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NASA NTRS2014

Technology Estimating 2: A Process to Determine the Cost and Schedule of Space Technology Research and Development

As a leader in space technology research and development, NASA is continuing in the development of the Technology Estimating process, initiated in 2012, for estimating the cost and schedule of low maturity technology research and development, where the Technology Readiness Level is less than TRL 6. NASA' s Technology Roadmap areas consist of 14 technology areas. The focus of this continuing Technology Estimating effort included four Technology Areas (TA): TA3 Space Power and Energy Storage, TA4 Robotics, TA8 Instruments, and TA12 Materials, to confine the research to the most abundant data pool. This research report continues the development of technology estimating efforts completed during 2013-2014, and addresses the refinement of parameters selected and recommended for use in the estimating process, where the parameters developed are applicable to Cost Estimating Relationships (CERs) used in the parametric cost estimating analysis. This research addresses the architecture for administration of the Technology Cost and Scheduling Estimating tool, the parameters suggested for computer software adjunct to any technology area, and the identification of gaps in the Technology Estimating process.

Cole, Stuart K.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (CPST) Technology Maturation: Establishing a Foundation for a Technology Demonstration Mission (TDM)

As part of U.S. National Space Policy, NASA is seeking an innovative path for human space exploration, which strengthens the capability to extend human and robotic presence throughout the solar system. NASA is laying the groundwork to enable humans to safely reach multiple potential destinations, including asteroids, Lagrange points, the Moon and Mars. In support of this, NASA is embarking on the Technology Demonstration Mission Cryogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer (TDM CPST) Project to test and validate key cryogenic capabilities and technologies required for future exploration elements, opening up the architecture for large cryogenic propulsion stages (CPS) and propellant depots. The TDM CPST project will provide an on-orbit demonstration of the capability to store, transfer, and measure cryogenic propellants for a duration which is relevant to enable long term human space exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Recognizing that key cryogenic fluid management technologies anticipated for on-orbit (flight) demonstration needed to be matured to a readiness level appropriate for infusion into the design of the flight demonstration, the NASA Headquarters Space Technology Mission Directorate authorized funding for a one-year (FY12) ground based technology maturation program. The strategy, proposed by the CPST Project Manager, focused on maturation through modeling, studies, and ground tests of the storage and fluid transfer Cryogenic Fluid Management (CFM) technology sub-elements and components that were not already at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 5. A technology maturation plan (TMP) was subsequently approved which described: the CFM technologies selected for maturation, the ground testing approach to be used, quantified success criteria of the technologies, hardware and data deliverables, and a deliverable to provide an assessment of the technology readiness after completion of the test, study or modeling activity. This paper will present the testing, studies, and modeling that occurred in FY12 to mature cryogenic fluid management technologies for propellant storage, transfer, and supply, to examine extensibility to full scale, long duration missions, and to develop and validate analytical models. Finally, the paper will briefly describe an upcoming test to demonstrate Liquid Oxygen (LO2) Zero Boil-Off (ZBO).

Doherty, Michael P.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Adapting the Technology Performance Level Integrated Assessment Framework to Low-TRL Technologies Within the Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Industry, Part I

With the urgent need to mitigate climate change and rising global temperatures, technological solutions that reduce atmospheric CO 2 are an increasingly important part of the global solution. As a result, the nascent carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) industry is rapidly growing with a plethora of new technologies in many different sectors. There is a need to holistically evaluate these new technologies in a standardized and consistent manner to determine which technologies will be the most successful and competitive in the global marketplace to achieve decarbonization targets. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) have been employed as rigorous methodologies for quantitatively measuring a technology's environmental impacts and techno-economic performance, respectively. However, these metrics evaluate a technology's performance in only three dimensions and do not directly incorporate stakeholder needs and values. In addition, technology developers frequently encounter trade-offs during design that increase one metric at the expense of the other. The technology performance level (TPL) combined indicator provides a comprehensive and holistic assessment of an emerging technology's potential, which is described by its techno-economic performance, environmental impacts, social impacts, safety considerations, market/deployability opportunities, use integration impacts, and general risks. TPL incorporates TEA and LCA outputs and quantifies the trade-offs between them directly using stakeholder feedback and requirements. In this article, the TPL methodology is being adapted from the marine energy domain to the CCUS domain. Adapted metrics and definitions, a stakeholder analysis, and a detailed foundation-based application of the systems engineering approach to CCUS are presented. The TPL assessment framework is couched within the internationally standardized LCA framework to improve technical rigor and acceptance. It is demonstrated how stakeholder needs and values can be directly incorporated, how LCA and TEA metrics can be balanced, and how other dimensions (listed earlier) can be integrated into a single metric that measures a technology's potential.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Vehicle Technologies and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Research and Development Programs: Prospective Benefits Assessment Report for Fiscal Year 2018

