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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 73 records · Page 4

New Cryogenic Optical Test Capability at Marshall Space Flight Center's Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center

A new cryogenic optical testing capability exists at Marshall Space Flight Center's Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center (SOMTC). SOMTC has been performing optical wavefront testing at cryogenic temperatures since 1999 in the X-ray Cryogenic Test Facility's (XRCF's) large vacuum chamber. Recently the cryogenic optical testing capability has been extended to a smaller vacuum chamber. This smaller horizontal cylindrical vacuum chamber has been outfitted with a helium-cooled liner that can be connected to the facility's helium refrigeration system bringing the existing kilowatt of refrigeration capacity to bear on a 1 meter diameter x 2 meter long test envelope. Cryogenic environments to less than 20 Kelvin are now possible in only a few hours. SOMTC's existing instruments (the Instantaneous Phase-shifting Interferometer (IPI) from ADE Phase-Shift Technologies and the PhaseCam from 4D Vision Technologies) view the optic under test through a 150 mm clear aperture BK-7 window. Since activation and chamber characterization tests in September 2001, the new chamber has been used to perform a cryogenic (less than 30 Kelvin) optical test of a 22.5 cm diameter x 127 cm radius of curvature Si02 mirror, a cryogenic survival (less than 30 Kelvin) test of an adhesive, and a cryogenic cycle (less than 20 Kelvin) test of a ULE mirror. A vibration survey has also been performed on the test chamber. Chamber specifications and performance data, vibration environment data, and limited test results will be presented.

Kegley, Jeff↗

NASA Langley Research Center Force and Strain Measurement Capabilities

Direct measurements of forces and moments are some of the most important data acquired during aerodynamic testing. This paper deals with the force and strain measurement capabilities at the Langley Research Center (LaRC). It begins with a progressive history of LaRC force measurement developments beginning in the 1940's and ends with the center's current capabilities. Various types of force and moment transducers used at LaRC are discussed including six-component sting mounted balances, semi-span balances, hinge moment balances, flow-through balances, rotor balances, and many other unique transducers. Also discussed are some unique strain-gage applications, such as those used in extreme environments. The final topics deal with the LaRC's ability to perform custom calibrations and our current levels of effort in the area of force and strain measurement.

Roberts, Paul W.↗

Human operator performance of remotely controlled tasks: Teleoperator research conducted at NASA's George C. Marshal Space Flight Center

The capabilities within the teleoperator laboratories to perform remote and teleoperated investigations for a wide variety of applications are described. Three major teleoperator issues are addressed: the human operator, the remote control and effecting subsystems, and the human/machine system performance results for specific teleoperated tasks.

Shields, N., Jr.↗

Status and Evaluation of Microwave Furnace Capabilities at NASA Glenn Research Center

The microwave (MW) furnace is a HY-Tech Microwave Systems, 2 kW 2.45 GHz Single Mode Microwave Applicator operating in continuous wave (CW) with variable power. It is located in Cleveland, Ohio at NASA Glenn Research Center. Until recently, the furnace capabilities had not been fully realized due to unknown failure that subsequently damaged critical furnace components. Although the causes of the problems were unknown, an assessment of the furnace itself indicated operational failure may have been partially caused by power quality. This report summarizes the status of the MW furnace and evaluates its capabilities in materials processing.

Materials↗

Wind-Tunnel Capability at Ames Research Center

Report describes $700 million wind-tunnel complex at Ames Research Center, including auxiliary support systems, test instrumentation, and special test rigs. Planned near-term facility improvement aimed at providing new test capabilities and increased productivity, as well as some potential longer-term improvements, also discussed. Aerodynamic test facilities range from subsonic wind tunnels to highenthalpy arc jets.

Snyder, C. T.↗

Space Environmental Effects (SEE) Testing Capability: NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center

Understanding the effects of the space environment on materials and systems is fundamental and essential for mission success. If not properly understood and designed for, the space environment can lead to materials degradation, reduction of functional lifetime, and system failure. Ground based testing is critical in predicting performance NASA/MSFC's expertise and capabilities make up the most complete SEE testing capability available.

DeWittBurns, H.↗

Extreme Environments Capabilities at Glenn Research Center

The NASA Glenn Research Center has several facilities that can provide testing for extreme evironments of interest to the New Frontiers community. This includes the Glenn Extreme Enivironments Rig (GEER) which can duplicate the atmospheric chemistry and conditions for the Venus surface or any other planet with a hot environment. GRC also has several cryogenic facilities which have the capability to run with hydrogen atmospheres, hydrocarbon atmosphere, CO2 based atmospheres or nitrogen atmospheres. The cryogenic facilities have the capability to emulate Titan lakes.

testing↗

New hypersonic facility capability at NASA Lewis Research Center

Four facility activities are underway at NASA Lewis Research Center to develop new hypersonic propulsion test capability. Two of these efforts consist of upgrades to existing operational facilities. The other two activities will reactivate facilities that have been in a standby condition for over 15 years. These four activities are discussed and the new test facilities NASA Lewis will have in place to support evolving high speed research programs are described.

