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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

Flight research and testing

Flight research and testing form a critical link in the aeronautic research and development chain. Brilliant concepts, elegant theories, and even sophisticated ground tests of flight vehicles are not sufficient to prove beyond a doubt that an unproven aeronautical concept will actually perform as predicted. Flight research and testing provide the ultimate proof that an idea or concept performs as expected. Ever since the Wright brothers, flight research and testing were the crucible in which aeronautical concepts were advanced and proven to the point that engineers and companies are willing to stake their future to produce and design aircraft. This is still true today, as shown by the development of the experimental X-30 aerospace plane. The Dryden Flight Research Center (Ames-Dryden) continues to be involved in a number of flight research programs that require understanding and characterization of the total airplane in all the aeronautical disciplines, for example the X-29. Other programs such as the F-14 variable-sweep transition flight experiment have focused on a single concept or discipline. Ames-Dryden also continues to conduct flight and ground based experiments to improve and expand the ability to test and evaluate advanced aeronautical concepts. A review of significant aeronautical flight research programs and experiments is presented to illustrate both the progress being made and the challenges to come.

Putnam, Terrill W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

High pressure turbomachinery ground test facility

Turbomachinery test facilities are at present scarce to non-existent world-wide. The turbomachinery test facility at Stennis Space Center will provide for advanced development and research and development capabilities for liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen propellant rocket engine components. The facility will provide ultra-high pressure via gas generators to deliver the needed turbine drive on various turbomachinery. State of the art process control systems will provide the vital pressure, temperature and flow requirements during tests. These systems will better control adverse transient conditions during start-up and shutdown, and by using advanced control theory, as well as incorporate test article health monitoring. Also, digital data acquisition systems will obtain high frequency (up to 20 KHz) and low frequency (up to 1 KHz) data during the test. Pressures of up to 15,000 psi will be generated to pressurize high pressure tanks supplying cryogens to various test article inlets thus pushing turbopump materials and manufacturing processes to their limits. By planning for future projects the test facility will be easily adaptable to multi-program test configurations over a range of thermodynamic positions.

Scheuermann, Patrick E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Aeronautical Engineering: A special bibliography with indexes, supplement 13

This special bibliography lists 283 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in December, 1971. Emphasis is placed on engineering and theoretical aspects for design, construction, evaluation, testing, operation and performance of aircraft (including aircraft engines), and associated components, equipment and systems. Also included are entries on research and development in aeronautics and aerodynamics and research and ground support for aeronautical vehicles.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1972

Aeronautical Engineering, a special bibliography with indexes, supplement 15

This special bibliography lists 363 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1972. Emphasis is placed on engineering and theoretical aspects for design, construction, evaluation, testing, operation and performance of aircraft (including aircraft engines) and associated components, equipment and systems. Also included are entries on research and development in aeronautics and aerodynamics and research and ground support for aeronautical vehicles.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Space station structures and dynamics test program

The design, construction, and operation of a low-Earth orbit space station poses unique challenges for development and implementation of new technology. The technology arises from the special requirement that the station be built and constructed to function in a weightless environment, where static loads are minimal and secondary to system dynamics and control problems. One specific challenge confronting NASA is the development of a dynamics test program for: (1) defining space station design requirements, and (2) identifying the characterizing phenomena affecting the station's design and development. A general definition of the space station dynamic test program, as proposed by MSFC, forms the subject of this report. The test proposal is a comprehensive structural dynamics program to be launched in support of the space station. The test program will help to define the key issues and/or problems inherent to large space structure analysis, design, and testing. Development of a parametric data base and verification of the math models and analytical analysis tools necessary for engineering support of the station's design, construction, and operation provide the impetus for the dynamics test program. The philosophy is to integrate dynamics into the design phase through extensive ground testing and analytical ground simulations of generic systems, prototype elements, and subassemblies. On-orbit testing of the station will also be used to define its capability.

