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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2018

How Do You Go From a Concept Idea to a NASA Selected Mission? Formulating the Psyche Discovery Mission with JPL's Concurrent Engineering Teams

JPL’s Office of Formulation provides continuity of support and access to domain subject matter experts, as Principal Investigators mature their mission concepts from “cocktail napkin” ideas to Preliminary Design Reviews [1]. Using NASA’s Psyche mission as a case study, we describe JPL’s concurrent engineering A-Team and Team X support to the Psyche competed concept study team in the areas of 1) Initial Feasibility, 2) Trade Space Exploration, 3) Spacecraft Point Design and Cost Estimate, 4) Science, Technical, Management, and Cost Review, and 5) Strategy and Communication Development. NASA’s Psyche Discovery-class mission started as a grassroots idea from Principal Investigator L.T. ElkinsTanton. Is there a compelling Discovery mission to visit the interior of a body for the first time, by sending a mission to an iron metal asteroid? In less than five years the Psyche concept was selected as a mission under NASA’s Discovery Program. While Psyche had a dedicated concept development team [2], they utilized JPL’s concurrent engineering teams, methods, analysis tools, and subject matter experts throughout their mission concept formulation lifecycle

Ziemer, John↗
NASA NTRS2003

Radiative Enhancement Effects on Flame Spread (REEFS) Project Studied "Green House" Effects on Fire Spread

The Radiative Enhancement Effects on Flame Spread (REEFS) project, slated for flight aboard the International Space Station, reached a major milestone by holding its Science Concept Review this year. REEFS is led by principal investigator Paul Ronney from the University of Southern California in conjunction with a project team from the NASA Glenn Research Center. The study is focusing on flame spread over flat solid fuel beds to improve our understanding of more complex fires, such as those found in manned spacecraft and terrestrial buildings. The investigation has direct implications for fire safety, both for space and Earth applications, and extends previous work with emphasis on the atmospheres and flow environments likely to be present in fires that might occur in microgravity. These atmospheres will contain radiatively active gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) from combustion products, and likely gaseous fuels such as carbon monoxide (CO) from incomplete combustion of solid fuel, as well as flows induced by ventilation currents. During tests in the 2.2-Second Drop Tower and KC-135 aircraft at Glenn, the principal investigator introduced the use of foam fuels for flame spread experiments over thermally thick fuels to obtain large spread rates in comparison to those of dense fuels such as PMMA. This enables meaningful results to be obtained even in the 2.2 s available in drop tower experiments.

Gokoglu, Suleyman A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

An expert system to advise astronauts during experiments: The protocol manager module

Perhaps the scarcest resource for manned flight experiments - on Spacelab or on the Space Station Freedom - will continue to be crew time. To maximize the efficiency of the crew and to make use of their abilities to work as scientist collaborators as well as equipment operators, normally requires more training in a wide variety of disciplines than is practical. The successful application of on-board expert systems, as envisioned by the Principal Investigator in a Box program, should alleviate the training bottleneck and provide the astronaut with the guidance and coaching needed to permit him or her to operate an experiment according to the desires and knowledge of the PI, despite changes in conditions. The Protocol Manager module of the system is discussed. The Protocol Manager receives experiment data that has been summarized and categorized by the other modules. The Protocol Manager acts on the data in real-time, by employing expert system techniques. Its recommendations are based on heuristics provided by the Principal Investigator in charge of the experiment. This prototype was developed on a Macintosh II by employing CLIPS, a forward-chaining rule-based system, and HyperCard as an object-oriented user interface builder.

