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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 109 records · Page 6

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NASA NTRS2017

The Impact of Lower Launch Cost on Space Life Support

The development of commercial launch systems has substantially reduced the cost of space launch. NASA's Space Shuttle had a cost of about $1.5 billion to launch 27,500 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), $54,500/kg. SpaceX's Falcon 9 now advertises a cost of $62 million to launch 22,800 kg to LEO, $2,720/kg. Space launch costs were very high for decades, typically about $20,000/kg, and it was understood that this high launch cost made it necessary for long human missions to recycle water and oxygen to reduce logistics mass. Short missions such as Apollo or Shuttle used stored and resupplied life support materials, but for a much longer mission such as the International Space Station (ISS), recycling saves logistics mass and reduces launch cost. The Life Cycle Cost (LCC) will be computed for resupply logistics and for a recycling system similar to that on the ISS. The LCC includes the costs of development, launch, and operations. The new low launch cost makes open loop life support much cheaper than before. Direct logistics resupply would be less costly than recycling for future human missions, such as a long term moon base, a Mars mission, or a future space station in LEO.

life support↗

NASA NTRS1979

Clock performance, reliability and cost interrelationships

Problems encountered by clock manufacturers in attempting to supply reasonably priced, reliable clocks for critical aerospace applications arise from the inherent technical difficulties of designing and fabricating equipment to provide performance at the limits of the state of the art in demanding environments. The difficulties are compounded by inconsistent and unstandardized specification practices, and by an emphasis on initial acquisition costs, rather than on life cycle costs. Conventional parts stress analyses, which do not provide a useful indication of the reliability of a clock, lead to increased parts costs for high performance aerospace clocks without comensurate benefits in improved reliability or performance. The characterization of clocks in terms of the mean time between resynchronizations, facilitates the estimation of life cycle costs and provides a means to evaluate clocks in a realistic fashion for specific systems applications.

Levine, M. W.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Advanced electric propulsion system concept for electric vehicles

Seventeen propulsion system concepts for electric vehicles were compared to determine the differences in components and battery pack to achieve the basic performance level. Design tradeoffs were made for selected configurations to find the optimum component characteristics required to meet all performance goals. The anticipated performance when using nickel-zinc batteries rather than the standard lead-acid batteries was also evaluated. The two systems selected for the final conceptual design studies included a system with a flywheel energy storage unit and a basic system that did not have a flywheel. The flywheel system meets the range requirement with either lead-acid or nickel-zinc batteries and also the acceleration of zero to 89 km/hr in 15 s. The basic system can also meet the required performance with a fully charged battery, but, when the battery approaches 20 to 30 percent depth of discharge, maximum acceleration capability gradually degrades. The flywheel system has an estimated life-cycle cost of $0.041/km using lead-acid batteries. The basic system has a life-cycle cost of $0.06/km. The basic system, using batteries meeting ISOA goals, would have a life-cycle cost of $0.043/km.

Raynard, A. E.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A review of findings of a study of rocket based combined cycle engines applied to extensively axisymmetric single stage to orbit vehicles

Extensively axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO) vehicles are considered. The information is presented in viewgraph form and the following topics are presented: payload comparisons; payload as a percent of dry weight - a system hardware cost indicator; life cycle cost estimations; operations and support costs estimation; selected engine type; and rocket engine specific impulse calculation.

Foster, Richard W.↗

NASA NTRS1987

An overview of the program to place advanced automation and robotics on the Space Station

The preliminary design phase of the Space Station has uncovered a large number of potential uses of automation and robotics, most of which deal with the assembly and operation of the Station. If NASA were to vigorously push automation and robotics concepts in the design, the Station crew would probably be free to spend a substantial portion of time on payload activities. However, at this point NASA has taken a conservative attitude toward automation and robotics. For example, the belief is that robotics should evolve through telerobotics and that uses of artificial intelligence should be initially used in an advisory capacity. This conservativeness is in part due to the new and untested nature of automation and robotics; but, it is also due to emphases plased on designing the Station to the so-called upfront cost without thoroughly understanding the life cycle cost. Presumably automation and robotics has a tendency to increase the initial cost of the Space Station but could substantially reduce the life cycle cost. To insure that NASA will include some form of robotic capability, Congress directed to set aside funding. While this stimulates the development of robotics, it does not necessarily stimulate uses of artificial intelligence. However, since the initial development costs of some forms of artificial intelligence, such as expert systems, are in general lower than they are for robotics one is likely to see several expert systems being used on the Station.