Moore, Carleton J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The value of early flight evaluation of propulsion concepts using the NASA F-15 research airplane

The value of early flight evaluation of propulsion and propulsion control concepts was demonstrated on the NASA F-15 airplane in programs such as highly integrated digital electronic control (HIDEC), the F100 engine model derivative (EMD), and digital electronic engine control (DEEC). (In each case, the value of flight demonstration was conclusively demonstrated). This paper described these programs, and discusses the results that were not expected, based on ground test or analytical prediction. The role of flight demonstration in facilitating transfer of technology from the laboratory to operational airplanes is discussed.

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The value of early flight evaluation of propulsion concepts using the NASA F-15 research airplane

The value of early flight evaluation of propulsion and propulsion control concepts was demonstrated on the NASA F-15 airplane in programs such as highly integrated digital electronic control (HIDEC), the F100 engine model derivative (EMD), and digital electronic engine control (DEEC). (In each case, the value of flight demonstration was conclusively demonstrated.) This paper describes these programs, and discusses the results that were not expected, based on ground test or analytical prediction. The role of flight demonstration in facilitating transfer of technology from the laboratory to operational airplanes is discussed.

Burcham, Frank W., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Expanding the KATE toolbox

KATE (Knowledge-based Autonomous Test Engineer) is a model-based software system developed in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center for monitoring, fault detection, and control of launch vehicles and ground support systems. In order to bring KATE to the level of performance, functionality, and integratability needed for firing room applications, efforts are underway to implement KATE in the C++ programming language using an X-windows interface. Two programs which were designed and added to the collection of tools which comprise the KATE toolbox are described. The first tool, called the schematic viewer, gives the KATE user the capability to view digitized schematic drawings in the KATE environment. The second tool, called the model editor, gives the KATE model builder a tool for creating and editing knowledge base files. Design and implementation issues having to do with these two tools are discussed. It will be useful to anyone maintaining or extending either the schematic viewer or the model editor.

Thomas, Stan J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Enhancements to the KATE model-based reasoning system

KATE (Knowledge-based Autonomous Test Engineer) is a model-based software system developed in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Kennedy Space Center for monitoring, fault detection, and control of launch vehicles and ground support systems. This report describes two software efforts which enhance the functionality and usability of KATE. The first addition, a flow solver, adds to KATE a tool for modeling the flow of liquid in a pipe system. The second addition adds support for editing KATE knowledge base files to the Emacs editor. The body of this report discusses design and implementation issues having to do with these two tools. It will be useful to anyone maintaining or extending either the flow solver or the editor enhancements.

Thomas, Stan J.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The MAP Autonomous Mission Control System

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission is the second mission in NASA's Office of Space Science low-cost, Medium-class Explorers (MIDEX) program. The Explorers Program is designed to accomplish frequent, low cost, high quality space science investigations utilizing innovative, streamlined, efficient management, design and operations approaches. The MAP spacecraft will produce an accurate full-sky map of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations with high sensitivity and angular resolution. The MAP spacecraft is planned for launch in early 2001, and will be staffed by only single-shift operations. During the rest of the time the spacecraft must be operated autonomously, with personnel available only on an on-call basis. Four (4) innovations will work cooperatively to enable a significant reduction in operations costs for the MAP spacecraft. First, the use of a common ground system for Spacecraft Integration and Test (I&T) as well as Operations. Second, the use of Finite State Modeling for intelligent autonomy. Third, the integration of a graphical planning engine to drive the autonomous systems without an intermediate manual step. And fourth, the ability for distributed operations via Web and pager access.

