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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 Mission Old Spacecraft: EPOXI's Approach to the Comet Hartley-2

NASA's Deep Impact mission ended successfully in 2005 after an impact and close flyby of the comet 9P/Tempel-1. The Flyby spacecraft was placed in hibernation and was left to orbit the sun. In 2007, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory brought the spacecraft out of hibernation and successfully performed two additional missions. These missions were EPOCh, Extra-solar Planetary Observation and Characterization, a photometric investigation of transiting exo-planets, and DIXI, Deep Impact eXtended Investigation, which maneuvered the Flyby spacecraft towards a close encounter with the comet 103P/Hartley- 2 on 4 November 2010. The names of these two scientific investigations combine to form the overarching mission's name, EPOXI. The encounter with 103P/Hartley-2 was vastly different from the prime mission's encounter with 9P/Tempel-1. The geometry of encounter was nearly 180 ? different and 103P/Hartley-2 was approximately one-quarter the size of 9P/Tempel-1. Mission operations for the comet flyby were broken into three phases: a) Approach, b) Encounter, and c) Departure. This paper will focus on the approach phase of the comet encounter. It will discuss the strategies used to decrease both cost and risk while maximizing science return and some of the challenges experienced during operations.

science return↗

EPOXI and Stardust NExT: The Management Challenges of Two Comet Flybys in Three Months

The EPOXI and Stardust NExT missions were missions of opportunity utilizing the Deep Impact and Stardust spacecraft, respectively. These new missions took advantage of the cost savings of utilizing spacecraft that were already flying for new science investigations. Both were retargeted to fly by an additional comet. EPOXI visited Hartley 2, significantly smaller than the other Jupiter family comets visited previously. Stardust NExT flew by Tempel 1, providing a second look at the comet previously studied by Deep Impact in 2005. Both projects were part of NASA's Discovery Program. In order to further save costs, the projects were combined into a single project office at JPL. This provided some efficiencies due to the similarity of the missions, but having the flybys space only three months apart posed challenges for the project management team to ensure each project was ready for its critical event and ensuring each received the proper support from the management team. The project office relied on an integrated calendar for tracking and scheduling meetings, reviews, and other key events. The project management team also coordinated their availability for both projects to maintain involvement with each team to ensure effective risk identification and management.

NExT (New Exploration of Tempel 1)↗

Understanding the Effects of Collisional Evolution and Spacecraft Impact Experiments on Comets and Asteroids

Comets and asteroids have endured impacts from other solar system bodies that result in outcomes ranging from catastrophic collisions to regolith evolution due to micrometeorid bombardment of the surface ices and refactory components. Experiments designed to better understand these relics of solar system formation have been conducted on Earth in a laboratory setting, as well as in space through, e.g., the Deep Impact Mission to Comet Tempel 1. Deep Impact fired a high-speed impactor into the roughly 6 km nucleus of the comet. The ejecta plume generated by the impact was studied by both spacecraft instrumentation and groundbased telescopes.

Lederer, S.M.↗

A Point Spread Function for the EPOXI Mission

The Extrasolar Planet Observation Characterization and the Deep Impact Extended Investigation missions (EPOXI) are currently observing the transits of exoplanets, two comet nuclei at short range, and the Earth and Mars using the High Resolution Instrument (HRI) - a 0.3 m f/35 telescope on the Deep Impact probe. The HRI is in a permanently defocused state with the instrument pOint of focus about 0.6 cm before the focal plane due to the use of a reference flat mirror that took a power during ground thermal-vacuum testing. Consequently, the point spread function (PSF) covers approximately nine pixels FWHM and is characterized by a patch with three-fold symmetry due to the three-point support structures of the primary and secondary mirrors. The PSF is also strongly color dependent varying in shape and size with change in filtration and target color. While defocus is highly desirable for exoplanet transit observations to limit sensitivity to intra-pixel variation, it is suboptimal for observations of spatially resolved targets. Consequently, all images used in our analysis of such objects were deconvolved with an instrument PSF. The instrument PSF is also being used to optimize transit analysis. We discuss development and usage of an instrument PSF for these observations.