Heydorn, Richard P.↗

NASA NTRS1972

Program management aid for redundancy selection and operational guidelines

Although this criterion was developed specifically for use on the shuttle program, it has application to many other multi-missions programs (i.e. aircraft or mechanisms). The methodology employed is directly applicable even if the tools (nomographs and equations) are for mission peculiar cases. The redundancy selection criterion was developed to insure that both the design and operational cost impacts (life cycle costs) were considered in the selection of the quantity of operational redundancy. These tools were developed as aids in expediting the decision process and not intended as the automatic decision maker. This approach to redundancy selection is unique in that it enables a pseudo systems analysis to be performed on an equipment basis without waiting for all designs to be hardened.

Hodge, P. W.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Preliminary study of advanced turboprop and turboshaft engines for light aircraft

The effects of engine configuration, advanced component technology, compressor pressure ratio and turbine rotor-inlet temperature on such figures of merit as vehicle gross weight, mission fuel, aircraft acquisition cost, operating, cost and life cycle cost are determined for three fixed- and two rotary-wing aircraft. Compared with a current production turboprop, an advanced technology (1988) engine results in a 23 percent decrease in specific fuel consumption. Depending on the figure of merit and the mission, turbine engine cost reductions required to achieve aircraft cost parity with a current spark ignition reciprocating (SIR) engine vary from 0 to 60 percent and from 6 to 74 percent with a hypothetical advanced SIR engine. Compared with a hypothetical turboshaft using currently available technology (1978), an advanced technology (1988) engine installed in a light twin-engine helicopter results in a 16 percent reduction in mission fuel and about 11 percent in most of the other figures of merit.

Knip, G.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Electrical power system for the U.S. space station

The Space Station Electrical Power System presents many interesting challenges. It will be much larger than previous space power systems, and it must be designed for on-orbit maintenance and replacement, along with having a growth capability. The power generation, energy storage, and power management and distribution (PMAD) subsystems comprise the primary elements of the overall system. Each was analyzed by NASA Lewis Research Center and its two contractors -- Rocketdyne and TRW -- in the definition studies of the program to determine the optimum approach to minimize initial costs and life cycle costs. For the PMAD subsystem, a ring bus architecture operating at 440 V, 20 kHz, single phase, was selected. Photovoltaic and solar dynamic power generation subsystems were both studied. Major tradeoffs were made for each subsystem and for the overall system, and a hybrid system (both photovoltaic and solar dynamic) was selected.

Nored, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Maintainability planning for the Space Station

The planned NASA Space Station, which is expected to have many years of on-orbit operation, for the first time confronts spacecraft designers with major questions of maintainability in design. A Maintainability Guidelines Document has been distributed to all Space Station Definition and Preliminary Design personnel of the Space Station Program Office. Trade studies are being performed to determine the most economical balance between initial (reliability) cost and life cycle cost (crew time and replacement hardware) costs.

Egan, G. R.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Electrical power system for the U.S. Space Station

The Space Station Electrical Power System presents many interesting challenges. It will be much larger than previous space power systems, and it must be designed for on-orbit maintenance and replacement, along with having a growth capability. The power generation, energy storage, and power management and distribution (PMAD) subsystems comprise the primary elements of the overall system. Each was analyzed by NASA Lewis Research Center and its two contractors Rocketdyne and TRW - in the definition studies of the program to determine the optimum approach to minimize initial costs and life cycle costs. For the PMAD subsystem, a ring bus architecture operating at 440 V, 20 kHz, single phase, was selected. Photovoltaic and solar dynamic power generation subsystems were both studied. Major tradeoffs were made for each subsystem and for the overall system, and a hybrid system (both photovoltaic and solar dynamic) was selected.