Haymann-Haber, Guido↗
NASA NTRS1986

Science opportunities from the Topex/Poseidon mission

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) propose to conduct a Topex/Poseidon Mission for studying the global ocean circulation from space. The mission will use the techniques of satellite altimetry to make precise and accurate measurements of sea level for several years. The measurements will then be used by Principal Investigators (selected by NASA and CNES) and by the wider oceanographic community working closely with large international programs for observing the Earth, on studies leading to an improved understanding of global ocean dynamics and the interaction of the ocean with other processes influencing life on Earth. The major elements of the mission include a satellite carrrying an altimetric system for measuring the height of the satellite above the sea surface; a precision orbit determination system for referring the altimetric measurements to geodetic coordinates; a data analysis and distribution system for processing the satellite data, verifying their accuracy, and making them available to the scientific community; and a principal investigator program for scientific studies based on the satellite observations. This document describes the satellite, its sensors, its orbit, the data analysis system, and plans for verifying and distributing the data. It then discusses the expected accuracy of the satellite's measurements and their usefulness to oceanographic, geophysical, and other scientific studies. Finally, it outlines the relationship of the Topex/Poseidon mission to other large programs, including the World Climate Research Program, the U.S. Navy's Remote Ocean Sensing System satellite program and the European Space Agency's ERS-1 satellite program.

Stewart, R.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Telescience Operations on International Space Station

This paper describes the concept of telescience operations for the International Space Station (ISS). The extended duration microgravity environment of the ISS will enable microgravity science research to enter into a new era of increased scientific and technological data return. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has a vision of distributed ground operations which enables the Principal Investigator direct interaction with his/her on-board experiment from his/her home location. This is the concept of telescience and is essential for maximizing the use of the long duration science environment that ISS provides. The goal of telescience is to provide the capability to fully tele-operate an experiment from any ground location in such a way as to increase the amount and quality of scientific and technological data return and decrease the operations cost of an individual experiment relative to the era of Space Shuttle experiments. This paper also describes the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) implementation approach for the LeRC Telescience Support Center (TSC) and Principal Investigator Science Operations Sites (SOS) which will fully meet the concept of telescience as prescribed by the Agency.

Schubert, Kathleen E.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Astrometric and Photometric Follow-Up of Faint Near Earth Objects

During the last year, the Near-Earth Object (NEO) follow-up program at Mt. Hopkins funded by the Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) program continued to improve. The Principal Investigator was again granted all the requested observing time. In addition to the requested time on the 4 8 in. telescope, 2 nights were also granted on the MMT for observations of extremely faint main-belt asteroids and NEOs. It is expected that the MMT can easily reach V = 25 over a 24 X 24 arcminute field of view. Improvements in the last year included more tweaks to the automatic astrometric routine for higher-quality astrometric fits. Use of the new USNO-B1.0 reference catalog has allowed the PI to push the average RMS of reference star solutions below 0.2 in.. Shift-and- stack techniques are used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the target objects. The 48 in. telescope at Mt. Hopkins is completely automated, and can be run remotely from either the Principal Investigator's office at SAO, or even his study at home. Most observing runs are now done remotely.

Spahr, Timothy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optical Particle Measurements during EPCAPE Field Campaign Report

This campaign requested the deployment of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility optical particle counter (OPC) at the first ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1) located at the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California during the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE). The addition of the OPC was requested for two reasons. (1) Close the gap between the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) size distribution from the Aerosol Observing System (AOS) measurements. (2) Principal investigator Petters has been working with Tracking Aerosol Convection Interaction Experiment (TRACER) data to compute particle fluxes from Doppler lidar (Petters et al. 2024). Briefly, backscatter flux is obtained using the eddy covariance technique using the Doppler vertical velocity and attenuated backscatter. Building upon prior studies, we were able to relate backscatter to particle number concentration by calibrating the lidar retrievals against optical particle counter-measured ground-based aerosol size distribution and radiosonde-interpolated relative humidity at lidar sample height. Performing similar analysis was of interest to EPCAPE to better understand the emissions and vertical transport of large particles into the overlying stratus clouds. However, as stated above, this analysis requires an optical size distribution that covers the 0.3-30-μm-diameter size range. The OPC was deployed between 2023-04-14 and 2024-02-14. The deployment, data quality analysis, and data archiving was handled by the DOE ARM instrument mentor team without additional involvement by the principal investigator. Data quality was marked as “routine” for the majority of the campaign.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2016

Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute: Year Three Annual Report 2016

NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) is pleased to present the 2016 Annual Report. Each year brings new scientific discoveries, technological breakthroughs, and collaborations. The integration of basic research and development, industry and academic partnerships, plus the leveraging of existing technologies, has further opened a scientific window into human exploration. SSERVI sponsorship by the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) continues to enable the exchange of insights between the human exploration and space science communities, paving a clearer path for future space exploration. SSERVI provides a unique environment for scientists and engineers to interact within multidisciplinary research teams. As a virtual institute, the best teaming arrangements can be made irrespective of the geographical location of individuals or laboratory facilities. The interdisciplinary science that ensues from virtual and in-person interactions, both within the teams and across team lines, provides answers to questions that many times cannot be foreseen. Much of this research would not be accomplished except for the catalyzing, collaborative environment enabled by SSERVI. The SSERVI Central Office, located at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, provides the leadership, guidance and technical support that steers the virtual institute. At the start of 2016, our institute had nine U.S. teams, each mid-way through their five-year funding cycle, plus nine international partnerships. However, by the end of the year we were well into the selection of four new domestic teams, selected through NASA's Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) process, and a new international partnership. Understanding that human and robotic exploration is most successful as an international endeavor, international partnerships collaborate with SSERVI domestic teams on a no-exchange of funds basis, but they bring a richness to the institute that is priceless. The international partner teams interact with the domestic teams in a number of ways, including sharing students, scientific insights, and access to facilities. We are proud to introduce our newest partnership with the Astrophysics and Planetology Research Institute (IRAP) in Toulouse, France. In 2016, Principal Investigator Dr. Patrick Pinet assembled a group of French researchers who will contribute scientific and technological expertise related to SSERVI research. SSERVI's domestic teams compete for five-year funding opportunities through proposals to a NASA CAN every few years. Having overlapping proposal selection cycles allows SSERVI to be more responsive to any change in direction NASA might experience, while providing operational continuity for the institute. Allowing new teams to blend with the more seasoned teams preserves corporate memory and expands the realm of collaborative possibilities. A key component of SSERVI's mission is to grow and maintain an integrated research community focused on questions related to the Moon, Near-Earth asteroids, and the moons of Mars. The strong community response to CAN-2 demonstrated the health of that effort. NASA Headquarters conducted the peer-review of 22 proposals early in 2017 and, based on recommendations from the SSERVI Central Office and NASA SSERVI program officers, the NASA selecting officials determined the new teams in the spring of 2017. We are pleased to welcome the CAN-2 teams into the institute, and look forward to the collaborations that will develop with the current teams. The new teams are: The Network for Exploration and Space Science (NESS) team (Principal Investigator (PI) Prof. Jack Burns/U. Colorado); the Exploration Science Pathfinder Research for Enhancing Solar System Observations (ESPRESSO) team (PI Dr. Alex Parker/Southwest Research Institute); the Toolbox for Research and Exploration (TREX) team (PI Dr. Amanda Hendrix/ Planetary Science Institute); and the Radiation Effects on Volatiles and Exploration of Asteroids & Lunar Surfaces (REVEALS) team (PI Prof. Thomas Orlando/ Georgia Institute of Technology). In this report, you will find an overview of the 2016 leadership activities of the SSERVI Central Office, reports prepared by the U.S. teams from CAN-1, and achievements from several of the SSERVI international partners. Reflecting on the past year's discoveries and advancements serves as a potent reminder that there is still a great deal to learn about NASA's target destinations. Innovation in the way we access, sample, measure, visualize, and assess our target destinations is needed for further discovery. At the same time, let us celebrate how far we have come, and strongly encourage a new generation that will make the most of future opportunities.