Breed, Juile↗
NASA NTRS2005

Trial by Fire

The NASa/ATK Thiokol space shuttle solid rocket motor program has doubled ground test firings and enhanced manufacturing quality and process control to increase safety for Discovery's return to flight. There are a number of places where we've strengthened our engineering and our processes, says Mike Kahn, ATK Thiokol vice president of space launch systems. Protecting the booster against corrosion in the humid Florida environment is one area that has been addressed. Since the loss of Columbia, ATK Thiokol and the Marshall Space Flight Center have completely reevaluated the shuttle solid rocket motor's design certification and found no major problems, Kahn said. The Thiokol solid motors did not play a role in the 2003 Columbia accident, but the motor's older field joint design (since replaced) was the primary cause of the 1986 Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts. The 129 X 12-ft. ATK Thiokol reusable solid rocket motor forms the core of the shuttle's two solid rocket boosters (SRBs). United Space Alliance (USA) has overall responsibility for the booster's nose-mounted systems such as recovery parachutes and aft-mounted thrust vector control systems that increase the length to 149 ft. USA and its subcontractors have also reaffirmed quality control on systems such as the booster's Hamilton Sundstrand hydraulic power units for critical thrust vector control. And to ensure greater safeguards against booster debris jeopardizing the orbiter, a bolt-catcher system to restrain the large bolts, severed at booster separation, was also redesigned.

Covault, Craig↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Providing Affordable Access to the Lunar and Martian Gravity Environments for Conducting Scientific Research and Enabling Technology Development

NASA’s Artemis campaign aims to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars. Like the Moon, Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and a driver of technologies that will enable humans to travel and explore far from Earth. Conducting space research and validating gravity-dependent technologies in low-Earth orbit or on the surface of the Moon or Mars is expensive and typically requires long project life cycles. To achieve NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives, it will be necessary to have affordable, ground-based test platforms for carrying out this research and technology development in the relevant gravity environment. A proposed upgrade to NASA Glenn Research Center’s Zero Gravity Research Facility is presented that will provide more than 10 seconds of any prescribed gravity level between microgravity and Earth gravity, allowing users to rapidly conduct dozens of tests per day in a microgravity, Lunar, and Martian gravity environment. The design concept is described along with expected performance characteristics, and technologies and research areas that will benefit. The proposed ground-based variable gravity test capability will enable scientific breakthroughs and Moon to Mars technology and subsystem development while also providing a tool for educating and inspiring future scientists and engineers.

Variable Gravity↗
NASA NTRS1989

Techniques for optimizing human-machine information transfer related to real-time interactive display systems

In recent years the needs of ground-based researcher-analysts to access real-time engineering data in the form of processed information has expanded rapidly. Fortunately, the capacity to deliver that information has also expanded. The development of advanced display systems is essential to the success of a research test activity. Those developed at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR), range from simple alphanumerics to interactive mapping and graphics. These unique display systems are designed not only to meet basic information display requirements of the user, but also to take advantage of techniques for optimizing information display. Future ground-based display systems will rely heavily not only on new technologies, but also on interaction with the human user and the associated productivity with that interaction. The psychological abilities and limitations of the user will become even more important in defining the difference between a usable and a useful display system. This paper reviews the requirements for development of real-time displays; the psychological aspects of design such as the layout, color selection, real-time response rate, and interactivity of displays; and an analysis of some existing WATR displays.

Granaas, Michael M.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Flight research and testing

Flight research and testing form a critical link in the aeronautic R and D chain. Brilliant concepts, elegant theories, and even sophisticated ground tests of flight vehicles are not sufficient to prove beyond doubt that an unproven aeronautical concept will actually perform as predicted. Flight research and testing provide the ultimate proof that an idea or concept performs as expected. Ever since the Wright brothers, flight research and testing have been the crucible in which aeronautical concepts have advanced and been proven to the point that engineers and companies have been willing to stake their future to produce and design new aircraft. This is still true today, as shown by the development of the experimental X-30 aerospace plane. The Dryden Flight Research Center (Ames-Dryden) continues to be involved in a number of flight research programs that require understanding and characterization of the total airplane in all the aeronautical disciplines, for example the X-29. Other programs such as the F-14 variable-sweep transition flight experiment have focused on a single concept or discipline. Ames-Dryden also continues to conduct flight and ground based experiments to improve and expand the ability to test and evaluate advanced aeronautical concepts. A review of significant aeronautical flight research programs and experiments is presented to illustrate both the progress made and the challenges to come.

