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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 757 records · Page 42
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1997

National Institutes of Health, Rodent 4 (NIH.R4); Calcium Metabolism and Vascular Function After Spaceflight: A Collaborative Series with NASA and NIH

The NIH.R4 payload was a collaborative experiment conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This middeck payload was the fourth in a series of experiments focusing on developmental biology and the effects of microgravity on mammalian systems. The NIH.R4 payload was flown onboard STS-80, which launched November 19, 1996, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 1996, and was the longest shuttle mission to date. Fourteen male Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHR) were flown; seven in each of two Animal Enclosure Modules (AEM) in the shuttle middeck. The flight animals were exposed to 18 days of microgravity. Two synchronous control groups were utilized for this study in addition to an asynchronous post-flight AEM control study conducted at the PI lab. The animals were fed two different calcium diets in the NASA food bar (2.0% and 0.2%) three weeks prior to launch and insight. Blood pressures were taken at pre-determined intervals and were the basis for flight selection. Upon recovery Dwight animals blood pressure was measured and a variety of tissues were collected. Project testing and data will be presented.

Reiss-Bubenheim, Debra↗
NASA NTRS2005

Situation Awareness of Onboard System Autonomy

We have developed intelligent agent software for onboard system autonomy. Our approach is to provide control agents that automate crew and vehicle systems, and operations assistants that aid humans in working with these autonomous systems. We use the 3 Tier control architecture to develop the control agent software that automates system reconfiguration and routine fault management. We use the Distributed Collaboration and Interaction (DCI) System to develop the operations assistants that provide human services, including situation summarization, event notification, activity management, and support for manual commanding of autonomous system. In this paper we describe how the operations assistants aid situation awareness of the autonomous control agents. We also describe our evaluation of the DCI System to support control engineers during a ground test at Johnson Space Center (JSC) of the Post Processing System (PPS) for regenerative water recovery.

Schreckenghost, Debra↗
NASA NTRS2010

Exploration Life Support Critical Questions for Future Human Space Missions

Exploration Life Support (ELS) is a current project under NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The ELS Project plans, coordinates and implements the development of advanced life support technologies for human exploration missions in space. Recent work has focused on closed loop atmosphere and water systems for long duration missions, including habitats and pressurized rovers. But, what are the critical questions facing life support system developers for these and other future human missions? This paper explores those questions and how progress in the development of ELS technologies can help answer them. The ELS Project includes the following Elements: Atmosphere Revitalization Systems, Water Recovery Systems, Waste Management Systems, Habitation Engineering, Systems Integration, Modeling and Analysis, and Validation and Testing, which includes the Sub-Elements Flight Experiments and Integrated Testing. Systems engineering analysis by ELS seeks to optimize overall mission architectures by considering all the internal and external interfaces of the life support system and the potential for reduction or reuse of commodities. In particular, various sources and sinks of water and oxygen are considered along with the implications on loop closure and the resulting launch mass requirements. Systems analysis will be validated through the data gathered from integrated testing, which will demonstrate the interfaces of a closed loop life support system. By applying a systematic process for defining, sorting and answering critical life support questions, the ELS project is preparing for a variety of future human space missions

Kwert, Michael K.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Heart Rate Response During Mission-Critical Tasks After Space Flight

Adaptation to microgravity could impair crewmembers? ability to perform required tasks upon entry into a gravity environment, such as return to Earth, or during extraterrestrial exploration. Historically, data have been collected in a controlled testing environment, but it is unclear whether these physiologic measures result in changes in functional performance. NASA?s Functional Task Test (FTT) aims to investigate whether adaptation to microgravity increases physiologic stress and impairs performance during mission-critical tasks. PURPOSE: To determine whether the well-accepted postflight tachycardia observed during standard laboratory tests also would be observed during simulations of mission-critical tasks during and after recovery from short-duration spaceflight. METHODS: Five astronauts participated in the FTT 30 days before launch, on landing day, and 1, 6, and 30 days after landing. Mean heart rate (HR) was measured during 5 simulations of mission-critical tasks: rising from (1) a chair or (2) recumbent seated position followed by walking through an obstacle course (egress from a space vehicle), (3) translating graduated masses from one location to another (geological sample collection), (4) walking on a treadmill at 6.4 km/h (ambulation on planetary surface), and (5) climbing 40 steps on a passive treadmill ladder (ingress to lander). For tasks 1, 2, 3, and 5, astronauts were encouraged to complete the task as quickly as possible. Time to complete tasks and mean HR during each task were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and ANCOVA respectively, in which task duration was a covariate. RESULTS: Landing day HR was higher (P < 0.05) than preflight during the upright seat egress (7%+/-3), treadmill walk (13%+/-3) and ladder climb (10%+/-4), and HR remained elevated during the treadmill walk 1 day after landing. During tasks in which HR was not elevated on landing day, task duration was significantly greater on landing day (recumbent seat egress: 25%+/-14 and mass translation: 26%+/-12; P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Elevated HR and increased task duration during postflight simulations of mission-critical tasks is suggestive of spaceflight-induced deconditioning. Following short-duration microgravity missions (< 16 d), work performance may be transiently impaired, but recovery is rapid.

