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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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900 records · Page 31
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NASA NTRS2026

SERFE Ground Unit EVA Series After Three Year Spacesuit Stowage Period

NASA’s spacesuit government reference design for returning to the Moon is called the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU). The xEMU subassembly that provides life support, such as oxygen and thermal control, is the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). Inside the PLSS is a new technology that NASA wanted to test to provide cooling to the crew during EVAs (ExtraVehicular Activity). This technology is called the Spacesuit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME). In order to test SWME in an improved thermal control loop (TCL) both on Earth and in Space, the Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) was created. The Ground unit, or testbed at Johnson Space Center (JSC), tested the cooling technology in Earth’s gravity, while the Flight unit, or payload on the International Space Station (ISS), tested the cooling technology in micro-gravity. Since fluids flow differently in micro-gravity, testing in both environments would provide important data for improving cooling performance during EVAs. Both units completed 25 simulated EVAs with the same settings so SWME performance on the ground could be compared to the ISS. The Flight unit was completed first and performed EVAs on the ISS between 2020 and 2022. The Ground unit performed EVAs between 2021 and 2022. When the Flight unit came back from the ISS, it was taken apart for analysis. This analysis looked at how well SWME was able to maintain its heat rejection capability after various dwell times, such as a 90 day Airlock Coolant Loop Recovery (ALCLR) cycle, when the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) currently on the ISS would normally need maintenance. After a three year simulated spacesuit dwell, the Ground unit performed another EVA series in 2025 to test SWME’s shelf life. The results from this test series will inform mission planning as NASA plans to go back to the Moon and beyond.

SWME↗
DOE OSTI2026

Recyclable Materials for Resource Constrained Environments

In-space manufacturing exhibits severe limitations in resources as astronauts are only afforded with the materials that are brought on-board the space craft. Consequently, the use of recyclable and re-usable materials is paramount. Researchers at NLR leverage their expertise in polymer and recycling chemistry to develop material systems capable of high performance applications with intentional consideration on multi-life use through chemical recycling, mechanical recycling, bio-degradation, and thermoforming. Disclosed within this poster presentation are highlighted projects that illustrate several recyclable by design material systems that have been developed.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Low-Energy Hydrogen Separation Method Using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Closed-Loop ECLSS Air Revitalization (CLEAR)

The State-of-the-Art (SOA) air revitalization architecture onboard the International Space Station (ISS) recovered approximately 50% of the oxygen (O 2 ) from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) via the Sabatier process from 2011 to 2017. O 2 recovery is currently constrained by the limited availability of reactant hydrogen (H 2 ) preventing complete conversion of CO 2 to H 2 O. Increasing O 2 recovery within Closed-Loop ECLSS is essential to reducing resupply mass for long-duration manned missions; specifically focusing on water (H 2 O) which supplies H 2 for Sabatier via water electrolysis. Past ground test endeavors at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have attempted to recover H 2 from Sabatier-produced CH 4 using technologies such as carbon vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma pyrolysis. The byproducts of these technologies can act as a catalyst poison or reactor deadload to the Sabatier reactor. Hydrogen separation techniques must be utilized to maintain the Sabatier catalyst during gas recycling and must be scalable, non-energy intensive, and safe to operate in a habitation setting. Research indicated that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could meet these criteria and were tested for their capability to capture the various carbon-based gaseous products of CVD and plasma pyrolysis such as acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), and carbon monoxide (CO) which would purify the hydrogen gas stream passing through the MOF. A sub-scale adsorption column was developed by Marshall Space Flight Center to test three MOF candidates against a synthetic gas mixture comprised of process-relevant carbonous gases and hydrogen to evaluate the separation capability of the MOFs. The results of the hydrogen separation capability, isothermal desorption capability, and demonstrated cyclic reuse of the MOF are presented in this paper.

