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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2019

Status of the Post Flight MMOD Inspection Campaign for the SpaceX Cargo Dragon

The SpaceX Cargo Dragon has been flying supply missions for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) since 2012. At the time of this writing, SpaceX has completed 14 missions to ISS with each returning to Earth via water landing. After each mission, a team from the NASA Johnson Space Center performs an inspection of the exterior surfaces of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft for hypervelocity impact damage features. Data from these inspections are collected into a database that includes impact feature dimensions as well as the location on the vehicle. Additional details on the type and size of particle that produced the damage site are pro-vided when sampling data and definitive spectroscopic analysis results are available. Observation data can be compared with impact estimates from risk assessment codes as a check on the micro-meteoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) environment predictions.

Hyde, James L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Unsteady Surface Pressures on the Space Launch System Block 1B Cargo Liftoff Configuration

A 1.75%-scale model of the NASA Space Launch System Block 1B Cargo vehicle was tested at the NASA Langley Research Center 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Tunnel. These experiments provided a test bed for validating unsteady surface pressure measurements acquired via lengths of pressure tubing and an ESP pressure scanner. Pressure was measured using an azimuthal array of pressure taps located on the nose of the Block 1B Cargo vehicle. Unique flow physics were observed in the wind tunnel test, especially the interaction between the launch vehicle and the support tower, which produced strong oscillations that were absent in the vehicle-alone configuration. It is suspected that a wake interaction produced resonant flow response when the tower is immediately downstream of the vehicle, and coherent pressure fluctuations were observed at all pressure taps in the azimuthal array.

Lee J Mears↗
DOE OSTI2022

Lipid composition for the delivery of therapeutic cargos

A construct includes a core comprising an external surface and a plurality of pores, a cargo disposed in a pore of the plurality of pores, the cargo comprising a CRISPR Cas9 component or a nucleic acid sequence encoding a CRISPR Cas9 component; and a coating coupled to the core, wherein the coating comprises a cationic lipid, a pegylated lipid, a zwitterionic lipid, and a sterol. The coating may comprise a molar ratio of about 1 cationic lipid to 1 zwitterionic lipid to 0.9 sterol to 0.15 PEGylated lipid, wherein each molar ratio optionally varies by about plus or minus 10%. A method of treatment is also provided.

Negrete, Oscar↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multifunctional Chiral Chemically‐Powered Micropropellers for Cargo Transport and Manipulation

Practical applications of synthetic self-propelled nano and microparticles for microrobotics, targeted drug delivery, and manipulation at the nanoscale are rapidly expanding. However, fabrication limitations often hinder progress, resulting in relatively simple shapes and limited functionality. Here, taking advantage of 3D nanoscale printing, chiral micropropellers powered by the hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction are fabricated. Due to their chirality, the propellers exhibit multifunctional behavior controlled by an applied magnetic field: spinning in place (loitering), directed migration in the prescribed direction, capture, and transport of polymer cargo particles. Design parameters of the propellers are optimized by computation modeling based on mesoscale molecular dynamics. It is predicted by computer simulations, and confirmed experimentally, that clockwise rotating propellers attract each other and counterclockwise repel. These results shed light on how chirality and shape optimization enhance the functionality of synthetic autonomous micromachines.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2006

Evaluation of High-Power Solar Electric Propulsion using Advanced Ion, Hall, MPD, and PIT Thrusters for Lunar and Mars Cargo Missions

This paper presents the results of mission analyses that expose the advantages and disadvantages of high-power (MWe-class) Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) for Lunar and Mars Cargo missions that would support human exploration of the Moon and Mars. In these analyses, we consider SEP systems using advanced Ion thrusters (the Xenon [Xe] propellant Herakles), Hall thrusters (the Bismuth [Bi] propellant Very High Isp Thruster with Anode Layer [VHITAL], magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters (the Lithium [Li] propellant Advanced Lithium-Fed, Applied-field Lorentz Force Accelerator (ALFA2), and pulsed inductive thruster (PIT) (the Ammonia [NH3] propellant Nuclear-PIT [NuPIT]). The analyses include comparison of the advanced-technology propulsion systems (VHITAL, ALFA2, and NuPIT) relative to state-of-theart Ion (Herakles) propulsion systems and quantify the unique benefits of the various technology options such as high power-per-thruster (and/or high power-per-thruster packaging volume), high specific impulse (Isp), high-efficiency, and tankage mass (e.g., low tankage mass due to the high density of bismuth propellant). This work is based on similar analyses for Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) systems.