Nored, D. L.↗

NASA NTRS2016

TAT-C: A Trade-Space Analysis Tool for Constellations

Under a changing technological and economic environment, there is growing interest in implementing future NASA Earth Science missions as Distributed Spacecraft Missions (DSM). The objective of our project is to provide a framework that facilitates DSM Pre-Phase A investigations and optimizes DSM designs with respect to a-priori Science goals. In this first version of our Trade-space Analysis Tool for Constellations (TAT-C), we are investigating questions such as: Which type of constellations should be chosen? How many spacecraft should be included in the constellation? Which design has the best costrisk value? This paper describes the overall architecture of TAT-C including: a User Interface (UI) interacting with multiple users - scientists, missions designers or program managers; an Executive Driver gathering requirements from UI and formulating Trade-space Search Requests for the Trade-space Search Iterator, which in collaboration with the Orbit Coverage, Reduction Metrics, and Cost Risk modules generates multiple potential architectures and their associated characteristics. UI will include Graphical, Command Line and Application Programmer Interfaces to respond to the demands of various levels of users expertise. Science inputs are grouped into various mission concepts, satellite specifications, and payload specifications, while science outputs are grouped into several types of metrics - spatial, temporal, angular and radiometric. Orbit Coverage leverages the use of the Goddard Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) to compute coverage and ancillary data that are passed to Reduction Metrics. Then, for each architecture design, Cost Risk will provide estimates of the cost and life cycle cost as well as technical and cost risk of the proposed mission. Additionally, the Knowledge Base module is a centralized store of structured data readable by humans and machines. It will support both TAT-C analysis when composing new mission concepts from existing model inputs, and TAT-C exploration when discovering new mission concepts by querying previous results.

Science Data Processing↗

NASA NTRS2016

Humans to Mars Will Cost About "Half a Trillion Dollars" and Life Support Roughly Two Billion Dollars

A recent estimate of the cost of the first human mission to Mars suggests that it could cost half a trillion dollars. This estimate is consistent with most past estimates. A similar cost number can easily be derived using mass-cost estimating factors based on the International Space Station (ISS) and other experience. Using the same cost factors and life cycle cost estimating approach, the cost of the life support for the Mars mission could be two billion dollars or more. The cost to go to Mars is expected to be two or three times that of either Apollo, space shuttle, or ISS and could be as much as all three together.

Jones, Harry W.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Coalition for Community-Supported Affordable Geothermal Energy Systems (C2SAGES)

The C2SAGES project evaluated the feasibility of a community geothermal system for the planned Windy Ridge affordable housing development in Hinesburg, Vermont. Led by GTI Energy with Vermont Gas Systems, LN Consulting, NREL, and Frontier Energy, the work assessed technical design, energy performance, costs, business models, community engagement, maintenance, workforce development, and permitting. The proposed system was designed to serve 100% of the development’s heating, cooling, and domestic hot water loads. Compared with a baseline using air-source heat pumps and natural gas water heating, the geothermal system was estimated to reduce HVAC and domestic hot water energy use by about 45% to 48%, lower operating and maintenance costs, and reduce 30-year life-cycle costs by 37% for Phase 1 and 10% for Phase 2. Technical testing and modeling indicated that the Windy Ridge site is suitable for a community-scale geothermal system. The project also developed borehole field layouts, piping concepts, pump house designs, controls, maintenance plans, and supporting engineering drawings. The business model analysis found that first cost, ownership structure, and customer affordability remain major deployment challenges. Utility-led maintenance and operation were viewed favorably, but traditional utility cost-recovery models may require subsidy or revised financing structures to be practical for affordable housing. Community engagement highlighted the need for clear public education, transparent financing, reliable long-term maintenance, trained technicians, and the potential to pair geothermal systems with weatherization. Overall, the report concludes that community geothermal is technically feasible and offers meaningful energy, emissions, and life-cycle cost benefits, but broader deployment will depend on workable financing models and workforce readiness.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1982

Gallium arsenide solar array subsystem study

The effects on life cycle costs of a number of technology areas are examined for a gallium arsenide space solar array. Four specific configurations were addressed: (1) a 250 KWe LEO mission - planer array; (2) a 250 KWe LEO mission - with concentration; (3) a 50 KWe GEO mission planer array; (4) a 50 KWe GEO mission - with concentration. For each configuration, a baseline system conceptual design was developed and the life cycle costs estimated in detail. The baseline system requirements and design technologies were then varied and their relationships to life cycle costs quantified. For example, the thermal characteristics of the baseline design are determined by the array materials and masses. The thermal characteristics in turn determine configuration, performance, and hence life cycle costs.