Kagen Crawford↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High Energy Hydroforming Friction Stir Welded 2050 Al-Li Blanks for Aerospace Domes and Cones

Friction stir welded (FSW) aluminum blanks offer larger preform sizes than available from the mill in single width plates. Large blanks made from aerospace-grade aluminum alloys are essential for making large domes and cones for launch vehicles and crew vehicles. Previous research efforts have demonstrated >5m FSW blanks can be formed into large domes or cones using spin forming, but the subsequent solution heat treatment consistently led to abnormal grain growth (AGG). The AGG phenomenon occurs because the FSW blanks must be spin formed in the -O annealed temper to withstand the high strain process without cracking. Subsequently, the solution heat treatment process leads to the onset of AGG, whereby a small number of grains grow much larger than the surrounding matrix. Ultimately, the large grains and bimodal grain-size distribution leads to unacceptable ductility in the short-transverse direction of the part. Alternatively, explosive hydroforming is a nascent process that can be applied to large and thick aerospace-grade aluminum alloy blanks in the -T3 temper and only require a post-forming artificial aging process to a -T8. Avoiding the solution heat treatment (SHT) process mitigates AGG, and also eliminates the need for very rare drop-furnace quench baths that can accommodate a part size larger than 5m in diameter. This presentation summarizes a Lockheed Martin-led effort that demonstrated explosive hydroforming of a 1.9m diameter, 39mm thick 2050 aluminum lithium FSW blank. Details will be provided on the process flow, mechanical properties, and metallographic analyses. This work was performed in partnership with NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) under a NASA Announcement of Collaboration Opportunities program.

Friction stir welded blank↗
NASA NTRS2026

Thermal Protection Facility: Taking the Heat

Video highlighting the products and manufacturing capabilities of the Thermal Protection Facility at Kennedy Space Center which is part of the JSC EA/ES division. This record includes an mp4 video with a run time of 9 min. 13 sec.; in color; with sound.

TPSF↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow within Electrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Generation Unit

Long-term manned space missions require the onboard production of disinfectants essential for maintaining crew health and supporting life systems. Currently, disinfection aboard the International Space Station (ISS) relies on disposable wetted wipes, which are regularly resupplied from Earth. This approach imposes a significant burden on resupply logistics, storage, and waste management. To address these challenges and support future missions, efforts are underway to develop an in-situ solution that electrochemically generates hydrogen peroxide disinfectant using onboard resources. In collaboration with NASA, Faraday Technology, Inc. has advanced this concept through a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects, resulting in the development of a Peroxide Generation Unit (PGU). The PGU can produce up to 3 wt.% hydrogen peroxide on-demand at a rate of 1 liter per day, providing a sustainable alternative to Earth-dependent supplies. The resulting aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an effective disinfectant, safe for crew use, compatible with spacecraft systems, and free from volatiles, off-gassing, or residues. This innovation offers a reliable, efficient solution for onboard disinfection, reducing dependence on Earth-based resupply while ensuring the health and safety of space crews. Generating hydrogen peroxide at the required rate needs high voltages and currents, exceeding 20V and 2A respectively, which leads to significant heat generation from Joule heating. This temperature rise poses a risk to sensitive system components, especially critical and expensive membranes that can degrade under thermal stress. To mitigate this risk, the thermal, fluid, and electrical flows within the system are modeled computationally using the commercial software COMSOL. The numerical simulations are validated against experimental data from both sub-scale and alpha-scale systems. Once verified, the model is employed to identify thermal hotspots, investigate their underlying causes, and explore solutions to prevent them.

Life Support Systems (LSS)↗
NASA NTRS1991

SHARP: Automated Monitoring of Spacecraft Health and Status

This paper briefly describes the spacecraft and ground systems monitoring process at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and highlights some difficulties associated with the existing technology used in mission operations. A new automated system based on artificial intelligence technology is described which seeks to overcome many of these limitations. The system, called the Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype (SHARP), is designed to automate health and status analysis for multi-mission spacecraft and ground data systems operations. The SHARP system has proved to be effective for detecting and analyzing potential spacecraft and ground systems problems by performing real-time analysis of spacecraft and ground data systems engineering telemetry. Telecommunications link analysis of the Voyager 2 spacecraft was the initial focus for evaluation of the system in a real-time operations setting during the Voyager spacecraft encounter with Neptune in August, 1989. The SHARP system will be delivered to the JPL Space Flight Operations Center for regular use by planetary flight projects, including the Galileo and Magellan spacecraft, and will also be applied to monitoring and control applications in the Deep Space Network's Network Operations Control Center.

