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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 91 records · Page 5

Getting the current out

Progress of a photovoltaic (PV) device from a research concept to a competitive power-generation source requires an increasing concern with current collection. The initial metallization focus is usually on contact resistance, since a good ohmic contact is desirable for accurate device characterization measurements. As the device grows in size, sheet resistance losses become important and a metal grid is usually added to reduce the effective sheet resistance. Later, as size and conversion efficiency continue to increase, grid-line resistance and cell shadowing must be considered simultaneously, because grid-line resistance is inversely related to total grid-line area and cell shadowing is directly related. A PV cell grid design must consider the five power-loss phenomena mentioned above: sheet resistance, contact resistance, grid resistance, bus-bar resistance and cell shadowing. Although cost, reliability and usage are important factors in deciding upon the best metallization system, this paper will focus only upon grid-line design and substrate material problems for flat-plate solar arrays.

Burger, D. R.↗

Design and development of Shuttle Get-Away-Special experiment G-0074

An experiment to investigate more versatile, lower cost surface tension propellant acquisition approaches for future satellite and spacecraft propellant tanks is designed to demonstrate a propellant off-load capability for a full-tank gallery surface tension device, such as that employed in the shuttle reaction control subsystem, and demonstrate a low-cost refillable trap concept that could be used in future orbit maneuver propulsion systems for multiple engine restarts. A Plexiglas test tank, movie camera and lights, auxiliary liquid accumulator, control electronics, battery pack, and associated valving and plumbing are used. The test liquid is Freon 113, dyed blue for color movie coverage. The fully loaded experiments weighs 106 pounds and is to be installed in a NASA five-cubic-foot flight canister. Vibration tests, acoustic tests, and high and low temperature tests were performed to quality the experiment for flight.

Orton, G. F.↗

An extreme ultraviolet spectrometer experiment for the Shuttle Get Away Special Program

An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrometer experiment operated successfully during the STS-7 mission in an experiment to measure the global and diurnal variation of the EUV airglow. The spectrometer is an F 3.5 Wadsworth mount with mechanical collimator, a 75 x 75 mm grating, and a bare microchannel plate detector providing a spectral resolution of 7 X FWHM. Read-out of the signal is through discrete channels or resistive anode techniques. The experiment includes a microcomputer, 20 Mbit tape recorder, and a 28V, 40 Ahr silver-zinc battery. It is the first GAS payload to use an opening door. The spectrometer's 0.1 x 4.2 deg field of view is pointed vertically out of the shuttle bay. During the STS-7 flight data were acquired continuously for a period of 5 hours and 37 minutes, providing spectra of the 570 A to 850 A wavelength region of the airglow. Five diurnal cycles of the 584 A emission of neutral helium and the 834 A emission of ionized atomic oxygen were recorded. The experiment also recorded ion events and pressure pulses associated with thruster firings. The experiment is to fly again on Mission 41-F.

Conway, R. R.↗

Doing business in space: How to get there from here

A step by step process is described through which an existing enterprise or an entrepreneurial venture can initiate and carry out a new space venture. Throughout this process the business and technical aspects must be advanced in parallel with each other. Each depends on the other for its continued success, and companies may be unable to complete the venture if one or the other is neglected. The existing NASA programs and the experience of early trailblazers provide sufficient examples and opportunities for other firms to undertake new ventures with confidence. With the introduction of NASA's Commercial Space Policy, both the opportunities and the ease with which ventures can be carried out should increase significantly.

Wood, P. W.↗

Getting Mental Models and Computer Models to Cooperate

A qualitative theory of supervisory control is outlined wherein the mental models of one or more human operators are related to the knowledge representations within automatic controllers (observers, estimators) and operator decision aids (expert systems, advice-givers). Methods of quantifying knowledge and the calibration of one knowledge representation to another (human, computer, or objective truth) are discussed. Ongoing experiments in the use of decision aids for exploring one's own objective function or exploring system constraints and control strategies are described.

Sheridan, T. B.↗

Second-order Compton-Getting effect on arbitrary intensity distribution

Theoretical studies of energetic particles in space are often referred to a special frame of reference. To compare theory with experiment, one has to transform the particle distribution from the special frame to the observer's frame, or vice versa. Various methods have been derived to obtain the directional distribution in the comoving frame from the directional fluxes measured on a spacecraft. These methods have become progressively complicated as increasingly detailed directional particle data become available. A set of 2nd order correct formulae for the transformation of an arbitrary differential intensity distribution, expressed as a series of spherical harmonics, between any two frames in constant relative motion is presented. These formulae greatly simplify the complicated procedures currently in use for the determination of the differential intensity distribution in a comoving frame.