Under a diverse set of programs, the Vehicle Technologies and Fuel Cell Technologies Offices of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy invest in early-stage research of advanced batteries and electrification, engines and fuels, materials, and energy-efficient mobility systems; hydrogen production, delivery, and storage; and fuel cell technologies. This report documents the estimated benefits of successful development and implementation of advanced vehicle technologies. It presents a comparison of a scenario with completely successful implementation of Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) technologies (the Program Success case) to a future in which there is no contribution after Fiscal Year 2017 by the VTO or FCTO to these technologies (the No Program case). Benefits were attributed to individual program technology areas, which included FCTO research and development and the VTO programs of electrification, advanced combustion engines and fuels, and materials technology. Projections for the Program Success case indicate that by 2035, the average fuel economy of on-road, light-duty vehicle stock could be 24% to 30% higher than in the No Program case, while fuel economy for on-road medium- and heavy-duty vehicle stock could be as much as 13% higher. The resulting petroleum savings in 2035 were estimated to be as high as 1.9 million barrels of oil per day, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be as high as 320 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Projections of light-duty vehicle adoption indicate that although advanced-technology vehicles may be somewhat more expensive to purchase, the fuel savings result in a net reduction of consumer cost. In 2035, reductions in annual fuel expenditures for vehicles (both light- and heavy-duty) are projected to range from $86 billion to $109 billion (2015$), while the projected increase in new vehicle expenditures in the same year ranges from $6 billion to $24 billion (2015$).

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

NASA NTRS1994

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) is pleased to report the results of NASA contract NASW-4367, 'Operation of a Technology Applications Team'. Through a period of significant change within NASA, the RTI Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. RTI's ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed an implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs; (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology; and (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1994

NASA Technology Applications Team: Commercial applications of aerospace technology

The Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Team has maintained its focus on helping NASA establish partnerships with U.S. industry for dual use development and technology commercialization. Our emphasis has been on outcomes, such as licenses, industry partnerships and commercialization of technologies, that are important to NASA in its mission of contributing to the improved competitive position of U.S. industry. The RTI Team has been successful in the development of NASA/industry partnerships and commercialization of NASA technologies. RTI ongoing commitment to quality and customer responsiveness has driven our staff to continuously improve our technology transfer methodologies to meet NASA's requirements. For example, RTI has emphasized the following areas: (1) Methodology For Technology Assessment and Marketing: RTI has developed and implemented effective processes for assessing the commercial potential of NASA technologies. These processes resulted from an RTI study of best practices, hands-on experience, and extensive interaction with the NASA Field Centers to adapt to their specific needs. (2) Effective Marketing Strategies: RTI surveyed industry technology managers to determine effective marketing tools and strategies. The Technology Opportunity Announcement format and content were developed as a result of this industry input. For technologies with a dynamic visual impact, RTI has developed a stand-alone demonstration diskette that was successful in developing industry interest in licensing the technology. And (3) Responsiveness to NASA Requirements: RTI listened to our customer (NASA) and designed our processes to conform with the internal procedures and resources at each NASA Field Center and the direction provided by NASA's Agenda for Change. This report covers the activities of the Research Triangle Institute Technology Applications Team for the period 1 October 1993 through 31 December 1994.