David J Atkinson↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assembly and Integration Status of a High Fidelity Ground Test Bed for the Water Processor Assembly

The Water Recovery System (WRS) is a critical component of life support aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and will play an essential role in future missions beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Its primary functional units – the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), Brine Processor Assembly (BPA), and Water Processor Assembly (WPA) – must be evaluated for extended operation, dormancy resilience, material obsolescence, and reliability under exploration-driven constraints. Ground testing is vital for developing these technologies and generating statistically relevant reliability assessments, which requires extended runtime under integrated, Flight-like conditions. Currently, no high-fidelity, fully integrated WPA ground test bed exists to support these objectives. To address this gap, NASA is developing a WPA test bed at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) that combines downgraded ISS flight hardware with functionally flight-like components in a cost-effective configuration while maintaining priority hardware investigations. This paper describes the current status of hardware assembly and integration, outlines key challenges such as simulating microgravity effects and mitigating obsolescence, and presents future test objectives including software development, reliability assessments, dormancy studies, and exploration-oriented upgrades.

Mary-Elizabeth Davis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Preliminary Findings of the Experimental Development Unit Cold Flow Test for a Generation Zero Nuclear Propulsion Engine

Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) technology will greatly benefit human travel to Mars by significantly shortening transit times, improving crew safety, and providing more mission flexibility than traditional chemical rockets. As part of DRACO follow-on work to develop, build, and fly a generation zero NTP engine, a full scale flight-like experimental design unit (EDU) reactor was constructed to collect sufficient on-ground performance data to characterize flow induced vibrations (FIV) of critical reactor structures/components, inform development of the engine and reactor control algorithm, and collect pressure drop and flow distribution data across the reactor. The fluid conditions for the test program were designed to achieve system responses equivalent to that of an operational engine through all phases of engine operation including reactor startup, mainstage operation, reactor shutdown, and reactor cooldown. Over 100 tests were executed, flowing either GN2 or GHe through the EDU at varying flow rates and pressures. This experiment provided early validation of flow behavior and vibration risks before nuclear testing, boosted critical subsystem TRLs, informed design iterations, and reduced future test costs. The steady-state flow parameters for the experiment were modeled in Ansys Thermal Desktop, allowing rapid tuning and experiment-informed updates to a flight-like test matrix. The EDU dynamic environment was characterized with accelerometers, strain gauges, and high-frequency pressure transducers all sampled at 20 kHz. While many narrow-band oscillations were identified, no significant FIV occurred; the reactor structural responses tend to be enveloped by typical launch vehicle ascent vibration environments (defined up to 2 kHz), although significant energy is also present at higher frequencies.

Flow Induced Vibration↗
DOE OSTI2026

Aerosol Can Fireball Tests: Commodity Hazards in the Transportation Environment Phase 1 Report

This report describes a series of tests performed at Sandia’s burn site to better understand the behavior of aerosol commodities and their hazards in the transportation environment. This comes on the tail of a prior study on the use cases and historical hazards associated with aerosol commodities in the shipping environment (Cambridge Systematics Incorporated, CSI, 2020). It is also mindful of the National Fire Protection Agency NFPA30B standard for safe warehousing of aerosol commodities. Warehousing is different from transit because warehousing typically involves active suppression and mitigation measures not practical or relevant to the shipping environment. Transit also typically involves tighter packing and smaller enclosure spaces. The transportation hazard space has not been heavily studied in prior testing specifically aimed towards the ground, rail, and nautical shipping environments.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2004

Performance of AEA 80 Ah Battery under GEO Profiles

This viewgraph presentation is divided into the following sections: 1) AEA Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Life Testing; 2) AEA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) 20 Ah Battery; 3) AEA/GSFC 80 Ah Battery; 4) Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) Life Test; 5) Test Results; 6) Correlation; 7) Conclusions.