Ng, C. K.↗

USC/AIAA student get away special project liquid droplet collector experiment

This experimental payload was developed in order to observe, in a micro-gravity vacuum environment, the characteristics and stability of a thin fluid film flowing across a slightly curved surface. The test apparatus was designed based upon various ground-based thin film investigations, combined with the constraints imposed by the rigors of launch and the space environment. Testing of the fluid test article at atmospheric pressure and in vacuum verified the design provisions employed concerning ultra-low inlet pressure pump construction, as well as confirming expected pressure losses in the system. During the course of hardware development and construction modifications were required; however, the overall payload configuration remained largely unchanged. This will allow for modification and reflight of the apparatus based upon the findings of the initial flight. The specific applications of this experiment include Liquid Droplet Radiator development and various forms of material transport in vacuum.

Levesque, Raymond J., II↗

NASA Facts: How We Get Pictures from Space

The past 25 years of space travel and exploration has generated an unprecedented quantity of data from planetary systems. Images taken in space and telemetered back to Earth have greatly aided scientists in formulating better and more accurate theories about the nature and origin of out solar system. The procedures and spacecraft systems used to gather data are explained.

Haynes, Robert↗

How We Get Pictures from Space, Revised Edition

The past 25 years of space travel and exploration have generated an unprecedented quantity of data from planetary systems. Data gathered at close range, and from above the distorting effects of Earth's atmosphere, produce images far more detailed than pictures taken by even the largest Earth-bound telescopes. The techniques used to acquire and process these images are discussed briefly.

Haynes, Robert↗

Low cost Get-Away-Special (GAS) furnace

A simple and inexpensive Space Shuttle experimental apparatus to conduct microgravity melting and solidification is presented. A GAS space furnace was initially developed as a student design project at the USAF Academy and further refined at NASA Lewis. The experiment package consists of a melting chamber, battery power system, temperature data recording systems, and electronic controller. The melting chamber is a thin-walled tube wrapped by heating resistance wire. Thermocouples are used to record the specimen thermal history. Power is supplied by 2-V batteries wired to produce 360 W. The mV output of the thermocouples is amplified, cold-junction compensated, and converted to a frequency which is then recorded on an off-the-shelf cassette tape recorder. A backup data recording system which digitizes the amplified signal and records the data on EEPROMs has also been included. This experimental device demonstrates that basic science research can be kept simple and inexpensive.

Turner, Glon D.↗

Getting ready to go

The reevaluation of the Space Station that has occurred over the past two and a half years is reviewed, and the system development that has been recently initiated is discussed. Upcoming developments with regard to laboratory outfitting, extended duration Orbiter, and logistics operations are summarized. The goals of the first launches are discussed, and the aims of the succeeding manned flights are examined.

Moser, Thomas L.↗

Lunar Get-Away-Special - Exploring the moon with a miniature electrically propelled spacecraft

A spacecraft and mission concept designed to carry out a search for water at the lunar poles is described. The main elements of the concept are solar-electric propulsion, a miniature spacecraft, and a highly focused scientific mission. The major challenges to the spacecraft design were the mass and volume limits of the GAS canister, the incorporation of solar electric propulsion, and the high radiation exposure in the Van Allen belt. The capability of ion drive in carrying out high-performance missions is demonstrated.

Salazar, R. P.↗

The Chinese student space shuttle get-way-special program

The first Chinese Getaway Special program is described. Program organization, the student proposal evaluation procedure, and the objectives of some of the finalist's experiments are covered. The two experiments selected for eventual flight on the space shuttle are described in detail. These include: (1) the control of debris in the cabin of the space shuttle; and (2) the solidification of two immiscible liquids in space.

Lee, Mark C.↗

A get started approach for resource processing

A low-risk, high-value approach to implementing resource processing is presented. The design utilizes processing plants at Deimos and Mars, a fueling depot in a Mars parking orbit, and small shuttles transferring crew and cargo between sites. The system fuels Mars ascent and descent states and the earth-return stage. Fueling at Mars reduces launch requirements by 25 percent, or, alternatively, enables the substitution of payload for fuel on a near 1:1 basis and thereby triples the payload delivered to Mars.

Giudici, Bob↗

Getting water from the water of hydration on Mars

Both Viking landers found evidence of water in small concentration in the soils of Mars. Using the gas chromatograph mass spectrometer the soil samples on Mars were heated to 500 C to release the water. This result lead researchers to believe that the water in the soil of Mars was tightly bound in a hydration state. In the laboratory several Mars analog soils and a few bench mark soils were run through a microwave to determine the amount of water released using this method. The results suggest that sufficient water can be obtained using this method to augment the activities of a human base on Mars.

Gwynne, O.↗

Getting started on metrics - Jet Propulsion Laboratory productivity and quality

A review is presented to describe the effort and difficulties of reconstructing fifteen years of JPL software history. In 1987 the collection and analysis of project data were started with the objective of creating laboratory-wide measures of quality and productivity for software development. As a result of this two-year Software Product Assurance metrics study, a rough measurement foundation for software productivity and software quality, and an order-of-magnitude quantitative baseline for software systems and subsystems are now available.

Bush, M. W.↗