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Results for “solar system design”

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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Integrated Orbit, Attitude, and Structural Control Systems Design for Space Solar Power Satellites

The major objective of this study is to develop an integrated orbit, attitude, and structural control systems architecture for very large Space Solar Power Satellites (SSPS) in geosynchronous orbit. This study focuses on the 1.2-GW Abacus SSPS concept characterized by a 3.2 x 3.2 km solar-array platform, a 500-m diameter microwave beam transmitting antenna, and a 500 x 700 m earth-tracking reflector. For this baseline Abacus SSPS configuration, we derive and analyze a complete set of mathematical models, including external disturbances such as solar radiation pressure, microwave radiation, gravity-gradient torque, and other orbit perturbation effects. The proposed control systems architecture utilizes a minimum of 500 1-N electric thrusters to counter, simultaneously, the cyclic pitch gravity-gradient torque, the secular roll torque caused by an offset of the center-of-mass and center-of-pressure, the cyclic roll/yaw microwave radiation torque, and the solar radiation pressure force whose average value is about 60 N.

Wie, Bong↗
NASA NTRS2001

Integrated Orbit, Attitude, and Structural Control System Design for Space Solar Power Satellites

The major objective of this study is to develop an integrated orbit, attitude, and structural control system architecture for very large Space Solar Power Satellites (SSPS) in geosynchronous orbit. This study focuses on the 1.2-GW Abacus SSPS concept characterized by a 3.2 x 3.2 km solar-array platform, a 500-m diameter microwave beam transmitting antenna, and a 500 700 m earth-tracking reflector. For this baseline Abacus SSPS configuration, we derive and analyze a complete set of mathematical models, including external disturbances such as solar radiation pressure, microwave radiation, gravity-gradient torque, and other orbit perturbation effects. The proposed control system architecture utilizes a minimum of 500 1-N electric thrusters to counter, simultaneously, the cyclic pitch gravity-gradient torque, the secular roll torque caused by an o.set of the center-of-mass and center-of-pressure, the cyclic roll/yaw microwave radiation torque, and the solar radiation pressure force whose average value is about 60 N.

Wie, Bong↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar System Controller

In designing a control for Bethany College's solar heating and cooling system, Apollo Energy Control, Inc. used Marshall Space Flight Center's doe solar and heating and cooling technology. The technology helped the company design a highly reliable, simply operated system with substantial savings in engineering time.

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NASA NTRS1978

Preliminary design package for prototype solar heating system

A summary is given of the preliminary analysis and design activity on solar heating systems. The analysis was made without site specific data other than weather; therefore, the results indicate performance expected under these special conditions. Major items include system candidates, design approaches, trade studies and other special data required to evaluate the preliminary analysis and design. The program calls for the development and delivery of eight prototype solar heating and cooling systems for installation and operational test.

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NASA NTRS1990

A heat receiver design for solar dynamic space power systems

An advanced heat pipe receiver designed for a solar dynamic space power system is described. The power system consists of a solar concentrator, solar heat receiver, Stirling heat engine, linear alternator and waste heat radiator. The solar concentrator focuses the sun's energy into a heat receiver. The engine and alternator convert a portion of this energy to electric power and the remaining heat is rejected by a waste heat radiator. Primary liquid metal heat pipes transport heat energy to the Stirling engine. Thermal energy storage allows this power system to operate during the shade portion of an orbit. Lithium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic is the thermal energy storage material. Thermal energy storage canisters are attached to the midsection of each heat pipe. The primary heat pipes pass through a secondary vapor cavity heat pipe near the engine and receiver interface. The secondary vapor cavity heat pipe serves three important functions. First, it smooths out hot spots in the solar cavity and provides even distribution of heat to the engine. Second, the event of a heat pipe failure, the secondary heat pipe cavity can efficiently transfer heat from other operating primary heat pipes to the engine heat exchanger of the defunct heat pipe. Third, the secondary heat pipe vapor cavity reduces temperature drops caused by heat flow into the engine. This unique design provides a high level of reliability and performance.