Russel, N.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Environmental Performance Report 2025: Annual Site Environmental Report per the U.S. Department of Energy Order 231.1B Chg 1

The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) Environmental Performance Report provides a description of the laboratory's environmental management activities in calendar year 2025, including information on environmental performance, environmental compliance activities and status, and environmental protection programs, highlights, and successes. The purpose of this report is to ensure that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the public receive timely, accurate information about events that have positively affected or could adversely affect the health and safety of the public or workers, the environment, or the operations of DOE facilities. This report meets the DOE requirements of the Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) and has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B Chg 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

A Permanently Porous Chalcogen-Bonded Organic Framework

The nature of connectivity between constituent atomic or molecular building blocks is fundamental in shaping the properties and functionality of materials. The extrapolation of emergent interatomic interactions to enable functional materials has driven transformative technological advancements. However, the bonding interactions used in material design have been largely static since the emergence of dynamic covalent chemistry ~30 years ago. Here we demonstrate that non-covalent chalcogen bonding (Ch-bonding) is a distinct mode of interatomic connectivity for constructing functional materials by design. This is established by leveraging self-complementary assembly of 1,2,5-telluradiazole moieties to construct a honeycomb-type permanently porous Ch-bonded organic framework, assembled and stabilized solely through non-covalent Te...N contacts. Empirical and computational studies of electronic structure, structural healing and lattice dynamics highlight the pi-type electronic communication, controlled assembly and modulated lattice dynamics in Trip3Tez-I arising directly from the unique nature of the Te...N Ch-bonding that holds substantial implications for next generation crystalline semiconductors. In addition to introducing a distinct class of permanently porous frameworks, this work establishes Ch-bonding as a programmable molecular tool for constructing functional materials with distinct properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2026

In-Flight Calibration of ESA Hera’s Hyperscout-H Imager

ESA’s Hera space mission is on its way to the mission target, the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos. HyperScout-H, one of the instruments onboard Hera, is a hyperspectral imager operating in the visible and near-infrared regions between 0.65 and 0.95 μm. HyperScout-H will enable a detailed assessment of the composition of both objects, Didymos and its satellite Dimorphos, the characterization of space weathering effects, and the possible presence of exogenous material on their surfaces. To monitor instrument functionality, calibration exposures are acquired regularly. This article describes the in-flight calibrations carried out for HyperScout-H during the commissioning and cruise phases. Bias and dark exposures, as well as stellar field observations, were acquired several times after launch. We update the calibration data and monitor instrument performance in the space environment. In addition, images of Earth and Moon were acquired from distances of 1.5 × 10 6 to 2.0 × 10 6 km, and Mars and its satellite were imaged during the flyby. In five images, the surface of Mars fills the entire field of view, enabling cross-validation of HyperScout-H results with those reported by other Mars missions. We characterize the detector under in-flight operational conditions. The calibration data indicate that the bias pattern is stable, the dark current remains negligible for short exposures, and the detector response is highly linear. We quantify the field-of-view alignment and geometric distortion, and evaluate the point spread function based on the stellar field observations. Stellar observations and Mars swing-by data provide updated radiometric calibration constants, suggesting that in-flight conditions have slightly modified the detector’s spectral response. In-flight calibrations are essential to ensure data quality and reliability.

Image Processing↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improving Marine Energy Production Through Commercialization of a Low Cost, Drag-Reducing Slippery Coating (CRADA 679 Abstract)

Marine energy capture systems offer great promise for providing clean energy, but they operate in a challenging and dynamic environment and must be optimized to the highest extent possible. Computational studies predict that drag reduction on marine energy and blue economy systems will result in meaningful improvements in energy efficiency. Based on extensive coating experience, PNNL is proposing to bring to market a new drag-reducing coating called Superhydrophobic Lubricant-Infused Drag-Efficient Coating – SLIDE-Coat. PNNL has a deep knowledge base regarding this class of slippery coatings, and we have a group of enthusiastic industry partners who have committed to partnering, conducting field testing, and providing well over 50% cost share. In addition to validating the technology, the team will create a commercialization roadmap to ensure the commercial success of the technology after the government-sponsored two-year program is complete. The main technical goal is to design, manufacture, and experimentally validate a new coating that can reduce hydrodynamic skin friction drag by 20%. The main commercialization goal is to develop a roadmap that identifies activities needed to complete SLIDE-Coat’s development after the conclusion of this project. Year 1 will focus on adaptation and modification of the existing SLIC coating system to optimize drag reduction and assessment and quantification of drag reduction on relevant materials in a laboratory setting. Year 2 will focus on optimizing and demonstrating drag reduction with preferred coatings. The manufacturability, ease of application, adhesion to relevant surfaces, and consistency will be assessed. Quantification of drag reduction on prototype materials in a relevant marine field setting will be executed.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS2014