Pendleton, Yvonne↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bragg edge imaging (BEI) of B12W and M8N socket sections of the Arecibo telescope

From neutron user principal investigator: We kindly request the public release of three neutron imaging datasets through ONCat. All datasets were collected from two forensic specimens, B12W and M8N, sectioned from zinc-filled steel-wire sockets recovered from the collapsed Arecibo Telescope. The dataset titled “Neutron radiographs of B12W and M8N socket sections of the Arecibo telescope” contains normalized two-dimensional (2D) neutron radiographs of the specimens, showing the geometry and spatial distribution of the steel wires embedded within the zinc matrix, as well as internal features such as voids and cracks. The dataset titled “Neutron computed tomography of B12W and M8N socket sections of the Arecibo telescope” contains normalized 2D neutron projection images acquired over a range of specimen rotation angles for one selected region of each specimen. These projection images were used to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) tomographic volumes that reveal the embedded-wire geometry and internal defects. The dataset titled “Bragg edge imaging (BEI) of B12W and M8N socket sections of the Arecibo telescope” contains six time-of-flight (TOF) neutron imaging datasets, three from each specimen, acquired at regions of interest selected based on the radiographs. The spatially resolved 2D TOF images show the zinc matrix and embedded steel wires, and the wavelength-dependent neutron transmission data were used to characterize crystallographic texture within the zinc. All components and their condition are in the public domain as they are the property of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The neutron imaging data, part geometries, and detailed forensic information have been widely published in the Arecibo Telescope Collapse Forensic Report by Thornton Tomasetti Engineers and others (NASA report and NASEM report).

Bilheux, Hassina↗
DOE OSTI2023

Shock-induced metallization of polystyrene along the principal Hugoniot investigated by advanced thermal density functionals

To date, none of the ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations of polystyrene, often used as an ablator material in inertial confinement fusion targets, with the standard ground-state exchange-correlation (XC) functional in density-functional theory can satisfactorily agree with experiments in terms of reflectivity measurements. Here, we use recently developed thermal strongly constrained and appropriately normed Laplacian dependent meta-generalized gradient approximation XC density functional (T-SCAN-L) and thermal hybrid XC density functional (KDT0) to show that the inclusion of thermal and inhomogeneity effects is crucial for accurate prediction of structural evolution and corresponding insulator-metal transition (IMT) during shock compression. Optical reflectivity calculated as an indicator of IMT is in perfect accord with experimental data.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Innovative Joints for High-Temperature Superconducting Tapes

The CRADA was terminated due to changes in the Participant's business priorities. Brookhaven National Laboratory’s involvement was limited to meetings with the Participant and preliminary investigations conducted by the Principal Investigator. No technical milestones or outcomes were achieved prior to termination.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Reports of planetary astronomy - 1991

This publication provides information about currently funded scientific research projects conducted in the Planetary Astronomy Program during 1991, and consists of two main sections. The first section gives a summary of research objectives, past accomplishments, and projected future investigations, as submitted by each principal investigator. In the second section, recent scientifically significant accomplishments within the Program are highlighted.

Rahe, Jurgen↗
NASA NTRS2000

Ion Mass Spectrometer for Sporadic-E Rocket Experiments

NASA grant NAG5-5086 provided funding for the William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) to design, fabricate, calibrate, and ultimately fly two ion mass spectrometer instruments on a pair of sounding rocket payloads. Drs. R.A. Heelis and G.D. Earle from UTD were co-investigators on the project. The principal investigator for both rocket experiments was Dr. Robert Pfaff of the Goddard Space Flight Center. The overall project title was "Rocket/Radar Investigation of Lower Ionospheric Electrodynamics Associated with Intense Mid-Latitude Sporadic-E Layers". This report describes the overall objectives of the project, summarizes the instrument design and flight experiment details, and presents representative data obtained during the flights.