Baker, Karl W.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Solar heating and cooling systems design and development

The development and delivery of eight prototype solar heating and cooling systems for installation and operational test was reported. Two heating and six heating and cooling units will be delivered for single family residences, multiple family residences and commercial applications.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

System design package for SIMS prototype system 2, solar hot water

Information necessary to evaluate the design and assembly of a solar hot water system is presented. A prototype system designed for use in a single family dwelling is investigated in terms of the following subsystems: collector, storage, energy transport, and control.

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NASA NTRS1978

System design package for the solar heating and cooling central data processing system

The central data processing system provides the resources required to assess the performance of solar heating and cooling systems installed at remote sites. These sites consist of residential, commercial, government, and educational types of buildings, and the solar heating and cooling systems can be hot-water, space heating, cooling, and combinations of these. The instrumentation data associated with these systems will vary according to the application and must be collected, processed, and presented in a form which supports continuity of performance evaluation across all applications. Overall software system requirements were established for use in the central integration facility which transforms raw data collected at remote sites into performance evaluation information for assessing the performance of solar heating and cooling systems.

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NASA NTRS2005

Attitude Control System Design for the Solar Dynamics Observatory

The Solar Dynamics Observatory mission, part of the Living With a Star program, will place a geosynchronous satellite in orbit to observe the Sun and relay data to a dedicated ground station at all times. SDO remains Sun- pointing throughout most of its mission for the instruments to take measurements of the Sun. The SDO attitude control system is a single-fault tolerant design. Its fully redundant attitude sensor complement includes 16 coarse Sun sensors, a digital Sun sensor, 3 two-axis inertial reference units, 2 star trackers, and 4 guide telescopes. Attitude actuation is performed using 4 reaction wheels and 8 thrusters, and a single main engine nominally provides velocity-change thrust. The attitude control software has five nominal control modes-3 wheel-based modes and 2 thruster-based modes. A wheel-based Safehold running in the attitude control electronics box improves the robustness of the system as a whole. All six modes are designed on the same basic proportional-integral-derivative attitude error structure, with more robust modes setting their integral gains to zero. The paper details the mode designs and their uses.

Starin, Scott R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

A segmented ion engine design for solar electric propulsion systems

A new ion engine design, called a segmented ion engine, is described which is capable of reducing the required ion source life time for small body rendezvous missions from 18,000 h to about 8,000 h. The use of SAND ion optics for the engine accelerator system makes it possible to substantially reduce the cost of demonstrating the required engine endurance. It is concluded that a flight test of a 5-kW xenon ion propulsion system on the ELITE spacecraft would enormously reduce the cost and risk of using ion propulsion on a planetary vehicle by addressing systems level issues associated with flying a spacecraft radically different from conventional planetary vehicles.

Brophy, John R.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Twelve solar-heating/cooling systems: Design and development

Two quarterly reports describe first 6 months of development on single family, multifamily, and commercial installations in Minneapolis area. Reports discuss basic requirements, and reasons for selecting specific configurations. Systems consist of liquid cooled flat plate collectors, two fluid loops, and gas-fired forced-air auxiliary heat source.

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NASA NTRS2015

Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System: Aerial Vehicle Mission and Design Issues

Atmospheric mining in the outer solar system has been investigated as a means of fuel production for high energy propulsion and power. Fusion fuels such as Helium 3 (3He) and deuterium can be wrested from the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune and either returned to Earth or used in-situ for energy production. Helium 3 and deuterium were the primary gases of interest with hydrogen being the primary propellant for nuclear thermal solid core and gas core rocket-based atmospheric flight. A series of analyses were undertaken to investigate resource capturing aspects of atmospheric mining in the outer solar system. This included the gas capturing rate, storage options, and different methods of direct use of the captured gases. While capturing 3He, large amounts of hydrogen and 4He are produced. With these two additional gases, the potential for fueling small and large fleets of additional exploration and exploitation vehicles exists. The mining aerospacecraft (ASC) could fly through the outer planet atmospheres, for global weather observations, localized storm or other disturbance investigations, wind speed measurements, polar observations, etc. Analyses of orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs), landers, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) mining factories are included. Preliminary observations are presented on near-optimal selections of moon base orbital locations, OTV power levels, and OTV and lander rendezvous points.

orbital mechanics↗