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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

Summary of Research Issues in Behavior and Performance in Isolated and Confined Extreme (ICE) Environments

The papers presented in this section describe changes in behavior and performance in various isolated and confined extreme (ICE) environments, including Antarctic expeditions and research stations, space simulators and isolation chambers, and submarines. Each of these environments possesses characteristics that are in some way analogous to those found on long-duration space missions. Despite differences in length of mission, characteristics of mission personnel or crew, and characteristics in the physical environment, the various ICE environments described in this collection of papers appear to produce similar changes in behavior and performance. These changes include increased disturbances of mood, increased rates of psychiatric disorder, increased interpersonal tension, and a disruption of circadian rhythms. However, these environments do not inherently produce decrements in performance. Palinkas and colleagues suggest that prolonged exposure to the isolation and confinement in the Antarctic can actually have positive or "salutogenic" effects as well, evidenced by a decrease in mood disturbances and increase in performance measures.

Palinkas, Lawrence A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Space shuttle L-tube radiator testing

A series of tests were conducted to support the development of the Orbiter Heat Rejection System. The details of the baseline radiator were defined by designing, fabricating, and testing representative hardware. The tests were performed in the Space Environmental Simulation Laboratory Chamber A. An IR source was used to simulate total solar and infrared environmental loads on the flowing shuttle radiators panel. The thermal and mechanical performance of L tube space radiators and their thermal coating were established.

Phillips, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1960

Spectral Emittance and Reflectance Measurements at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

In late 1959 a spectrophotometer laboratory was established at JPL to be used as a support for temperature-control programs. The immediate task was spectroradiometric measurements of light sources to be used in a simulated-deep-space environment chamber. It was also necessary to have permanent provisions for measuring reflectances of surfaces for the calculation of solar absorptance alpha, and thermal emittance epsilon. The spectral distribution of an unknown source, in this case a Ventarc carbon-arc lamp, was derived from the ratio of detector outputs (with monochromatic light) of the arc lamp and a tungsten lamp, and the spectral intensity of the tungsten lamp. The tungsten lamp is a ribbonfilament lamp calibrated from 0.25 to 2.6 microns. A recording of pen deflection (linearly proportional to detector output) of each source over the visible and near infrared range is made with all parameters (slit width, amplifier gain, and source focusing) identical; then the ratios are computed at discrete wavelengths from these recordings. Because the spectral intensities of the tungsten lamp and a solar simulator are very different in most of the range, an adjustable slit is placed immediately in front of the detector to obtain comparable pen deflections for the two sources. This slit is set by means of a feeler gage, and the attenuation coefficient is evaluated by a transmission measurement.

Maclay, James E.↗
NASA NTRS2008

25th Space Simulation Conference. Environmental Testing: The Earth-Space Connection

Topics covered include: Methods of Helium Injection and Removal for Heat Transfer Augmentation; The ESA Large Space Simulator Mechanical Ground Support Equipment for Spacecraft Testing; Temperature Stability and Control Requirements for Thermal Vacuum/Thermal Balance Testing of the Aquarius Radiometer; The Liquid Nitrogen System for Chamber A: A Change from Original Forced Flow Design to a Natural Flow (Thermo Siphon) System; Return to Mercury: A Comparison of Solar Simulation and Flight Data for the MESSENGER Spacecraft; Floating Pressure Conversion and Equipment Upgrades of Two 3.5kw, 20k, Helium Refrigerators; Affect of Air Leakage into a Thermal-Vacuum Chamber on Helium Refrigeration Heat Load; Special ISO Class 6 Cleanroom for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Project; A State-of-the-Art Contamination Effects Research and Test Facility Martian Dust Simulator; Cleanroom Design Practices and Their Influence on Particle Counts; Extra Terrestrial Environmental Chamber Design; Contamination Sources Effects Analysis (CSEA) - A Tool to Balance Cost/Schedule While Managing Facility Availability; SES and Acoustics at GSFC; HST Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier (SLIC) Static Test; Virtual Shaker Testing: Simulation Technology Improves Vibration Test Performance; Estimating Shock Spectra: Extensions beyond GEVS; Structural Dynamic Analysis of a Spacecraft Multi-DOF Shaker Table; Direct Field Acoustic Testing; Manufacture of Cryoshroud Surfaces for Space Simulation Chambers; The New LOTIS Test Facility; Thermal Vacuum Control Systems Options for Test Facilities; Extremely High Vacuum Chamber for Low Outgassing Processing at NASA Goddard; Precision Cleaning - Path to Premier; The New Anechoic Shielded Chambers Designed for Space and Commercial Applications at LIT; Extraction of Thermal Performance Values from Samples in the Lunar Dust Adhesion Bell Jar; Thermal (Silicon Diode) Data Acquisition System; Aquarius's Instrument Science Data System (ISDS) Automated to Acquire, Process, Trend Data and Produce Radiometric System Assessment Reports; Exhaustive Thresholds and Resistance Checkpoints; Reconfigurable HIL Testing of Earth Satellites; FPGA Control System for the Automated Test of MicroShutters; Ongoing Capabilities and Developments of Re-Entry Plasma Ground Tests at EADS-ASTRIUM; Operationally Responsive Space Standard Bus Battery Thermal Balance Testing and Heat Dissipation Analysis; Galileo - The Serial-Production AIT Challenge; The Space Systems Environmental Test Facility Database (SSETFD), Website Development Status; Simulated Reentry Heating by Torching; Micro-Vibration Measurements on Thermally Loaded Multi-Layer Insulation Samples in Vacuum; High Temperature Life Testing of 80Ni-20Cr Wire in a Simulated Mars Atmosphere for the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suit Gas Processing System (GPS) Carbon Dioxide Scrubber; The Planning and Implementation of Test Facility Improvements; and Development of a Silicon Carbide Molecular Beam Nozzle for Simulation Planetary Flybys and Low-Earth Orbit.

