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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

COBALT: A GN&C Payload for Testing ALHAT Capabilities in Closed-Loop Terrestrial Rocket Flights

The COBALT (CoOperative Blending of Autonomous Landing Technology) payload is being developed within NASA as a risk reduction activity to mature, integrate and test ALHAT (Autonomous precision Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology) systems targeted for infusion into near-term robotic and future human space flight missions. The initial COBALT payload instantiation is integrating the third-generation ALHAT Navigation Doppler Lidar (NDL) sensor, for ultra high-precision velocity plus range measurements, with the passive-optical Lander Vision System (LVS) that provides Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) global-position estimates. The COBALT payload will be integrated onboard a rocket-propulsive terrestrial testbed and will provide precise navigation estimates and guidance planning during two flight test campaigns in 2017 (one open-loop and closed- loop). The NDL is targeting performance capabilities desired for future Mars and Moon Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL). The LVS is already baselined for TRN on the Mars 2020 robotic lander mission. The COBALT platform will provide NASA with a new risk-reduction capability to test integrated EDL Guidance, Navigation and Control (GN&C) components in closed-loop flight demonstrations prior to the actual mission EDL.

Carson, John M., III↗
NASA NTRS1971

Rocket flight performance of a preprototype Apollo 17 UV spectrometer S-169

The design, construction, testing, calibration, flight performance and flight data of an Ebert ultraviolet spectrometer are described which is an accurate representation of the conceptual design of the Apollo 17 UV spectrometer. The instrument was flown in an Aerobee 350 rocket from Wallops Island, Va., at 7:10 p.m. EDT on June 10, 1971 to an altitude of 328 km with a solar elevation angle of about 11 deg.

Fastie, W. G.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Determination of the availability of appropriate aged flight rocket motors

A program to identify surplus solid rocket propellant engines which would be available for a program of functional integrity testing was conducted. The engines are classified as: (1) upper stage and apogee engines, (2) sounding rocket and launch vehicle engines, and (3) jato, sled, and tactical engines. Nearly all the engines were available because their age exceeds the warranted shelf life. The preference for testing included tests at nominal flight conditions, at design limits, and to establish margin limits. The principal failure modes of interest were case bond separation and grain bore cracking. Data concerning the identification and characteristics of each engine are tabulated. Methods for conducting the tests are described.

Martin, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Rapid optimization of multiple-burn rocket flights.

Different formulations of the fuel optimization problem for multiple burn trajectories are considered. It is shown that certain customary idealizing assumptions lead to an ill-posed optimization problem for which no solution exists. Several ways are discussed for avoiding such difficulties by more realistic problem statements. An iterative solution of the boundary value problem is presented together with efficient coast arc computations, the right end conditions for various orbital missions, and some test results.

Brown, K. R.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Analysis of coronal H I Lyman alpha measurements from a rocket flight on 1979 April 13

It is noted that measurements of the profiles of resonantly scattered hydrogen Lyman-alpha coronal radiation have been used in determining hydrogen kinetic temperatures from 1.5 to 4 solar radii from sun center in a quiet region of the corona. Proton temperatures derived using the line widths decrease with height from 2.6 x 10 to the 6th K at 1.5 solar radii to 1.2 x 10 to the 6th K at 4 solar radii. These measurements, together with temperatures for lower heights determined from earlier Skylab and eclipse data, suggest that there is a maximum in the quiet coronal proton temperature at about 1.5 solar radii. Comparison of measured Lyman-alpha intensities with those calculated using a representative model for the radial variation of the coronal electron density yields information on the magnitude of the electron temperature gradient and suggests that the solar wind flow was subsonic for distances less than 4 solar radii.

Withbroe, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Reconstruction of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment Sounding Rocket Flight Tests with Strengthened Disk-Gap-Band Parachute

The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research and Experiments project is a flight test program for development of supersonic parachutes for future use at Mars. The flight tests are a risk-reduction program for the Mars 2020 mission. The flight tests involve two Disk-Gap- Band parachute designs to be tested at relevant Mach number and dynamic pressure regimes for the Mars 2020 entry capsule. The first of these parachutes is a built-to-print design that was successfully employed by the Mars Science Laboratory lander at Mars in August 2012, and the second is a design that is strengthened in material properties and construction methods but has the same geometry as that used by Mars Science Laboratory. The first flight test of the built-to-print parachute took place on October 4, 2017 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The parachute test was successful. The second and third flight tests took place on March 31st and September 7th 2018, respectively, and successfully tested the strengthened parachute design. This paper describes the instrumentation, data analysis techniques, and atmospheric and trajectory reconstruction results from the second and third flight tests.

Karlgaard, Christopher D.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Reconstruction of the Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment Sounding Rocket Flight Test

The Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research and Experiments project is a flight test program for development of supersonic parachutes for potential future use at Mars. The flight tests are designed to reduce risk for the Mars 2020 mission. The flight tests involve two Disk-Gap-Band parachute designs to be tested at relevant Mach number and dynamic pressure conditions for the Mars 2020 entry capsule. The first of these parachutes is a built-to-print design that was successfully employed by the Mars Science Laboratory lander at Mars in August 2012, and the second is a design that is strengthened in material properties and construction methods but has the same geometry as that used by Mars Science Laboratory. The first flight test of the built-to-print parachute took place on October 4, 2017 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. This paper describes the instrumentation, data analysis techniques, and atmospheric and trajectory reconstruction results from this flight test.

Karlgaard, Christopher D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Cryogenic heat pipe experiment - Flight performance onboard a sounding rocket

Flight data from a 15.8 mm OD, 760 mm long, axial-groove, methane cryogenic heat pipe verified successful priming and operation during six min of zero-g time. The nominal power applied to the evaporator was 60-w for the first 60 sec of zero-g time, 14 w for the next 270 sec, and 25 w for the last 20 sec of flight. The heat pipe condenser was mounted into an aluminum heat sink which was cooled to 103 K at launch and increased in temperature to 128 K by the end of the flight. Ground test data obtained for the flight heat pipe, together with theoretical predictions, indicate a zero-g heat transport capability of 3500 to 4000 w-cm in the 100-125 K temperature range.

Harwell, W.↗
NASA NTRS1949

Flight Investigation of 6.25-Inch-Diameter Deacon Rocket and 10-Inch-Scale Model Rocket

Flight tests were conducted at the NACA Pilotless Aircraft Research Station, Wallops Island, to determine the characteristics of the Allegany Ballistics Laboratory's 6.2inch-diameter Deacon and lO-inch-scale model solid-propellant rocket motors. The tests were performed to assist in the development of these rockets which were designed for, and urgently needed to propel supersonic research models and pilotless aircraft. The tests showed that the rocket motors functioned properly under various flight- acceleration loads over a range of pre-ignition grain temperatures. A maximum velocity of 4180 feet per second was obtained at an elapsed time of 2.9 seconds with the 6.25-inch Deacon rocket motor at a gross weight of l9O pounds. Free-flight data of drag coefficient for the Deacon configuration for a Mach number range of 1.1 to 3.6 have been obtained from flight tests of several pounds. Camera studies of the take-off and flights of the Deacon rocket shared no evidence of breakup of propellant grains. An analysis of the forces to which the Deacon rocket grain is subjected was made. The analysis shows that the grain loading is most severe near the beginning and near the end of the rocket action time. The 10-inch-scale model rocket motor is a scaled model of the l6-inch- diameter multi-perforated, cast-grain rocket motor. A maximum velocity of 1625 feet per second at a time of 1.075 seconds was obtained at a gross weight of 309 pounds.

Watson, R. S.↗