Arzeno, Natalia M.↗
NASA NTRS1964

Spin-Tunnel Investigation of a 1/30-Scale Model of the North American A-5 Airplane

An investigation has been made to determine the erect and. inverted spin and recovery characteristics of a 1/30-scale dynamic model of the North American A-5A airplane. Tests were made for the basic flight design loading with the center of gravity at 30-percent mean aerodynamic chord and also for a forward position and a rearward position with the center of gravity at 26-percent and 40-percent mean aerodynamic chord, respectively. Tests were also made to determine the effect of full external wing tanks on both wings, and of an asymmetrical condition when only one full tank is carried.

Lee, Henry A.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Status of the Redesign of the Extravehicular Mobility Unit Airlock Cooling Loop Recovery Assembly

During EVA (Extravehicular Activity) 23 aboard the ISS (International Space Station) on 07/16/2013 an episode of water in the EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) helmet occurred, necessitating a termination of the EVA (Extravehicular Activity) shortly after it began. The root cause of the failure was determined to be ground-processing short-comings of the ALCLR Ion Beds which led to various levels of contaminants being introduced into the Ion Beds before they left the ground. The Ion Beds were thereafter used to perform on-orbit routine scrubbing operations for the EMU cooling water loop which led to the failure. The root cause investigation identified several areas for improvement of the ALCLR Assembly which have since been initiated. Enhanced washing techniques for the ALCLR Ion Bed have been developed and implemented. On-orbit cooling water conductivity and pH analysis capability to allow the astronauts to monitor proper operation of the ALCLR Ion Bed during scrubbing operation have been investigated and are being incorporated. A simplified means to acquire on-orbit EMU cooling water samples has been designed as well. Finally, an inherently cleaner organic adsorbent to replace the current lignite-based activated carbon, and a non-separable replacement for the separable mixed ion exchange resin have been selected. These efforts are being undertaken to enhance the performance and reduce the risk associated with operations to ensure the long-term health of the EMU cooling water circuit. The intent of this paper is to provide an update of the effort to re-design the ALCLR (Airlock Cooling Loop Recovery) hardware. Last year, this effort was in the early stages of concept development and test which was reported in ICES Paper ICES-2016-221. Those phases are now complete and the final outcomes, as well as plans to build and field the hardware, are being reported on.

Steele, John↗
NASA NTRS2017

Multilfiltration Bed Replacement (MFBR) System for the International Space Station using Aquaporin Membranes and Humidity Condensate Ersatz Wastewater

The Multifiltration Bed system in the International Space Station (ISS) Water Processor Assembly (WPA) needs to be improved by reducing or eliminating the usage rate of expendable media, removing dimethylsilanediol (DMSD), and reducing the overall system mass. The WPA contains two multifiltration beds, each with a mass of approximately 50 kg. Reducing the mass of the WPA is an important part of evolving the ISS system for future exploration missions. The Multifiltration Bed Replacement (MFBR) technology is based on biomimetic membranes, which derive their unique characteristics from aquaporins, or water channel proteins. Aquaporin membranes were commercialized by the company Aquaporin AS. Tests were conducted using the Aquaporin Inside Hollow Fiber Module to determine the maximum water recovery ratio and membrane life. Samples were analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC), DMSD, acetate, ions, and volatiles such as ethanol and acetone. The results indicate that at a 97.498.1 water recovery ratio, the membrane module can reject approximately 50 of the TOC and specific conductance using the simulated ISS MSFC humidity condensate ersatz. Additionally, the life of the membrane was determined to be a minimum of 7103 hours.

humidity condensate ersatz↗
NASA NTRS2017

The Effects of Vegetative Type, Edges, Fire History, Rainfall and Management in Fire-Maintained Ecosystems