Lunar cargo↗
DOE OSTI2026

N -Terminal Octylated Peptoid Hydrogels as 3D-Printable Cell Scaffolds and Proteolytically Robust Cargo Depots

Supramolecular hydrogels that mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) represent promising materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. However, conventional hydrogels formed via the self-assembly of natural or synthetic building blocks often face a trade-off between biological functionality and biochemical stability, limiting their utility in long-term or protease-rich environments. Peptoids, a class of peptide-inspired, sequence-defined polymers, offer a compelling alternative due to their exceptional proteolytic resistance and bioactivity. Despite this potential, the development of supramolecular peptoid hydrogels has been hindered by the absence of backbone hydrogen bond donors, which limits long-range ordering necessary for efficient hydrogel formation. This work describes a short peptoid functionalized at the N-terminus with an octyl chain that readily self-assembles into hydrogels. Hydrophobic interactions among pendant octyl groups promote directional peptoid packing into highly ordered nanosheets, which interconnect to form a porous hydrogel network. These hydrogels exhibit tunable viscoelasticity, shear-thinning, and self-healing properties, enabling their use as inks for extrusion-based 3D printing. They support NIH-3T3 fibroblast adhesion, spreading, and proliferation, maintaining greater than 95% cell viability over 4 days. Moreover, the hydrogels retain their macroscopic integrity under protease-rich conditions, enabling sustained cargo release and uniform cellular uptake. Together, this study demonstrates a class of supramolecular peptoid hydrogelators that integrate biocompatibility, 3D printability, and proteolytic stability, providing a versatile platform for ECMmimetic scaffolds in regenerative medicine and long-term therapeutic delivery.

cargo delivery↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hourly Load Profile Dataset for Electric Port Cargo Handling Equipment in the United States

Historically, ports have relied on fossil fuels, particularly diesel, as their primary energy source. Transitioning to electric cargo handling equipment (eCHE) offers a promising solution, as this relatively mature technology eliminates tailpipe emissions, reduces harmful airborne particulates, lowers noise pollution, and supports decarbonization. This study develops an initial estimation of hourly electricity demand for eCHE at the top 25 container ports (by tonnage) in the United States. These datasets, accessible at data.nrel.gov/submissions/281, provide valuable insights into the electricity demand patterns and potential grid impacts associated with widespread eCHE adoption, forming a foundation for future refinement based on stakeholder feedback.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS1947

Laboratory Investigation of Ice Formation and Elimination in the Induction System of a Large Twin-engine Cargo Aircraft

The icing characteristics, the de-icing rate with hot air, and the effect of impact ice on fuel metering and mixture distribution have been determined in a laboratory investigation of that part of the engine induction system consisting of a three-barrel injection-type carburetor and a supercharger housing with spinner-type fuel injection from an 18-cylinder radial engine used on a large twin-engine cargo airplane. The induction system remained ice-free at carburetor-air temperatures above 36 F regardless of the moisture content of the air. Between carburetor-air temperatures of 32 F and 36 F with humidity ratios in excess of saturation, serious throttling ice formed in the carburetor because of expansion cooling of the air; at carburetor-air temperatures below 32 F with humidity ratios in excess of saturation, serious impact-ice formations occurred, Spinner-type fuel injection at the entrance to the supercharger and heating of the supercharger-inlet elbow and the guide vanes by the warn oil in the rear engine housing are design features that proved effective in eliminating fuel-evaporation icing and minimized the formation of throttling ice below the carburetor. Air-flow recovery time with fixed throttle was rapidly reduced as the inlet -air wet -bulb temperature was increased to 55 F; further temperature increase produced negligible improvement in recovery time. Larger ice formations and lower icing temperatures increased the time required to restore proper air flow at a given wet-bulb temperature. Impact-ice formations on the entrance screen and the top of the carburetor reduced the over-all fuel-air ratio and increased the spread between the over-all ratio and the fuel-air ratio of the individual cylinders. The normal spread of fuel-air ratio was increased from 0.020 to 0.028 when the left quarter of the entrance screen was blocked in a manner simulating the blocking resulting from ice formations released from upstream duct walls during hot-air de-icing.