Heelis, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Metal Mesh Fabrication and Testing for Infrared Astronomy and ISO Science Programs; ISO GO Data Analysis and LWS Instrument Team Activities

This research program addresses astrophysics research with the Infrared Space Observatory's Long Wavelength Spectrometer (ISO-LWS), including efforts to supply ISO-LWS with superior metal mesh filters. This grant has, over the years, enabled Dr. Smith in his role as a Co-Investigator on the satellite, the PI (Principal Investigator) on the Extragalactic Science Team, and a member of the Calibration and performance working groups. The emphasis of the budget in this proposal is in support of Dr. Smith's Infrared Space Observatory research. This program began (under a different grant number) while Dr. Smith was at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, and was transferred to SAO with a change in number. While Dr. Smith was a visiting Discipline Scientist at NASA HQ the program was in abeyance, but it has resumed in full since his return to SAO. The Infrared Space Observatory mission was launched in November, 1996, and since then has successfully completed its planned lifetime mission. Data are currently being calibrated to the 2% level.

Smith, Howard A.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Introduction to ISS Crew Displays

The International Space Station (ISS) began payload operations in earnest in 2000 with the arrival of the Expedition 1. To date, ISS has offered Principal Investigators (PIs) a reliable platform for microgravity research, having hosted thousands of onboard science experiments. Most of this research is supported by experiment hardware and software and many include a crew‐operated Graphical User Interface (GUI). The purpose of this article is to share information with PIs and Payload Developer (PD) teams about the processes, standards, and guidelines applicable to crew GUI design that must be complied with when planning payload software. The goal is not to enumerate all of the ISS display standards, but rather to highlight design guidelines and the ISS Program milestones for verification and approval of onboard crew displays.

Graphical User Interface↗
NASA NTRS1993

LDEF data: Comparisons with existing models

The relationship between the observed cratering impact damage on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) versus the existing models for both the natural environment of micrometeoroids and the man-made debris was investigated. Experimental data was provided by several LDEF Principal Investigators, Meteoroid and Debris Special Investigation Group (M&D SIG) members, and by the Kennedy Space Center Analysis Team (KSC A-Team) members. These data were collected from various aluminum materials around the LDEF satellite. A PC (personal computer) computer program, SPENV, was written which incorporates the existing models of the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. This program calculates the expected number of impacts per unit area as functions of altitude, orbital inclination, time in orbit, and direction of the spacecraft surface relative to the velocity vector, for both micrometeoroids and man-made debris. Since both particle models are couched in terms of impact fluxes versus impactor particle size, and much of the LDEF data is in the form of crater production rates, scaling laws have been used to relate the two. Also many hydrodynamic impact computer simulations were conducted, using CTH, of various impact events, that identified certain modes of response, including simple metallic target cratering, perforations and delamination effects of coatings.

Coombs, Cassandra R.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Physical sciences research plans for the International Space Station

The restructuring of the research capabilities of the International Space Station has forced a reassessment of the Physical Sciences research plans and a re-targeting of the major scientific thrusts. The combination of already selected peer-reviewed flight investigations with the initiation of new research and technology programs will allow the maximization of the ISS scientific and technological potential. Fundamental and applied research will use a combination of ISS-based facilities, ground-based activities, and other experimental platforms to address issues impacting fundamental knowledge, industrial and medical applications on Earth, and the technology required for human space exploration. The current flight investigation research plan shows a large number of principal investigators selected to use the remaining planned research facilities. c2003 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

manned↗
NASA NTRS1963

Goddard summer workshop program in measurement and simulation of the space environment final report, jun. 18 - sep. 18, 1963

This Final Report describes the actual studies conducted by four Summer Workshop teams. The problems they tackled were suggested by various Goddard activities. All scientific groups within GSFC were invited to submit problems which they desired to be investigated in-house by the Summer Workshop. The groups met with the principal investigator (a visiting professor) of each team in a pre-Workshop conference held in May. Priorities were assigned to the many items submitted and a study program was formulated. Among the principal factors which determined the areas selected for investigation were: the time element, the availability of professor-specialists representing particular disciplines, and the Center's ability to support the effort in providing needed facilities and work space.

SIMULATION↗