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NASA NTRS2006

Applying Registry Services to Spaceflight Technologies to Aid in the Assignment of Assigned Numbers to Disparate Systems and their Technologies to Further Enable Interoperability

To date very little effort has been made to provide interoperability between various space agency projects. To effectively get to the Moon and beyond systems must interoperate. To provide interoperability, standardization and registries of various technologies will be required. These registries will be created as they relate to space flight. With the new NASA Moon/Mars initiative, a requirement to standardize and control the naming conventions of very disparate systems and technologies is emerging. The need to provide numbering to the many processes, schemas, vehicles, robots, space suits and technologies (e.g. versions), to name a few, in the highly complex Constellation initiative is imperative. The number of corporations, developer personnel, system interfaces, people interfaces will require standardization and registries on a scale not currently envisioned. It would only take one exception (stove piped system development) to weaken, if not, destroy interoperability. To start, a standardized registry process must be defined that allows many differing engineers, organizations and operators the ability to easily access disparate registry information across numerous technological and scientific disciplines. Once registries are standardized the need to provide registry support in terms of setup and operations, resolution of conflicts between registries and other issues will need to be addressed. Registries should not be confused with repositories. No end user data is "stored" in a registry nor is it a configuration control system. Once a registry standard is created and approved, the technologies that should be registered must be identified and prioritized. In this paper, we will identify and define a registry process that is compatible with the Constellation initiative and other non related space activities and organizations. We will then identify and define the various technologies that should use a registry to provide interoperability. The first set of technologies will be those that are currently in need of expansion namely the assignment of satellite designations and the process which controls assignments. Second, we will analyze the technologies currently standardized under the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) banner. Third, we will analyze the current CCSDS working group and Birds of a Feather (BoF) activities to ascertain registry requirements. Lastly, we will identify technologies that are either currently under the auspices of another standards body or technologies that are currently not standardized. For activities one through three, we will provide the analysis by either discipline or technology with rationale, identification and brief description of requirements and precedence. For activity four, we will provide a list of current standards bodies e.g. IETF and a list of potential candidates.

Bradford, Robert N.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Towards 5G-Enabled Operational Technology for Process Monitoring and Network Slicing

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are deployed to monitor physical processes in critical cyber-enabled services like power generation. However, CPS ecosystems are typically designed without robust security. While it is important to ensure optimal performance of the Operational Technology (OT) environments, security cannot be overlooked. To modernize traditional OT services, 5G technology is being integrated. 5G technology offers low latency and high availability, making it a suitable infrastructure for managing and monitoring physical processes. How-ever, integrating 5G mechanisms into large-scale OT networks introduces new implementation and performance challenges. Therefore, this paper presents a 5G-enabled CPS architecture (5G-CPS) that describes the necessary components, services, and communication protocols and conducts feasibility study to integrate 5G technology in industrial control system networks to understand the performance merits. The 5G-CPS architecture aims to minimize implementation and operational challenges associated with integrating 5G technology into constrained OT.

Aguayo, Jared M.↗

DOE OSTI2019

Vehicle Technologies and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Research and Development Programs: Prospective Benefits Assessment for Medium- and Heavy-duty Vehicles

Through a diverse set of programs, the Vehicle Technologies and Fuel Cell Technologies Offices of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) invest in early-stage vehicle and fuel cell research. The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and the Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) are two offices that are encompassed within EERE’s Sustainable Transportation pillar. VTO conducts research and development (R&D) to provide low-cost, reliable, and efficient energy for the transportation of goods and people across America. FCTO has a comprehensive portfolio of activities that address the barriers facing the development and implementation of hydrogen and fuel cells, with the ultimate goals of decreasing our dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and enabling clean, reliable power generation through both transportation and stationary uses of hydrogen. This report quantifies the vehicle-level and national-level benefits of successful VTO and FCTO R&D applied to medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The benefits estimated include reductions in energy use and GHG emissions from and changes in expenditures on medium- and heavy-duty vehicles on the road in the United States through the year 2050. The potential future benefits of successfully developing and implementing these technologies were analyzed by comparing a “Program Success” case to a base case (the “No Program” case). The Program Success case represents the future with successful implementation of VTO and FCTO technologies. The No Program case represents a future in which VTO or FCTO do not contribute to these technologies after Fiscal Year (FY) 2019. Three side cases were analyzed to assess the sensitivity of the projections of market adoption to future electricity prices (including infrastructure costs), the availability of electricity and hydrogen at public stations, and fuel cell system efficiency. Advanced vehicle technologies supported by VTO and FCTO programs can greatly increase the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. As a result of EERE-supported technologies, the sales-weighted average fuel economy of the fleet of all new Class 7 and 8 trucks in the Program Success case is projected to be 1.2 times that of the trucks in the No Program case in 2035 and 1.3 times the baseline in 2050. These technologies in Classes 4–6 increase fuel economy by a factor of 1.46 in 2035 and 1.78 in 2050. The fuel economy of the entire on-road medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleet, including all fuel types, is projected to be higher by 10%, reaching 9.1 mpgde in 2035, and by 25%, reaching 11.0 mpgde in 2050. The resulting petroleum savings in 2050 were estimated to be 0.75 million barrels per day, and reductions in GHG emissions in 2050 were estimated to 110 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 -eq) per year. Such petroleum reductions result in significant reductions in fuel expenditure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, totaling approximately $37 billion annually by 2035. Figure ES-1 shows the difference in projected consumption of diesel fuel, electricity, and hydrogen in the No Program and Program Success cases. Negative values show the reduction in the Program Success case, relative to the No Program case.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Advanced Reactor Technology -- Regulatory Technology Development Plan (RTDP)