The combined effects of repeated fires, climate, and landscape features (e.g., edges) need greater focus in fire ecology studies, which usually emphasize characteristics of the most recent fire and not fire history. Florida scrub-jays are an imperiled, territorial species that prefer medium (1.2-1.7 m) shrub heights. We measured short, medium, and tall habitat quality states annually within 10 ha grid cells that represented potential territories because frequent fires and vegetative recovery cause annual variation in habitat quality. We used multistate models and model selection to test competing hypotheses about how transition probabilities between states varied annually as functions of environmental covariates. Covariates included vegetative type, edges, precipitation, openings (gaps between shrubs), mechanical cutting, and fire characteristics. Fire characteristics not only included an annual presenceabsence of fire covariate, but also fire history covariates: time since the previous fire, the maximum fire-free interval, and the number of repeated fires. Statistical models with support included many covariates for each transition probability, often including fire history, interactions and nonlinear relationships. Tall territories resulted from 28 years of fire suppression and habitat fragmentation that reduced the spread of fires across landscapes. Despite 35 years of habitat restoration and prescribed fires, half the territories remained tall suggesting a regime shift to a less desirable habitat condition. Measuring territory quality states and environmental covariates each year combined with multistate modeling provided a useful empirical approach to quantify the effects of repeated fire in combinations with environmental variables on transition probabilities that drive management strategies and ecosystem change.

Breininger, David R.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Piloted Simulator Evaluation Results of Flight Physics Based Stall Recovery Guidance

In recent studies, it has been observed that loss of control in flight is the most frequent primary cause of accidents. A significant share of accidents in this category can be remedied by upset prevention if possible, and by upset recovery if necessary, in this order of priorities. One of the most important upsets to be recovered from is stall. Recent accidents have shown that a correct stall recovery maneuver remains a big challenge in civil aviation, partly due to a lack of pilot training. A possible strategy to support the flight crew in this demanding context is calculating a recovery guidance signal, and showing this signal in an intuitive way on one of the cockpit displays, for example by means of the flight director. Different methods for calculating the recovery signal, one based on fast model predictive control and another using an energy based approach, have been evaluated in four relevant operational scenarios by experienced commercial as well as test pilots in the Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames Research Center. Evaluation results show that this approach could be able to assist the pilots in executing a correct stall recovery maneuver.

Lombaerts, Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Effects of Vegetative Type, Edges, Fire History, Rainfall and Management in Fire-Maintained Habitat

The combined effects of fire history, climate, and landscape features (e.g., edges) on habitat specialists need greater focus in fire ecology studies, which usually only emphasize characteristics of the most recent fire. Florida scrub-jays are an imperiled, territorial species that prefer medium (1.2-1.7 m) shrub heights, which are dynamic because of frequent fires. We measured short, medium, and tall habitat quality states annually within 10 ha grid cells (that represented potential territories) because fires and vegetative recovery cause annual variation in habitat quality. We used multistate models and model selection to test competing hypotheses about how transition probabilities vary between states as functions of environmental covariates. Covariates included vegetative type, edges (e.g., roads, forests), precipitation, openings (gaps between shrubs), mechanical cutting, and fire characteristics. Fire characteristics not only included an annual presence/absence of fire covariate, but also fire history covariates: time since the previous fire, the longest fire-free interval, and the number of repeated fires. Statistical models with support included many covariates for each transition probability, often including fire history, interactions and nonlinear relationships. Tall territories resulted from 28 years of fire suppression and habitat fragmentation that reduced the spread of fires across landscapes. Despite 35 years of habitat restoration and prescribed fires, half the territories remained tall suggesting a regime shift to a less desirable habitat condition. Edges reduced the effectiveness of fires in setting degraded scrub and flatwoods into earlier successional states making mechanical cutting an important tool to compliment frequent prescribed fires.

Breininger, David R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solid State Drive Radiation Assurance With Active Testing

Automotive and industrial grade SSDs were tested for TID and SEE response at the assembly level to investigate radiation tolerance trends and explore radiation hardness assurance best practices in commercial memory devices. SSDs were installed in passive NVMe extenders to place only the drive in the beam line. A digital I/O module connected to the test computer provided inhibit signals to block both facility beam delivery and power while attempting recovery from any device failure conditions (e.g., failed write, failed read, or unresponsive device).