Packard, Edward↗
NASA NTRS1974

A remote operation quadrupole mass spectrometer using a custom radio-frequency link approach

A commercial quadrupole mass spectrometer (residual gas analyzer, RGA) system has been modified to operate at large separations of its electronics console and sensing head. The methods implemented have made practical applications, as well as operation, of such a system possible for the first time. This advance was stimulated by a need for placing sensors at remote (45 or 60 m) chamber locations for space simulation testing of orbital flight spacecraft. Emphasis is placed on instrument functional requirements and describing the hardware changes and adjustment techniques necessary to assure operation at the extended cable lengths.

Tashbar, P. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Centaur D-1A nose fairing jettison test

An experimental investigation was conducted to verify the functional and structural capability of the Centaur D-1A nose fairing. A full-scale flight-type nose fairing was jettisoned at the Lewis Research Center Space Power Chamber at simulated altitude. Two complete jettisons of the nose fairing were performed, one without aft helper springs and one with aft helper springs. A ''static'' rotation test was also performed to verify capability of the helper springs and to allow clearance measurements between the nose fairing and spacecraft envelope mock-up at certain discrete nose fairing rotation angles. Nose fairing trajectories, structural deflections, clearances, and hinge forces during jettison are presented. Data from subsequent Centaur D-1A flights, relative to nose fairing jettisons, are compared with the experimental results.

Prati, W. M.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Development of a self contained heat rejection module, phase 2 and 3

This is the final report for Phases II and III of the Development of a Self Contained Heat Rejection Module Program conducted under NASA contract NAS9-14408. The objective of this program was to perform detail design and construct a prototype test article Self Contained Heat Rejection Module (SHRM). Also to install this test article in the NASA/JSC Space Environment Simulation Laboratory Chamber A and conduct thermal vacuum demonstration and performance testing. The end product of this contract was the prototype hardware, the test article and the test results.

M L Fleming↗
NASA NTRS1976

Silver-Teflon coating improvement

Approximately forty adhesives were subjected to laboratory screening. Seven candidate adhesives were selected from the screening tests and evaluated in a thermal vacuum test on radiator panels similar to the anticipated flight hardware configuration. Several classes of adhesives based on epoxide, polyester, silicone, and urethane resin systems were tested. These included contact adhesives, heat cured adhesives, heat and pressure cured adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives, and two part paint-on or spray-on adhesives. The panels were tested in a space environmental simulation laboratory chamber during the July 9-20, 1973 time span.

Reed, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A study of the damping capacity of graphite epoxy composites in a vacuum

The damping properties of a graphite epoxy composite material (used in the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope) are measured under a variety of conditions in a vacuum chamber to simulate conditions in space. An improved method is proposed which utilizes several points of the response curve near a resonance to estimate the damping ratio and the undamped resonance frequency. The damping of a graphite epoxy tube is monitored for four weeks to study moisture desorption and temperature effects. A significant variation is observed in the damping ratio with temperature.