Barry, Richard K.↗

Charging infrastructure access and operation to reduce the grid impacts of deep electric vehicle adoption

Electric vehicles will contribute to emissions reductions in the United States, but their charging may challenge electricity grid operations. We present a data-driven, realistic model of charging demand that captures the diverse charging behaviours of future adopters in the US Western Interconnection. We study charging control and infrastructure build-out as critical factors shaping charging load and evaluate grid impact under rapid electric vehicle adoption with a detailed economic dispatch model of 2035 generation. We find that peak net electricity demand increases by up to 25% with forecast adoption and by 50% in a stress test with full electrification. Locally optimized controls and high home charging can strain the grid. Shifting instead to uncontrolled, daytime charging can reduce storage requirements, excess non-fossil fuel generation, ramping and emissions. Our results urge policymakers to reflect generation-level impacts in utility rates and deploy charging infrastructure that promotes a shift from home to daytime charging.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The impact of deep cumulus reflection on the ground-level global irradiance

The magnitude of solar irradiance reflected from deep cumulus clouds to the ground was evaluated using observations along the Front Range of Colorado. Solar-irradiance reflection around noon was found to cause increases of up to about 250 W/m sq. Enhancements of the global irradiance measured at the surface were observed to persist for 15-30 min. Occasionally, the increased global irradiance prevailed for a period of about 1 h. Model simulations implied similar patterns. It was evaluated that in some locations cloud reflection of solar irradiance may have a seasonal nonrandom pattern, thus increasing its significance. Estimation of the applied impact of cloud-reflected solar irradiance in several relevant situations is provided.

Segal, M.↗

The Environmental Impact of Deep Energy Retrofits in Residential Construction

Almost two thirds of the residential homes in the U.S. were constructed before the Department of Energy implemented energy conservation measures that were later formalized in the building codes. To reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions from the built environment, improvement to the existing housing stock is a prerequisite. However, improvements that lower energy consumption address carbon emissions related to heating, cooling and plug loads but not the embodied carbon of the building materials that also contribute to global carbon emissions. As the enclosure is made more efficient a larger portion of total carbon emissions is embodied carbon from the building materials. To mitigate carbon emissions, a holistic approach is required so that any improvement to the home results in a net reduction in carbon emissions. To understand the overall environmental impact of building enclosure improvements, the embodied and operational carbon emissions are calculated in this investigation and compared to the overall energy savings associated with enclosure improvements. The energy savings together with a reduction in operational carbon emissions are calculated using a novel building envelope metric. The net carbon emissions are then determined before and after the energy improvement measures. This approach allows or enables architects and builders to select designs that result in maximizing the overall reduction in energy and carbon emissions.

Aldykiewicz Jr, Antonio↗

Projecting U.S. coastal storm surge risks and impacts with deep learning

Storm surge is one of the deadliest hazards posed by tropical cyclones (TCs), yet assessing its current and future risk is difficult due to the phenomenon’s rarity and physical complexity. Recent advances in artificial intelligence applications to natural hazard modeling suggest a new avenue for addressing this problem. We develop a deep learning storm surge model to efficiently estimate coastal surge risk in the United States from 900 000 synthetic TC events, accounting for projected changes in TC behavior and sea levels. The derived historical 100 year surge (the event with a 1% yearly exceedance probability) agrees well with historical observations and other modeling techniques. When coupled with an inundation model, we find that heightened TC intensities and sea levels by the end of the century result in a 50% increase in population at risk. Key findings include markedly heightened risk in Florida, and critical thresholds identified in Georgia and South Carolina.