Edward P Wilcox↗
NASA NTRS1999

Sensitivity of The Dynamic Visual Acuity Test To Sensorimotor Change

Post-flight astronauts, acutely post-vestibular nerve section patients, and patients with severe chronic bilateral vestibular deficits have oscillopsia caused by reduced vestibulocular reflex gains and decreased postural stability. Therefore, as previous work has shown, a test of dynamic visual acuity (DVA), in which the subject must read numbers from a computer screen while standing still or walking in place provides a composite measure of sensorimotor integration. This measure may be useful for determining the level of recovery, post-flight, post-operatively, or after vestibular rehabilitation. To determine the sensitivity of DVA to change in impaired populations we have tested patients with acoustic neuromas before and during the first post-operative week after resection of the tumors, and with bilaterally labyrinthine deficient subjects before and after six weeks of balance rehabilitation therapy.

Cohen, Helen↗
NASA NTRS1998

Ozone Depletion at Mid-Latitudes: Coupling of Volcanic Aerosols and Temperature Variability to Anthropogenic Chlorine

Satellite observations of total ozone at 40-60 deg N are presented from a variety of instruments over the time period 1979-1997. These reveal record low values in 1992-3 (after Pinatubo) followed by partial but incomplete recovery. The largest post-Pinatubo reductions and longer-term trends occur in spring, providing a critical test for chemical theories of ozone depletion. The observations are shown to be consistent with current understanding of the chemistry of ozone depletion when changes in reactive chlorine and stratospheric aerosol abundances are considered along with estimates of wave-driven fluctuations in stratospheric temperatures derived from global temperature analyses. Temperature fluctuations are shown to make significant contributions to model calculated northern mid-latitude ozone depletion due to heterogeneous chlorine activation on liquid sulfate aerosols at temperatures near 200-210 K (depending upon water vapor pressure), particularly after major volcanic eruptions. Future mid-latitude ozone recovery will hence depend not only on chlorine recovery but also on temperature trends and/or variability, volcanic activity, and any trends in stratospheric sulfate aerosol.

Solomon, S.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Design and flight test of the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) flight control system on the NASA F-15 test aircraft

This report describes the design, development and flight testing of the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) flight control system performed at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA), St. Louis, Missouri and at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards Air Force Base, California. This research and development program was conducted by MDA and directed by NASA through the Dryden Flight Research Facility for the period beginning January 1991 and ending December 1993. A propulsion steering backup to the aircraft conventional flight control system has been developed and flight demonstrated on a NASA F-15 test aircraft. The Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) flight system utilizes collective and differential thrust changes to steer an aircraft that experiences partial or complete failure of the hydraulically actuated control surfaces. The PCA flight control research has shown that propulsion steering is a viable backup flight control mode and can assist the pilot in safe landing recovery of a fighter aircraft that has damage to or loss of the flight control surfaces. NASA, USAF and Navy evaluation test pilots stated that the F-15 PCA design provided the control necessary to land the aircraft. Moreover, the feasibility study showed that PCA technology can be directly applied to transport aircraft and provide a major improvement in the survivability of passengers and crew of controls damaged aircraft.

Wells, Edward A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Operational Lessons Learned from the Ares I-X Flight Test

The Ares I-X flight test, launched in 2009, is the first test of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This development flight test evaluated the flight dynamics, roll control, and separation events, but also provided early insights into logistical, stacking, launch, and recovery operations for Ares I. Operational lessons will be especially important for NASA as the agency makes the transition from the Space Shuttle to the Constellation Program, which is designed to be less labor-intensive. The mission team itself comprised only 700 individuals over the life of the project compared to the thousands involved in Shuttle and Apollo missions; while missions to and beyond low-Earth orbit obviously will require additional personnel, this lean approach will serve as a model for future Constellation missions. To prepare for Ares I-X, vehicle stacking and launch infrastructure had to be modified at Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) as well as Launch Complex (LC) 39B. In the VAB, several platforms and other structures designed for the Shuttle s configuration had to be removed to accommodate the in-line, much taller Ares I-X. Vehicle preparation activities resulted in delays, but also in lessons learned for ground operations personnel, including hardware deliveries, cable routing, transferred work and custodial paperwork. Ares I-X also proved to be a resource challenge, as individuals and ground service equipment (GSE) supporting the mission also were required for Shuttle or Atlas V operations at LC 40/41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. At LC 39B, several Shuttle-specific access arms were removed and others were added to accommodate the in-line Ares vehicle. Ground command, control, and communication (GC3) hardware was incorporated into the Mobile Launcher Platform (MLP). The lightning protection system at LC 39B was replaced by a trio of 600-foot-tall towers connected by a catenary wire to account for the much greater height of the vehicle. Like Shuttle, Ares I-X will be stacked on a MLP and rolled out to the pad on a Saturn-era crawler-transporter. While Ares I-X was only held in place by the four hold-down posts on its aft skirt during rollout, a new vehicle stabilization system (VSS) attached to the vertical service structure kept the vehicle from undue swaying prior to launch at the pad, LC 39B. Following the launch, the flight test vehicle first stage was recovered with the aid of new parachutes resized to accommodate the five-segment-long first stage, which had a much greater length and mass than the Shuttle s reusable solid rocket boosters. After splashdown, recovery divers exercised extra care when handling the first stage to ensure that the flight data recorders in the fifth segment simulator were not damaged by exposure to sea water. The data recovered from the Ares I-X flight test will be very valuable in verifying the predicted environments and models used to design the vehicle. Lessons learned from Ares I-X will be shared with the Ares Projects through written and verbal reports and through integration of mission team members into the Project workforce.