Haas, Jeffrey E.↗

New hypersonic facility capability at NASA Lewis Research Center

Four facility activities are underway at NASA Lewis Research Center to develop new hypersonic propulsion test capability. Two of these efforts consist of upgrades to existing operational facilities. The other two activities will reactivate facilities that have been in a standby condition for over 15 years. These four activities are discussed and the new test facilities NASA Lewis will have in place to support evolving high speed research programs are described.

Haas, Jeffrey↗

The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Unmanned Aircraft System Service Capabilities

Over 60 years of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) expertise at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center are being leveraged to provide capability and expertise to the international UAS community. The DFRC brings together technical experts, UAS, and an operational environment to provide government and industry a broad capability to conduct research, perform operations, and mature systems, sensors, and regulation. The cornerstone of this effort is the acquisition of both a Global Hawk (Northrop Grumman Corporation, Los Angeles, California) and Predator B (General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., San Diego, California) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In addition, a test range for small UAS will allow developers to conduct research and development flights without the need to obtain approval from civil authorities. Finally, experts are available to government and industry to provide safety assessments in support of operations in civil airspace. These services will allow developers to utilize limited resources to their maximum capability in a highly competitive environment.

Bauer, Jeff↗

On Development of Three-Dimensional Visualization Capabilities in Glenn Research Center Communication Analysis Suite

With NASA’s upcoming mission to return to the Moon sustainably by 2024 and using that success as a means to step onto the barren world of Mars, it remains more important than ever to conduct research and planning as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. In a mission as complex as landing humans onto another celestial body, a network of orbiting satellites and ground stations must accurately and reliably communicate with each other, enabling crucial data communications throughout the mission. Visualizing this important data communication increases the understanding of the data and can accelerate analyses efforts. The purpose of this software development is to create an interactive visualization with data taken MATLAB® scripts in the GRC Communication Analysis Suite that is easy to understand, can show all necessary data, and display the data accurately. The main types of data to visualize are from the State Propagation, Line of Sight and Dynamic Link Margin scripts. These all show positions and orbits of satellites and ground stations, while the Line of Sight data shows when they have the ability to communicate with each other based on their respective antenna positions and fields of view. Additionally, the Dynamic Link Margin mode color-codes the communication link performance onto the Line of Sight access lines. Visualization requires a graphics language that is easily accessible, has the needed features, and able to easily read data produced by the GRC Communication Analysis Suite MATLAB® scripts. ThreeJS, a graphics library for Web Graphics Library, coded in JavaScript was selected for the visualization. The next part of the software development was to move the data from MATLAB® to the JavaScript. The best way to accomplish this was to implement a MATLAB® function converting the output data of the scripts to a JavaScript Object Notation file. A key part of the development was creating the visualization within JavaScript and ThreeJS to visualize any combination of planets, moons, orbits, satellites, ground stations, line of sight links, and handle future features without changing major parts of the code. The current visualization capability runs directly from MATLAB®, and can dynamically create any scene. This software development currently supports the lunar communications analysis underway by NASA, and can be easily expanded upon in the future to aid any analysis requirements to help plan current and future space missions.

Visualization↗

Acoustic facilities for human factors research at NASA Langley Research Center: Description and operational capabilities

A number of facilities were developed which provide a unique test capability for psychoacoustics and related human factors research. The design philosophy, physical layouts, dimensions, construction features, operating capabilities, and example applications for these facilities are described. In the exterior effects room, human subjects are exposed to the types of noises that are experienced outdoors, and in the interior effects room, subjects are exposed to the types of noises and noise-induced vibrations that are experience indoors. Subjects are also exposed to noises in an echo-free environment in the anechoic listening room. An aircraft noise synthesis system, which simulates aircraft flyover noise at an observer position on the ground, is used in conjunction with these three rooms. The passenger ride quality apparatus, a device for studying passenger response to noise and vibration in aircraft, or in other vehicles, is described.

Hubbard, H. H.↗

NASA Stennis Space Center V and V Capabilities Overview

The objective are provide independent field measurement ground capability for satellite and aircraft mounted in-flight sensor validation. NASA Stennis is considering expanding its Verification and Validation (V&V) range to support LIDAR and digital camera characterization. Soliciting input for requirements and suggestion.

Ryan, Robert↗

Stennis Space Center Verification and Validation Capabilities

Verification and validation capabilities are discussed for: spatial response,reflectance radiometry, positional accuracy,in-flight instruments, lab calibration, thermal radiometry,hyperspectral radiometry, and portable atmospheric monitoring.

Daehler, Erik↗

Minerva: User-Centered Science Operations Software Capability for Future Human Exploration

In June of 2016, the Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains (BASALT) research project conducted its first field deployment, which we call BASALT-1. BASALT-1 consisted of a science-driven field campaign in a volcanic field in Idaho as a simulated human mission to Mars. Scientists and mission operators were provided a suite of ground software tools that we refer to collectively as Minerva to carry out their work. Minerva provides capabilities for traverse planning and route optimization, timeline generation and display, procedure management, execution monitoring, data archiving, visualization, and search. This paper describes the Minerva architecture, constituent components, use cases, and some preliminary findings from the BASALT-1 campaign.

Deans, Matthew↗