the fuel form and reduce risk. One of the main accomplishmens of the current AES FY12-14 project was to develop dedicated laboratories at MSFC for the fabrication and testing of full length fuel elements. This capability will enable affordable, near term development and optimization of the CERMET fuels for future ground testing. Figure 2 provides a timeline of the development and optimization tasks for the AES FY15-17 follow on program.

Hickman, Robert R.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Logistics Reduction Technologies for Exploration Missions

Human exploration missions under study are limited by the launch mass capacity of existing and planned launch vehicles. The logistical mass of crew items is typically considered separate from the vehicle structure, habitat outfitting, and life support systems. Although mass is typically the focus of exploration missions, due to its strong impact on launch vehicle and habitable volume for the crew, logistics volume also needs to be considered. NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Logistics Reduction and Repurposing (LRR) Project is developing six logistics technologies guided by a systems engineering cradle-to-grave approach to enable after-use crew items to augment vehicle systems. Specifically, AES LRR is investigating the direct reduction of clothing mass, the repurposing of logistical packaging, the use of autonomous logistics management technologies, the processing of spent crew items to benefit radiation shielding and water recovery, and the conversion of trash to propulsion gases. Reduction of mass has a corresponding and significant impact to logistical volume. The reduction of logistical volume can reduce the overall pressurized vehicle mass directly, or indirectly benefit the mission by allowing for an increase in habitable volume during the mission. The systematic implementation of these types of technologies will increase launch mass efficiency by enabling items to be used for secondary purposes and improve the habitability of the vehicle as mission durations increase. Early studies have shown that the use of advanced logistics technologies can save approximately 20 m(sup 3) of volume during transit alone for a six-person Mars conjunction class mission.

Broyan, James L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Integrated Ground Operations Demonstration for Responsive Space Access

The NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) program has a three year project to develop and demonstrate technologies to fundamentally change the way ground servicing activities support future access to space architectures. The AES Integrated Ground Operation Demonstration Units (IGODU) project has created two test beds for investigating and maturing two key elements of spaceport processing activities. The first is the GODU Integrated Refrigeration and Storage test bed that is demonstrating zero-loss storage of liquid hydrogen propellants and studying the storage and transfer of densified propellants. The second activity is the GODU Autonomous Control test bed that is implementing health management technologies and autonomous control capability of the propellant loading process to reduce the standing army of experts historically needed to ensure safe propellant loading operations. This presentation will give an overview of the activities at the Kennedy Space Center on these two test beds and its potential impact on future access to space programs.

ground operational support system↗
NASA NTRS2014

NuSTAR Results and Future Plans for Magnetar and Rotation-Powered Pulsar Observations

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the first focusing hard X-ray mission in orbit and operates in the 3-79 keV range. NuSTAR's sensitivity is roughly two orders of magnitude better than previous missions in this energy band thanks to its superb angular resolution. Since its launch in 2012 June, NuSTAR has performed excellently and observed many interesting sources including four magnetars, two rotation-powered pulsars and the cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii. NuSTAR also discovered 3.76-s pulsations from the transient source SGR J1745-29 recently found by Swift very close to the Galactic center, clearly identifying the source as a transient magnetar. For magnetar 1E 1841-045, we show that the spectrum is well fit by an absorbed blackbody plus broken power-law model with a hard power-law photon index of approximately 1.3. This is consistent with previous results by INTEGRAL and RXTE. We also find an interesting double-peaked pulse profile in the 25-35 keV band. For AE Aquarii, we show that the spectrum can be described by a multi-temperature thermal model or a thermal plus non-thermal model; a multi-temperature thermal model without a non-thermal component cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, we do not see a spiky pulse profile in the hard X-ray band, as previously reported based on Suzaku observations. For other magnetars and rotation-powered pulsars observed with NuSTAR, data analysis results will be soon available.

rotation-powered pulsars↗
NASA NTRS2014

NuSTAR Results and Future Plans for Magnetar and Rotation-Powered Pulsar Observations