This DOE-NE Advanced Small Modular Reactor (AdvSMR) regulatory technology development plan (RTDP) will link critical DOE nuclear reactor technology development programs to important regulatory and policy-related issues likely to impact a “critical path” for establishing a viable commercial AdvSMR presence in the domestic energy market. Accordingly, the regulatory considerations that are set forth in the AdvSMR RTDP will not be limited to any one particular type or subset of advanced reactor technology(s) but rather broadly consider potential regulatory approaches and the licensing implications that accompany all DOE-sponsored research and technology development activity that deal with commercial non-light water reactors. However, it is also important to remember that certain “minimum” levels of design and safety approach knowledge concerning these technology(s) must be defined and available to an extent that supports appropriate pre-licensing regulatory analysis within the RTDP. Final resolution to advanced reactor licensing issues is most often predicated on the detailed design information and specific safety approach as documented in a facility license application and submitted for licensing review. Because the AdvSMR RTDP is focused on identifying and assessing the potential regulatory implications of DOE-sponsored reactor technology research very early in the pre-license application development phase, the information necessary to support a comprehensive regulatory analysis of a new reactor technology, and the resolution of resulting issues, will generally not be available. As such, the regulatory considerations documented in the RTDP should be considered an initial “first step” in the licensing process which will continue until a license is issued to build and operate the said nuclear facility. Because a facility license application relies heavily on the data and information generated by technology development studies, the anticipated regulatory importance of key DOE reactor research initiatives should be assessed early in the technology development process. Quality assurance requirements supportive of later licensing activities must also be attached to important research activities to ensure resulting data is usable in that context. Early regulatory analysis and licensing approach planning thus provides a significant benefit to the formulation of research plans and also enables the planning and development of a compatible AdvSMR licensing framework, should significant modification be required.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS2015

Technology Development for the Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) as a Candidate Large UV-Optical-Infrared (LUVOIR) Surveyor

The Advanced Technology Large Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) team has identified five key technologies to enable candidate architectures for the future large-aperture ultraviolet/optical/infrared (LUVOIR) space observatory envisioned by the NASA Astrophysics 30-year roadmap, Enduring Quests, Daring Visions. The science goals of ATLAST address a broad range of astrophysical questions from early galaxy and star formation to the processes that contributed to the formation of life on Earth, combining general astrophysics with direct-imaging and spectroscopy of habitable exoplanets. The key technologies are: internal coronagraphs, starshades (or external occulters), ultra-stable large-aperture telescopes, detectors, and mirror coatings. Selected technology performance goals include: 1x1010 raw contrast at an inner working angle of 35 milli-arcseconds, wavefront error stability on the order of 10 pm RMS per wavefront control step, autonomous on-board sensing & control, and zero-read-noise single-photon detectors spanning the exoplanet science bandpass between 400 nm and 1.8 μm. Development of these technologies will provide significant advances over current and planned observatories in terms of sensitivity, angular resolution, stability, and high-contrast imaging. The science goals of ATLAST are presented and flowed down to top-level telescope and instrument performance requirements in the context of a reference architecture: a 10-meter-class, segmented aperture telescope operating at room temperature (~290 K) at the sun-Earth Lagrange-2 point. For each technology area, we define best estimates of required capabilities, current state-of-the-art performance, and current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) - thus identifying the current technology gap. We report on current, planned, or recommended efforts to develop each technology to TRL 5.