Putnam, Terrill W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Improved CPAS Photogrammetric Capabilities for Engineering Development Unit (EDU) Testing

This paper focuses on two key improvements to the photogrammetric analysis capabilities of the Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) for the Orion vehicle. The Engineering Development Unit (EDU) system deploys Drogue and Pilot parachutes via mortar, where an important metric is the muzzle velocity. This can be estimated using a high speed camera pointed along the mortar trajectory. The distance to the camera is computed from the apparent size of features of known dimension. This method was validated with a ground test and compares favorably with simulations. The second major photogrammetric product is measuring the geometry of the Main parachute cluster during steady-state descent using onboard cameras. This is challenging as the current test vehicles are suspended by a single-point attachment unlike earlier stable platforms suspended under a confluence fitting. The mathematical modeling of fly-out angles and projected areas has undergone significant revision. As the test program continues, several lessons were learned about optimizing the camera usage, installation, and settings to obtain the highest quality imagery possible.

Ray, Eric S.↗
NASA NTRS1966

A Modular Nuclear Vehicle System with Multi-Mission Capability for Mars Stopover Missions

In depth studies conducted over the past two years have established a modular nuclear stage concept which offers multi-mission capability with a maximum of hardware commonality, i.e., a concept which minimizes total hardware development effort and investment in facilities while providing a logical development evolution from ground test systems to flight test and from initial to more ambitious space applications. Recent results oriented toward the definition and application of such a vehicle concept for the manned Mars landing mission are presented. The basic modular concept employing NERVA nuclear rocket engines is reviewed and the mission peculiar factors affecting the module sizes and number of modules required are discussed. Specific results presented are restricted primarily to the 1982 Mars landing mission via the opposition class mission mode since this is the earliest anticipated date for such a mission. The realistic effects of orbital launch windows are considered and brief discussions of orbital assembly and packaging options with a modular approach are given. Typical ground launch and orbital assembly operations are defined assuming an uprated Saturn V class launch vehicle and the connecting mode of orbital assembly, in which all modules are orbited fully loaded with propellant. The effect of a significant increase in nuclear engine specific impulse is discussed.

Harris, Ronald J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Simulation of UV atomic radiation for application in exhaust plume spectrometry

Quantitative analysis of exhaust plume spectral data has long been a goal of developers of advanced engine health monitoring systems which incorporate optical measurements of rocket exhaust constituents. Discussed herein is the status of present efforts to model and predict atomic radiation spectra and infer free-atom densities from emission/absorption measurements as part of the Optical Plume Anomaly Detection (OPAD) program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). A brief examination of the mathematical formalism is provided in the context of predicting radiation from the Mach disk region of the SSME exhaust flow at nominal conditions during ground level testing at MSFC. Computational results are provided for Chromium and Copper at selected transitions which indicate a strong dependence upon broadening parameter values determining the absorption-emission line shape. Representative plots of recent spectral data from the Stennis Space Center (SSC) Diagnostic Test Facility (DTF) rocket engine are presented and compared to numerical results from the present self-absorbing model; a comprehensive quantitative analysis will be reported at a later date.

Wallace, T. L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

The ASD Scorpius Accelerator at the NNSS. Recruitment Slides for the University of Nevada, Reno [Slides]

The Scorpius Accelerator: Supports the maintenance of the US nuclear stockpile, helps the US not return to nuclear testing, is one of four diagnostics being installed 963 feet below ground, probes subcritical implosions of nuclear material, and supports the validation of LANL and LLNL computer codes. We are searching engineers and scientists with experienced in: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Pulsed Power, Plasma Physics, Controls, Diagnostics, and Fluids and pressure systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