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is the first focusing hard X-ray mission in orbit and operates in the 3-79 keV range. NuSTAR's sensitivity is roughly two orders of magnitude better than previous missions in this energy band thanks to its superb angular resolution. Since its launch in 2012 June, NuSTAR has performed excellently and observed many interesting sources including four magnetars, two rotation-powered pulsars and the cataclysmic variable AE Aquarii. NuSTAR also discovered 3.76-s pulsations from the transient source SGR J1745−29 recently found by Swift very close to the Galactic Center, clearly identifying the source as a transient magnetar. For magnetar 1E 1841−045, we show that the spectrum is well fit by an absorbed blackbody plus broken power-law model with a hard power-law photon index of approximately 1.3. This is consistent with previous results by INTEGRAL and RXTE. We also find an interesting double-peaked pulse profile in the 25-35 keV band. For AE Aquarii, we show that the spectrum can be described by a multi-temperature thermal model or a thermal plus non-thermal model; a multi-temperature thermal model without a non-thermal component cannot be ruled out. Furthermore, we do not see a spiky pulse profile in the hard X-ray band, as previously reported based on Suzaku observations. For other magnetars and rotation-powered pulsars observed with NuSTAR, data analysis results will be soon available.

stars: neutron aEuro" telescope aEuro" X-ray: star↗
NASA NTRS2016

Development of an Exploration-Class Cascade Distillation System: Flight Like Prototype Design Status

The ability to recover and purify water through physiochemical processes is crucial for realizing long-term human space missions, including both planetary habitation and space travel. Because of their robust nature, distillation systems have been actively pursued as one of the technologies for water recovery. One such technology is the Cascade Distillation System (CDS) a multi-stage vacuum rotary distiller system designed to recover water in a microgravity environment. The CDS provides a similar function to the state of the art (SOA) vapor compressor distiller (VCD) currently employed on the International Space Station, but its control scheme and ancillary components are judged to be more straightforward and simpler to implement into a more reliable and efficient system. Through the Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Life Support Systems (LSS) Project, the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in collaboration with Honeywell International is developing a second generation flight forward prototype (CDS 2.0). A preliminary design fo the CDS 2.0 was presented to the project in September 2014. Following this review, detailed design of the system continued. The existing ground test prototype was used as a platform to demonstrate key 2.0 design and operational concepts to support this effort and mitigate design risk. A volumetric prototype was also developed to evaluate the packaging design for operability and maintainability. The updated system design was reviewed by the AES LSS Project and other key stakeholders in September 2015. This paper details the status of the CDS 2.0 design.

Sargusingh, Miriam C.↗
NASA NTRS2015

CapiBRIC- Capillary-Based Brine Residual In-Containment for Secondary Water Recovery

One of the goals of the AES Life Support Systems Project is to achieve 98% water loop closure for long-duration human exploration missions. Brine water recovery is the primary technology gap that must be bridged to realize this goal. In response to an Agency call for technologies to compete in an October down-select, Capi-BRIC was chosen through a JSC down-select as the strongest candidate to go forward. This resulted in a period of intense development to increase its TRL in preparation for the Agency down-select. This was achieved through rapid prototype design, fabrication, and test at JSC and in a zero-g drop tower at Portland State University. INNOVATION CapiBRIC takes a novel approach of optimizing the containment geometry to support capillary flow and static phase separation to enable evaporation in a microgravity environment. OUTCOME TRL was advanced from 3 to 4, and was selected for continued funding through the AES program. CapiBRIC is poised for development into an ISS technology demonstration, proving its viability as an enabling technology for exploration.

Sargusingh, Miriam↗
NASA NTRS2016

Design Status of the Capillary Brine Residual in Containment Water Recovery System