Technology Development↗

DOE OSTI2013

Technology Readiness for the Smart Grid

Reluctance to adopt new technology into a utility application is understandable, given the critical nature of the infrastructure and the less-than-ideal experiences of some power companies. The authors of this paper have considered adapting the NASA approach of classifying technology readiness, but find it not quite appropriate because NASA was both the developer and the eventual user of the new technology it was evaluating, whereas a utility is ordinarily in the mode of a customer, acquiring a new product from a manufacturer. Instead of a generic scale of technology readiness, a scale of readiness is proposed specifically for the smart grid, based on the many standards that exist for the relevant technologies. In this paper we present an overall structure for organization those standards. The acceptance of new technology is organized into five SGL (Smart Grid Level) steps, numbered five through 9 to correspond approximately to the last five numbers of the NASA TRL scale. SGL 5 is a certification that the hardware and software of the technology is safe for the system into which is intended to be placed. SGL 6 is documentation that the system is safe for itself, and will have adequate reliability. It is thus clear that the steps differ from NASA’s TRL in that technology development is not required, the transition is more one of documenting already existing system readiness. Since SGL 6 describes a system that is safe for the power system and for itself, it should not be restricted from being in a pilot-scale study, and achieving SGL 7. A larger-scale demonstration in a realistic environment will demonstrate interoperability and achieve SGL 8. Only when systems are installed and operating, and when disposal plans are in place will the designation of fully operable at SGL 9 be granted.

Kirkham, Harold↗

DOE OSTI2017

Advanced Reactor Technologies - Regulatory Technology Development Plan (RTDP)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Impact of Technology Improvements on the Cost of Hydrogen Produced using SOEC Technology at Large Scale

National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) provides system-level process, cost, and market analyses on solid oxide cell (SOC) based technologies. Specifically, techno-economic analyses (TEA), market assessments, and other technology evaluations serve to guide the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (R-SOFC) Program technology goals and objectives. These studies are key to describing how the technologies contribute to improving domestic energy infrastructure in a clean, efficient manner. This effort focuses on hydrogen generation technologies, which have received recent attention due to their potential role in economy-wide decarbonization. In particular, the study is part of a series of investigations at NETL that seek to understand the techno-economic impacts of including SOC technology in energy production, hydrogen production, and/or storage configurations. The objective of this study is to establish a detailed TEA to assess the effectiveness of incremental technology improvements needed for solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology to achieve the U.S. DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal of hydrogen production at less than $1 per kilogram. To take advantage of the benefits of economies of scale, the SOEC hydrogen facilities are sized to produce ≈250,000 metric tons of hydrogen annually with an electrolysis load of one gigawatt (direct current). Some additional critical assumptions include stacks that operate near the thermo-neutral voltage of 1.28 V to avoid adverse thermal gradients, all necessary steam and heat is generated by electric boilers and heaters to enable green hydrogen production, and an air sweep is used to control the oxygen concentration in the air electrode exhaust stream. System efficiency and levelized costs of hydrogen (LCOH) for each case are presented.

Hackett, Gregory↗

NASA NTRS1984

Assessment of US industry's technology trends and new technology requirements

The utility and effectiveness of a novel approach (the Applications Development, or AD approach), intended to augment the efficiency of NASA's technology utilization (TU) through dissemination of NASA technologies and joint technology development efforts with U.S. industry is tested. The innovative AD approach consists of the following key elements: selection of NASA technologies appearing to have leading edge attributes; interaction with NASA researchers to assess the characteristics and quality of each selected technology; identification of industry's needs in the selected technology areas; structuring the selected technologies in terms of specifications and standards familiar to industry (industrial Spec. Sheets); identification and assessment of industry's interest in the specific selected NASA technologies, utilizing the greatly facilitated communication made possible by the availability of the industrial Spec. Sheets; and matching selected NASA technologies with the needs of selected industries.