ICE PREVENTION - AIR HEATING↗
NASA NTRS1996

Electric Propulsion Options for Mars Cargo Missions

This paper summarizes an evaluation of mission performance (in terms of vehicle mass and trip time of solar electric propulsion (SEP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) operating at power levels on the order of 1.5 MW⊆ for Mars cargo missions. The SEP and NEP vehicles are both assumed to use lithium-propellant magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters with an efficiency (electric-to-jet) of 60 percent at a specified nominal specific impulse.

SEP↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Initial Study of Tailored Trajectory Management for Multi-Vehicle Uncrewed Regional Air Cargo Operations

The primary contribution of this paper is an evaluation of the potential value of a tailored trajectory management (TTM) capability for uncrewed aircraft (UA) operators that is proactive in detecting conflicts and developing trajectory-based solutions for UA prior to air traffic control (ATC) performing conflict resolution. The experiment matrix is composed of one baseline simulation that models current air traffic operations without such a capability and four test simulations with different configurations of such a capability. In each simulation, five UA operations into Fort Worth Alliance airport were modeled in the presence of recorded tracks for about 4700 flights on January 18, 2022. The analysis focused on the extent to which such a capability was able to preclude an event that could spike UA operator workload. More specifically, in this study, the emulated UA operator TTM capability for multi-vehicle regional air cargo operations was able to reduce the number of instances of concurrent UA conflicts in the modeled ATC conflict resolution timeframe of 8 minutes or less from three to as low as one.

uncrewed aircraft, regional air cargo, tailored tr↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Surface Exposed, Two-Domain Lipoprotein Cargo of a Type XI Secretion System Promotes Colonization of Host Intestinal Epithelia Expressing Glycans

The only known required component of the newly described Type XI secretion system (TXISS) is an outer membrane protein (OMP) of the DUF560 family. TXISS OMPs are broadly distributed across proteobacteria, but properties of the cargo proteins they secrete are largely unexplored. We report biophysical, histochemical, and phenotypic evidence that Xenorhabdus nematophila NilC is surface exposed. Biophysical data and structure predictions indicate that NilC is a two-domain protein with a C-terminal, 8-stranded β-barrel. This structure has been noted as a common feature of TXISS effectors and may be important for interactions with the TXISS OMP . The NilC N-terminal domain is more enigmatic, but our results indicate it is ordered and forms a β-sheet structure, and bioinformatics suggest structural similarities to carbohydrate-binding proteins. X. nematophila NilC and its presumptive TXISS OMP partner NilB are required for colonizing the anterior intestine of Steinernema carpocapsae nematodes: the receptacle of free-living, infective juveniles and the anterior intestinal cecum (AIC) in juveniles and adults. We show that, in adult nematodes, the AIC expresses a Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)-reactive material, indicating the presence of N-acetylglucosamine or N-acetylneuraminic acid sugars on the AIC surface. A role for this material in colonization is supported by the fact that exogenous addition of WGA can inhibit AIC colonization by X. nematophila. Conversely, the addition of exogenous purified NilC increases the frequency with which X. nematophila is observed at the AIC, demonstrating that abundant extracellular NilC can enhance colonization. NilC may facilitate X. nematophila adherence to the nematode intestinal surface by binding to host glycans, it might support X. nematophila nutrition by cleaving sugars from the host surface, or it might help protect X. nematophila from nematode host immunity. Proteomic and metabolomic analyses of wild type X. nematophila compared to those lacking nilB and nilC revealed differences in cell wall and secreted polysaccharide metabolic pathways. Additionally, purified NilC is capable of binding peptidoglycan, suggesting that periplasmic NilC may interact with the bacterial cell wall. Overall, these findings support a model that NilB-regulated surface exposure of NilC mediates interactions between X. nematophila and host surface glycans during colonization. This is a previously unknown function for a TXISS.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