One of the goals of the AES Life Support System (LSS) Project is to achieve 98% water loop closure for long duration human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. To meet this objective, the AES LSS Project is developing technologies to recover water from wastewater brine; highly concentrated waste products generated from a primary water recovery system. The state of the art system used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has the potential to recover up to 85% water from unine wastewater, leaving a significant amounts of water in the waste brine, the recovery of which is critical technology gap that must be filled in order to enable long duration human exploration. Recovering water from the urine wastewater brine is complicated by the concentration of solids as water is removed from the brine, and the concentration of the corrosive, toxic chemicals used to stabilize the urine which fouls and degrades water processing hardware, and poses a hazard to operators and crew. Brine Residual in Containment (BRIC) is focused on solids management through a process of "in-place" drying - the drying of brines within the container used for final disposal. Application of in-place drying has the potential to improve the safety and reliability of the system by reducing the exposure to curew and hardware to the problematic brine residual. Through a collaboration between the NASA Johnson Space Center and Portland Status University, a novel water recovery system was developed that utilizes containment geometry to support passive capillary flow and static phase separation allowing free surface evaporation to take place in a microgravity environment. A notional design for an ISS demonstration system was developed. This paper describes the testing performed to characterize the performance of the system as well as the status of the system level design.

Sargusingh, Miriam J.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Design Status of the Capillary Brine Residual in Containment Water Recovery System

One of the goals of the AES Life Support System (LSS) Project is to achieve 98% water loop closure for long duration human exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. To meet this objective, the AES LSS Project is developing technologies to recover water from wastewater brine; highly concentrated waste products generated from a primary water recovery system. The state of the art system used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has the potential to recover up to 85% water from unine wastewater, leaving a significant amounts of water in the waste brine, the recovery of which is a critical technology gap that must be filled in order to enable long duration human exploration. Recovering water from the urine wastewater brine is complicated by the concentration of solids as water is removed from the brine, and the concentration of the corrosive, toxic chemicals used to stabilize the urine which fouls and degrades water processing hardware, and poses a hazard to operators and crew. Brine Residual in Containment (BRIC) is focused on solids management through a process of "in-place" drying - the drying of brines within the container used for final disposal. Application of in-place drying has the potential to improve the safety and reliability of the system by reducing the exposure to crew and hardware to the problematic brine residual. Through a collaboration between the NASA Johnson Space Center and Portland Status University, a novel water recovery system was developed that utilizes containment geometry to support passive capillary flow and static phase separation allowing free surface evaporation to take place in a microgravity environment. A notional design for an ISS demonstration system was developed. This paper describes the concept for the system level design.

Callahan, Michael R.↗
NASA NTRS2016

GOCI Yonsei Aerosol Retrieval (YAER) Algorithm and Validation During the DRAGON-NE Asia 2012 Campaign

The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) onboard the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) is the first multi-channel ocean color imager in geostationary orbit. Hourly GOCI top-of-atmosphere radiance has been available for the retrieval of aerosol optical properties over East Asia since March 2011. This study presents improvements made to the GOCI Yonsei Aerosol Retrieval (YAER) algorithm together with validation results during the Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks - Northeast Asia 2012 campaign (DRAGONNE Asia 2012 campaign). The evaluation during the spring season over East Asia is important because of high aerosol concentrations and diverse types of Asian dust and haze. Optical properties of aerosol are retrieved from the GOCI YAER algorithm including aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm, fine-mode fraction (FMF) at 550 nm, single-scattering albedo (SSA) at 440 nm, Angstrom exponent (AE) between 440 and 860 nm, and aerosol type. The aerosol models are created based on a global analysis of the Aerosol Robotic Networks (AERONET) inversion data, and covers a broad range of size distribution and absorptivity, including nonspherical dust properties. The Cox-Munk ocean bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model is used over ocean, and an improved minimum reflectance technique is used over land. Because turbid water is persistent over the Yellow Sea, the land algorithm is used for such cases. The aerosol products are evaluated against AERONET observations and MODIS Collection 6 aerosol products retrieved from Dark Target (DT) and Deep Blue (DB) algorithms during the DRAGON-NE Asia 2012 campaign conducted from March to May 2012. Comparison of AOD from GOCI and AERONET resulted in a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.881 and a linear regression equation with GOCI AOD = 1.083 x AERONET AOD - 0.042. The correlation between GOCI and MODIS AODs is higher over ocean than land. GOCI AOD shows better agreement with MODIS DB than MODIS DT. The other GOCI YAER products (AE, FMF, and SSA) show lower correlation with AERONET than AOD, but still show some skills for qualitative use.

Choi, Myungje↗