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NASA NTRS1995

Technology Transfer: Marketing Tomorrow's Technology

The globalization of the economy and the end of the Cold War have triggered many changes in the traditional practices of U.S. industry. To effectively apply the resources available to the United States, the federal government has firmly advocated a policy of technology transfer between private industry and government labs, in this case the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin is a strong proponent of this policy and has organized technology transfer or commercialization programs at each of the NASA field centers. Here at Langley Research Center, the Technology Applications Group (TAG) is responsible for facilitating the transfer of Langley developed research and technology to U.S. industry. Entering the program, I had many objectives for my summer research with TAG. Certainly, I wanted to gain a more thorough understanding of the concept of technology transfer and Langley's implementation of a system to promote it to both the Langley community and the community at large. Also, I hoped to become more familiar with Langley's research capabilities and technology inventory available to the public. More specifically, I wanted to learn about the technology transfer process at Langley. Because my mentor is a member of Materials and Manufacturing marketing sector of the Technology Transfer Team, another overriding objective for my research was to take advantage of his work and experience in materials research to learn about the Advanced Materials Research agency wide and help market these developments to private industry. Through the various projects I have been assigned to work on in TAG, I have successfully satisfied the majority of these objectives. Work on the Problem Statement Process for TAG as well as the development of the Advanced Materials Research Brochure have provided me with the opportunity to learn about the technology transfer process from the outside looking in and the inside looking out. Because TAG covers all of the research efforts conducted at Langley, my studies with TAG were ab!e to provide me an excellent overview of Langley's contribution to the aeronautics industry.

Tcheng, Erene↗

NASA NTRS2002

Technology Assessments within NASA's Integrated Technology Assessment Center

NASA's Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP) founded the Integrated Technology Assessment Center (ITAC) to provide a comprehensive, systematic approach to identify long-term technology needs, to quantify payoffs for technology investments, and to assess the progress of ASTP-sponsored technology programs in the hypersonics/Earth-to-orbit area. To accomplish these goals, the ITAC has assembled an experienced team representing a broad sector of the aerospace community and developed a systematic assessment process complete with supporting tools. In the ITAC approach, concepts for transportation systems are first selected based on relevance to the ASTP. Models of these concepts are then developed and data on advanced technologies are collected. Projections of key technology characteristics with respect to the specific concepts of interest are made. Both the models and technology projections are then fed into the ITAC's probabilistic systems analysis framework. The probabilistic outputs are weighed against metrics of interest to ASTP and a multivariate decision making process is used to provide inputs for technology prioritization within the ASTP. At present, the ITAC program is working to evaluate a variety of technologies for three two-stage hypersonic vehicle concepts. Concepts include an all rocket, vertical take off-horizontal landing (VTHL) system, a horizontal take-off-horizontal landing (HTHL) RBCC-propelled first stage/all rocket second stage system, and an HTHL turbine-based first stage/all rocket second stage system. This paper will provide a status update of the ITAC program including current results and plans.

Taylor, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Technology Assessments within NASA's Integrated Technology Assessment Center

NASA's Advanced Space Transportation Program (ASTP) founded the Integrated Technology Assessment Center (ITAC) to provide a comprehensive, systematic approach to identify long-term technology needs, to quantify payoffs for technology investments, and to assess the progress of ASTP-sponsored technology programs in the hypersonics/Earth-to-orbit area. To accomplish these goals, the ITAC has assembled an experienced team representing a broad sector of the aerospace community and developed a systematic assessment process complete with supporting tools. In the ITAC approach, concepts for transportation systems are first selected based on relevance to the ASTP. Models of these concepts are then developed and data on advanced technologies are collected. Projections of key technology characteristics with respect to the specific concepts of interest are made. Both the models and technology projections are then fed into the ITAC's probabilistic systems analysis framework. The probabilistic outputs are weighed against metrics of interest to ASTP and a multivariate decision making process is used to provide inputs for technology prioritization within the ASTP. At present, the ITAC program is working to evaluate a variety of technologies for three two-stage hypersonic vehicle concepts. Concepts include an all rocket, vertical take off-horizontal landing (VTHL) system, a horizontal takeoff-horizontal landing (HTHL) RBCC-propelled first stage/all rocket second stage system, and an HTHL turbine-based first stage/all rocket second stage system. This paper will provide a status update of the ITAC program including current results and plans.

Taylor, J. L.↗