Miller, F. Q.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Reliability and Maintainability Engineering - A Major Driver for Safety and Affordability

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is in the midst of an effort to design and build a safe and affordable heavy lift vehicle to go to the moon and beyond. To achieve that, NASA is seeking more innovative and efficient approaches to reduce cost while maintaining an acceptable level of safety and mission success. One area that has the potential to contribute significantly to achieving NASA safety and affordability goals is Reliability and Maintainability (R&M) engineering. Inadequate reliability or failure of critical safety items may directly jeopardize the safety of the user(s) and result in a loss of life. Inadequate reliability of equipment may directly jeopardize mission success. Systems designed to be more reliable (fewer failures) and maintainable (fewer resources needed) can lower the total life cycle cost. The Department of Defense (DOD) and industry experience has shown that optimized and adequate levels of R&M are critical for achieving a high level of safety and mission success, and low sustainment cost. Also, lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program clearly demonstrated the importance of R&M engineering in designing and operating safe and affordable launch systems. The Challenger and Columbia accidents are examples of the severe impact of design unreliability and process induced failures on system safety and mission success. These accidents demonstrated the criticality of reliability engineering in understanding component failure mechanisms and integrated system failures across the system elements interfaces. Experience from the shuttle program also shows that insufficient Reliability, Maintainability, and Supportability (RMS) engineering analyses upfront in the design phase can significantly increase the sustainment cost and, thereby, the total life cycle cost. Emphasis on RMS during the design phase is critical for identifying the design features and characteristics needed for time efficient processing, improved operational availability, and optimized maintenance and logistic support infrastructure. This paper discusses the role of R&M in a program acquisition phase and the potential impact of R&M on safety, mission success, operational availability, and affordability. This includes discussion of the R&M elements that need to be addressed and the R&M analyses that need to be performed in order to support a safe and affordable system design. The paper also provides some lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program on the impact of R&M on safety and affordability.

Safie, Fayssal M.↗

DOE OSTI2026

Solar Photovoltaics Resilient Fasteners Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) Tool

Solar photovoltaics (PV) module fasteners are one of the most common structural failure points on PV systems, particularly in high winds and coastal areas with ocean spray. Some fastener types have been shown to survive these conditions at higher rates than others. The fastener type, material, quantity, and placement all impact performance. Fasteners that fail less often typically have a higher upfront cost, but this investment can pay off in savings from less frequent torque audits (which reduces O&M costs), reduced system damage, and decreased system downtime. We developed an Excel-based tool to evaluate different module fasteners for a PV system - either a new or retrofit project - and compare differences in upfront and outyear costs to determine the expected life cycle costs and simple payback periods of different fastener options. The tool is site-specific, with inputs including system attributes (such as system size, location, price of power) and fastener attributes (such as design, washer type, nut type, use of locking hardware, materials, installation time, and torque audit requirements). A baseline fastener scenario can be compared to up to four proposed fastener scenarios. In addition to presenting expected life cycle cost implications of the different fastener options, the tool produces results showing the reductions in outyear costs needed to offset any initial cost premiums for more reliable fasteners across four categories: preventative O&M, avoided damage, reduced downtime, and reduced insurance premiums. These numbers can serve as decision aids for users when considering fastener options on new or existing projects. This poster will present the tool, methodology, and scenarios using example sites to highlight the tool capabilities and how it can inform different fastener decisions on different projects. Future work includes incorporating lifetime expected damage costs by embedding damage function curves that the authors are developing from field data.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Life-cycle cost-benefit analysis of a novel self-heating pavement made from coal-derived solid carbon

Winter weather events challenge the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of roadway networks, particularly road bridges vulnerable to climate impacts. Although effective, conventional de-icing methods incur high expenses and cause significant environmental contamination. To address these longstanding issues, a low-cost novel coal-derived carbon enabled smart pavement (CDC-SP) de-icing system was developed, aiming to alleviate traffic delays, severe corrosion, compromised safety, and environmental pollution. However, the economic performance of CDC-SP has not been quantified to guide decision-making. To this end, this paper presents a Life-Cycle Cost-Benefit Analysis (LCCBA) to assess the economic feasibility of the CDC-SP de-icing system for road bridges in five representative urban and rural areas across cool humid and cold humid climate zones. Given the variations and uncertainties of several factors that determine the costs and benefits, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the system’s economic reliability. Additionally, a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) was performed to quantify the impacts of important factors and identify the most beneficial scenarios. Furthermore, the CDC-SP de-icing systems have demonstrated substantial economic benefits and short payback periods, showing great applicability for rural and urban road bridges with different service levels across multiple climate zones as compared to conventional de-icing methods.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1994

Power systems for future missions

A comprehensive scenario of future missions was developed and applicability of different power technologies to these missions was assessed. Detailed technology development roadmaps for selected power technologies were generated. A simple methodology to evaluate economic benefits of current and future power system technologies by comparing Life Cycle Costs of potential missions was developed. The methodology was demonstrated by comparing Life Cycle Costs for different implementation strategies of DIPS/CBC technology to a selected set of missions.

Gill, S. P.↗