RAFT↗

Shallow and deep fresh impact craters in Hesperia Planum, Mars

The depths of 109 impact craters about 2-16 km in diameter, located on the ridged plains materials of Hesperia Planum, Mars, have been measured from their shadow lengths using digital Viking Orbiter images (orbit numbers 417S-419S) and the PICS computer software. On the basis of their pristine morphology (very fresh lobate ejecta blankets, well preserved rim crests, and lack of superposed impact craters), 57 of these craters have been selected for detailed analysis of their spatial distribution and geometry. We find that south of 30 deg S, craters less than 6.0 km in diameter are markedly shallower than similar-sized craters equatorward of this latitude. No comparable relationship is observed for morphologically fresh craters greater than 6.0 km diameter. We also find that two populations exist for older craters less than 6.0 km diameter. When craters that lack ejecta blankets are grouped on the basis of depth/diameter ratio, the deeper craters also typically lie equatorward of 30 S. We interpret the spatial variation in crater depth/diameter ratios as most likely due to a poleward increase in volatiles within the top 400 m of the surface at the times these craters were formed.

Mouginis-Mark, Peter J.↗

Understanding the Impacts of Deep Space Environment on Crop Production

NASA’s goal of developing sustainable habitats to support long duration, deep space missions requires advanced science, technology, and engineering. Understanding the integrated, long-term effects of deep space environments on biological systems is needed. Sustainable habitats require the production of food and oxygen on site.

Bruce M Link↗

Target Search and Selection for the DI/EPOXI Spacecraft

Upon completion of the Hartley 2 flyby in November 2010, the Deep Impact (DI) spacecraft resided in a solar orbit without possibility for gravity assist with any large body. Conservative estimates of remaining fuel were enough to provide only an 18 m/s impulse on the spacecraft. We present our method and results of our systematic scan of potential small body encounters for DI, and our criteria to narrow the selection to the asteroid 2002 GT as the target flyby body. The mission profile has two deterministic maneuvers to achieve the encounter, the first of which executed on November 25, 2011.

Deep Impact (DI)↗

Navigation of the EPOXI Spacecraft to Comet Hartley 2

On November 4, 2010, the EPOXI spacecraft flew by the comet Hartley 2, marking the fourth time that a NASA spacecraft successfully captured high resolution images of a cometary nucleus. EPOXI is the extended mission of the Deep Impact mission, which delivered an impactor on comet Tempel-1 on July 4, 2005. EPOXI officially started in September 2007 and eventually took over 3 years of flight time and had 3 Earth gravity assists to achieve the proper encounter conditions. In the process, the mission was redesigned to accommodate a new comet as the target and changes in the trajectory to achieve better imaging conditions at encounter. Challenges in navigation of the spacecraft included precision targeting of several Earth flybys and the comet encounter, uncertainties in determining the ephemeris of the comet relative to the spacecraft, and the high accuracy trajectory knowledge needed to image the comet during the encounter. This paper presents an overview of the navigation process used for the mission.

Deep Impact (DI)↗

Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) Preparations for the EPOXI Flyby of Comet Haley 2

On November 4, 2010 the already "in-flight" Deep Impact spacecraft flew within 700km of comet 103P/Hartley 2 as part of its extended mission EPOXI, the 5th time to date any spacecraft visited a comet. In 2005, the spacecraft had previously imaged a probe impact comet Tempel 1. The EPOXI flyby marked the first time in history that two comets were explored with the same instruments on a re-used spacecraft-with hardware and software originally designed and optimized for a different mission. This made the function of the attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS) critical to the successful execution of the EPOXI flyby. As part of the spacecraft team preparations, the ADCS team had to perform thorough sequence reviews, key spacecraft activities and onboard calibrations. These activities included: review of background sequences for the initial conditions vector, sun sensor coefficients, and reaction wheel assembly (RWA) de-saturations; design and execution of 10 trajectory correction maneuvers; science calibration of the two telescope instruments; a flight demonstration of the fastest turns conducted by the spacecraft between Earth and comet point; and assessment of RWA health (given RWA problems on other spacecraft).