Rao, Mohan D.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Convert Ten Foot Environmental Test Chamber into an Ion Engine Test Chamber

The 10 Foot Space Simulator at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been used for the last 40 years to test numerous spacecraft, including the Ranger series, several Mariner class, among many others and finally, the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Rovers. The request was made to convert this facility to an Ion Engine test facility, with a possible long term life test. The Ion engine was to propel the Prometheus spacecraft to Jupiter's moons. This paper discusses the challenges that were met, both from a procedural and physical standpoint. The converted facility must operate unattended, support a 30 Kw Ion Engine, operate economically, and be easily converted back to former operation as a spacecraft test facility.

ion engines↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Updating the Thermal Vacuum Chambers at the NASA Johnson Space Center

Chambers A and B are two large thermal vacuum chambers at Johnson Space Center which enable space simulation for unmanned and human-rated missions, respectively. With the resurgence in deep space missions for scientific research and various private commercial ventures, these chambers are expected to be used frequently for at least the next decade. For qualifying the James Webb Space Telescope, upgrades to Chamber A were performed which included the addition of a 12.5 kW refrigeration system with helium shrouds capable of simulating deep space environment and an efficient and reliable LN2 natural flow thermosiphon system for the thermal shield. Continuous improvements since then have focused on ensuring operational readiness by modernizing the data acquisition, recording, controls, and visualization systems for both chambers and clean room. These upgrades will be the focus of this paper. Controlling the Cryochambers was enhanced by moving from a 32-bit SCADA system to a 64-bit architected system. Infrastructural changes involved installing redundant power circuits, adding new servers, network switches, and including load balancing with fail-over between servers to minimize downtime. Instead of distributed servers, 3 redundant servers are used to share configurations. Configurations are now kept in a shared SQL instance making it easy to deploy and maintain. During this upgrade process many sub-systems (PLCs and NI PXI interfaces to sensors) were upgraded from the prior OPC-DA to the more secure OPC-UA protocol. Cryo-system PLCs were updated to allow Ganni cycle floating pressure calculations from any cold box to be sent to any compressor. During the project, the team recreated over 70,000 live data points, 50000 historical data points, and 4000 alarms. Finally, the graphical interfaces were upgraded to support HTML 5 in conjunction shared pages were implemented reducing the total number of webpages by over 75%. These system updates reinvigorated the previous SCADA system which had reached its end of life. The same look and feel was maintained while providing operators with an updated interface to control, troubleshoot, and record. The new system architecture is more robust and easier to maintain creating a path forward to address remaining problem points and implement additional features.

Cody Schaefer↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Updating the Thermal Vacuum Chambers at the NASA Johnson Space Center

Chambers A and B are two large thermal vacuum chambers at Johnson Space Center which enable space simulation for unmanned and human-rated missions, respectively. With the resurgence in deep space missions for scientific research and various private commercial ventures, these chambers are expected to be used frequently for at least the next decade. For qualifying the James Webb Space Telescope, upgrades to Chamber A were performed which included the addition of a 12.5 kW refrigeration system with helium shrouds capable of simulating deep space environment and an efficient and reliable LN2 natural flow thermosiphon system for the thermal shield. Continuous improvements since then have focused on ensuring operational readiness by modernizing the data acquisition, recording, controls, and visualization systems for both chambers and clean room. These upgrades will be the focus of this paper. Controlling the Cryochambers was enhanced by moving from a 32-bit SCADA system to a 64-bit architected system. Infrastructural changes involved installing redundant power circuits, adding new servers, network switches, and including load balancing with fail-over between servers to minimize downtime. Instead of distributed servers, 3 redundant servers are used to share configurations. Configurations are now kept in a shared SQL instance making it easy to deploy and maintain. During this upgrade process many sub-systems (PLCs and NI PXI interfaces to sensors) were upgraded from the prior OPC-DA to the more secure OPC-UA protocol. Cryo-system PLCs were updated to allow Ganni cycle floating pressure calculations from any cold box to be sent to any compressor. During the project, the team recreated over 70,000 live data points, 50000 historical data points, and 4000 alarms. Finally, the graphical interfaces were upgraded to support HTML 5 in conjunction shared pages were implemented reducing the total number of webpages by over 75%. These system updates reinvigorated the previous SCADA system which had reached its end of life. The same look and feel was maintained while providing operators with an updated interface to control, troubleshoot, and record. The new system architecture is more robust and easier to maintain creating a path forward to address remaining problem points and implement additional features.

Cody Schaefer↗
NASA NTRS1982

The NASA Space Environment Simulation Laboratory

The NASA Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) features a chamber for studying specific space plasma physics phenomena. The test chamber, an upright domed cylinder having a 17 m diam and a 27 m height for an inner working volume, is lined with magnetic field generator coils. The chamber pressure is nominally 1/1,000,000th torr. Equipment positioning is carried out by remote control from outside guided by a closed circuit television system. Plasma is generated in the chamber by means of a 30 cm Kaufman thruster which produces ion densities of 100,000-1,000,000/cu cm. The ion bulk flow energy is in the range of 20-50 eV and a charge exchange with the ambient gas produces a cold isotropic ion component. Langmuir probes provide measurements of the electron temperature and density, and the composition and pressure are monitored by mass spectrometry and ion gages. Experiments have been performed on electron beam-plasma interactions, VLF antenna impedance measurements, and high voltage plasma sheaths which may be encountered by spacecraft.

Jost, R. J.↗