Influential Factors for Liquid Acquisition Device Screen Selection for Cryogenic Propulsion Systems

This paper presents the influential factors which govern screen selection for liquid acquisition devices (LADs) operating in microgravity conditions for future in-space cryogenic propulsion engines and cryogenic propellant depots. Space flight requirements, which include mass flow rate, acceleration level and direction, and thermal environment, dictate screen selection for a particular mission. The five influential factors include bubble point pressure, flow-through-screen pressure drop, wicking rate, screen compliance, and material compatibility. Governing equations and analytical models for these parameters are developed from first principles. A comprehensive survey of the historical data on coarser LAD meshes over four decades of work is conducted, and liquid hydrogen data for finer Dutch Twill meshes (325 x 2300, 450 x 2750, 510 x 3600) from recently concluded experiments is also presented to validate analytical models. Each of these parameters is measurable from ground based tests, making it facile to predict flight system performance. Therefore analytical models in this paper will be valuable for future LAD designs for both cryogenic and storable propulsion systems. Additionally, analysis will be given on the impact of the factors on liquid hydrogen systems.

Fuel Depot↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Radiometric Consistent Spectral Fingerprinting Algorithm for Continuity Products of Hyperspectral Sounders

A radiometric consistent climate fingerprinting methodology has been developed to derive long-term temperature, water vapor, cloud, trace gases, and surface skin temperature anomaly time series from the hyper-spectral sounder measurements of multiple platforms. The spectral fingerprinting methodology requires the use of radiative kernels that are radiometrically consistent with observations. Radiative kernels are built using space-time averaged Jacobians that are physically retrieved from observations under all sky conditions. The physical retrieval algorithm uses the Principal Component based Radiative Transfer Model (PCRTM) for the forward simulation. The incorporation of multiple scattering simulation in PCRTM allows the direct radiative relationship between single field-of-view (FOV) radiance observations and corresponding thermal dynamic variables including cloud properties to be established. Therefore, radiance ?closure? can be achieved under all-sky conditions by the fingerprinting scheme. This methodology has been used to derive climate anomalies from the space-time averaged spectra of AIRS/AMSU and CrIS/ATMS. The use of a consistent fingerprinting scheme provides an effective mean of generating continuity product by merging observations from different platforms and therefore facilitating the long-term climate trend study.

Wan Wu↗
NASA NTRS1969

Surveyor Project Final Report: Part 1 - Project Description and Performance, Volume 1

The Surveyor Project planned and conducted seven unmanned lunar missions for which spacecraft were launched between May 1966 and January 1968. Each of the spacecraft was successfully launched with the then newly developed Atlas/Centaur vehicle which utilized for the first time a high-specific-impulse, liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen fueled stage. Five of the spacecraft successfully soft-landed and returned a great quantity of engineering and scientific data on extensive postlanding operations, accomplishing all mission and project objectives. Four of the spacecraft soft-landed at selected mare sites to provide data which were required to support the Apollo Program. The final spacecraft was then successfully used for scientific investigation of a contrasting site in the rugged lunar highlands. Surveyor was a fully attitude-stabilized spacecraft designed to receive and execute a wide variety of earth commands, as well as to perform certain automatic functions including the critical terminal-descent and soft-landing sequences. Significant new and advanced subsystems that were developed and/or used in combination to enable Surveyor to execute the complex terminal phase of flight were: (1) a solid-propellant main retro motor, (2) throttlable liquid-propellant vernier engines (also used for midcourse velocity correction), (3) highly sensitive velocity- and altitude-sensing radars, and (4) an automatic closed-loop guidance and control system. The first Surveyor spacecraft carried a survey television camera which, together with other engineering instrumentation, obtained in-flight and postlanding data. The complement of instruments carried on later missions included various combinations of the following additional devices: (1) a soil mechanics/surface sampler instrument for picking, digging, and handling lunar surface material; (2) an alpha scattering instrument for performing a chemical analysis of the lunar surface material; and (3) magnets attached to the spacecraft for determining magnetic properties of the soil.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory↗