Harley↗

Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) Preparations for the EPOXI Flyby of Comet Hartley 2

On November 4, 2010 the former "Deep Impact" spacecraft, renamed "EPOXI" for its extended mission, flew within 700km of comet 103P/Hartley 2. In July 2005, the spacecraft had previously imaged a probe impact of comet Tempel 1. The EPOXI flyby was the fifth close encounter of a spacecraft with a comet nucleus and marked the first time in history that two comet nuclei were imaged at close range with the same suite of onboard science instruments. This challenging objective made the function of the attitude determination and control subsystem (ADCS) critical to the successful execution of the EPOXI flyby.As part of the spacecraft flyby preparations, the ADCS operations team had to perform meticulous sequence reviews, implement complex spacecraft engineering and science activities and perform numerous onboard calibrations. ADCS contributions included design and execution of 10 trajectory correction maneuvers, the science calibration of the two telescopic instruments, an in-flight demonstration of high-rate turns between Earth and comet point, and an ongoing assessment of reaction wheel health. The ADCS team was also responsible for command sequences that included updates to the onboard ephemeris and sun sensor coefficients and implementation of reaction wheel assembly (RWA) de-saturations.

attitude determination and control↗

The Large-Grained Dust Coma of 174P/Echeclus

On 2005 December 30, Y.-J. Choi and P. R. Weissman discovered that the formerly dormant Centaur 2000 EC98 was in strong outburst. Previous observations by P. Rousselot et al. spanning a 3-year period indicated a lack of coma down to the 27 mag arcsec 2 level.We present Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS observations of this newly active Centaur--now known as 174P/Echeclus (2000 EC98)--or 60558 Echeclus--taken in 2006 late February. The images show strong signal at both the 24 and 70 micron bands and reveal an extended coma about 2' in diameter. Analyses yield estimates of the coma signal contribution that are in excess of 90% of the total signal in the 24 micron band. Dust production estimates ranging from 1.7-4 x 10(exp 2) kg/s are on the order of 30 times that seen in other Centaurs. Simultaneous visible-wavelength observations were also obtained with Palomar Observatory's 200-inch telescope, the 1.8-m Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope, the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO) 1.8-m telescope, and Table Mountain Observatory's 0.6-m telescope, revealing a coma morphology nearly identical to the mid-IR observations. The grain size distribution derived from the data yields a log particle mass power-law with slope parameter (alpha) = -0.87 +/- 0.07, and is consistent with steady cometary-activity, such as that observed during the Stardust spacecraft's encounter at 81P/Wild 2, and not with an impact driven event, such as that caused by the Deep Impact experiment.

Bauer, James M.↗

The U.S. Rosetta Project : eighteen months in flight

In this paper we will update the status of the instruments following the commissioning exercise, an exercise that was only partially complete when a report was prepared for the 2005 IEEE conference.We will present an overview of the 2005 Earth/Moon activities, and the Deep Impact set of observations. The paper will also provide an update of the role of NASA's Deep Space Network in supporting an ESA request for Delta Difference One-way Ranging to provide improved tracking and navigation capability in preparation for the Mars flyby in 2007.

Alexander, Claudia J.↗

A Novel Porosity Model for Use in Hydrocode Simulations

Introduction: Numerical modeling of impact cratering has reached a high degree of sophistication; however, the treatment of porous materials still poses a large problem in hydrocode calculations. Porosity plays only a minor role in the formation of large craters on most planetary objects, but impacts on comets are believed to be highly affected by the presence of porosity, which may be as much as 80%. The upcoming Deep Impact Mission (launched January 2005) will provide more detailed data about the composition of a comet (Tempel 1) by shooting a approx.370 kg projectile onto the surface of its nucleus. The numerical simulations of such impact events requires an appropriate model for how pore space in the comet is crushed out during the violent initial stage of the impact event. Most hydro-codes compute the pressure explicitly using an "equation of state" (EOS) for each material, which relates changes in density and internal energy to changes in pressure. The added complication introduced by porosity is that changes in a material s density are due to both the closing of pore space (compaction) and compression of the matrix. The amount of resistance to volume change and the amount of irreversible work done during these two processes is very different; it is far easier to compact a porous material sample than to compress a non-porous sample of the same material. As an alternative to existing porosity models, like the Pdot(alpha) model [1], we present a novel approach for dealing with the compaction of porosity in hydrocode calculations.

Wuennemann, K.↗