Davis, Stephan R.↗
NASA NTRS2014

High Intensity Exercise Countermeasures does not Prevent Orthostatic Intolerance Following Prolonged Bed Rest

Approximately 20% of Space Shuttle astronauts became presyncopal during operational stand and 80deg head‐up tilt tests, and the prevalence of orthostatic intolerance increases after longer missions. Greater than 60% of the US astronauts participating in Mir and early International Space Station missions experienced presyncope during post‐flight tilt tests, perhaps related to limitations of the exercise hardware that prevented high intensity exercise training until later ISS missions. The objective of this study was to determine whether an intense resistive and aerobic exercise countermeasure program designed to prevent cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning during 70 d of bed rest (BR), a space flight analog, would protect against post‐BR orthostatic intolerance. METHODS Twenty‐six subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: non‐exercise controls (n=11) or one of two exercise groups (ExA, n=8; ExB, n=7). Both ExA and ExB groups performed the same resistive and aerobic exercise countermeasures during BR, but one exercise group received testosterone supplementation while the other received a placebo during BR in a double‐blinded fashion. On 3 d/wk, subjects performed lower body resistive exercise and 30 min of continuous aerobic exercise (≥75% max heart rate). On the other 3 d/wk, subjects performed only highintensity, interval‐style aerobic exercise. Orthostatic intolerance was assessed using a 15‐min 80 head‐up tilt test performed 2 d (BR‐2) before and on the last day of BR (BR70). Plasma volume was measured using carbon monoxide rebreathing on BR‐3 and before rising on the first recovery day (BR+0). The code for the exercise groups has not been broken, and results are reported here without group identification. RESULTS Only one subject became presyncopal during tilt testing on BR‐2, but 7 of 11 (63%) controls, 3 of 8 (38%) ExA, and 4 of 7 (57%) ExB subjects were presyncopal on BR70. Survival analysis of post‐BR tilt tests revealed no differences (p=0.77) between groups. Plasma volume (absolute or relative to body mass index) decreased (p<0.001) from pre to post‐BR, with no differences between groups. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary results corroborate previous reports that the performance of a vigorous exercise countermeasure protocol during BR, even with testosterone supplementation, does not protect against orthostatic intolerance or plasma volume loss. Preventing post‐BR orthostatic intolerance may require additional countermeasures, such as orthostatic stress during BR or end‐of‐BR fluid infusion.

Platts, Steven H.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Flight Test Results of an Axisymmetric Channeled Center Body Supersonic Inlet at Off-Design Conditions

Flight-testing of a channeled center-body axisymmetric supersonic inlet design concept was conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center in collaboration with the NASA Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, Ohio) and TechLand Research, Inc. (North Olmsted, Ohio). This testing utilized the Propulsion Flight Test Fixture, flown on the NASA F-15B research test bed airplane (NASA tail number 836) at local experiment Mach numbers up to 1.50. The translating channeled center-body inlet was designed by TechLand Research, Inc. (U.S. Patent No. 6,276,632 B1) to allow for a novel method of off-design flow matching, with original test planning conducted under a NASA Small Business Innovative Research study. Data were collected in flight at various off-design Mach numbers for fixed-geometry representations of both the channeled center-body design and an equivalent area smooth center-body design for direct comparison of total pressure recovery and limited distortion measurements.

inlet↗