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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Next generation earth-to-orbit space transportation systems: Unmanned vehicles and liquid/hybrid boosters

The United States civil space effort when viewed from a launch vehicle perspective tends to categorize into pre-Shuttle and Shuttle eras. The pre-Shuttle era consisted of expendable launch vehicles where a broad set of capabilities were matured in a range of vehicles, followed by a clear reluctance to build on and utilize those systems. The Shuttle era marked the beginning of the U.S. venture into reusable space launch vehicles and the consolidation of launch systems used to this one vehicle. This led to a tremendous capability, but utilized men on a few missions where it was not essential and compromised launch capability resiliency in the long term. Launch vehicle failures, between the period of Aug. 1985 and May 1986, of the Titan 34D, Shuttle Challenger, and the Delta vehicles resulted in a reassessment of U.S. launch vehicle capability. The reassessment resulted in President Reagan issuing a new National Space Policy in 1988 calling for more coordination between Federal agencies, broadening the launch capabilities and preparing for manned flight beyond the Earth into the solar system. As a result, the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA are jointly assessing the requirements and needs for this nations's future transportation system. Reliability/safety, balanced fleet, and resiliency are the cornerstone to the future. An insight is provided into the current thinking in establishing future unmanned earth-to-orbit (ETO) space transportation needs and capabilities. A background of previous launch capabilities, future needs, current and proposed near term systems, and system considerations to assure future mission need will be met, are presented. The focus is on propulsion options associated with unmanned cargo vehicles and liquid booster required to assure future mission needs will be met.

Hueter, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS1991

Next generation: Unmanned launch vehicles and upper stages: The needs

The focus is on common vehicle elements, higher mission success, and lower transportation cost with respect to the common needs of the Department of Defense, NASA, and U.S. Industry. The following are presented in viewgraph form: (1) perspectives on mission costs and failures; (2) the recurring costs of the Delta 7925, Atlas/Centar, Titan 3, and Titan 4; (3) U.S. launches from 1957-1987 of Vanguard, Jupiter, Thor/Delta, Juno, Atlas, Scout, Redstone, Saturn, Titan, and the Space Transportation System; and (4) subsystem sources of failure. The following topics are also briefly presented: (1) engine costs; (2) a summary of flight experience; (3) recommendations for next generation space transportation; (4) low cost engine demonstration; and (5) the next generation commercial expendable launch vehicle (ELV) needs estimate.

Gunn, Charles R.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Data policy and availability supporting global change research, development, and decision-making: An information perspective

An explosion of information has created a crisis for today's information age. It has to be determined how to use the best available information sources, tools, and technology. To do this it is necessary to have leadership at the interagency level to promote a coherent information policy. It is also important to find ways to educate the users of information regarding the tools available to them. Advances in technology resulted in efforts to shift from Disciplinary and Mission-oriented Systems to Decision Support Systems and Personalized Information Systems. One such effort is being made by the Interagency Working Group on Data Management for Global Change (IAWGDMGC). Five federal agencies - the Department of Commerce (DOC), Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Library of Medicine (NLM), and Department of Defense (DOD) - have an on-going cooperative information management group, CENDI (Commerce, Energy, NASA, NLM, and Defense Information), that is meeting the challenge of coordinating and integrating their information management systems. Although it is beginning to be technically feasible to have a system with text, bibliographic, and numeric data online for the user to manipulate at the user's own workstation, it will require national recognition that the resource investment in such a system is worthwhile, in order to promote its full development. It also requires close cooperation between the producers and users of the information - that is, the research and policy community, and the information community. National resources need to be mobilized in a coordinated manner to move people into the next generation of information support systems.

Carroll, Bonnie C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

ART-Ada: An Ada-based expert system tool

The Department of Defense mandate to standardize on Ada as the language for software systems development has resulted in an increased interest in making expert systems technology readily available in Ada environments. NASA's Space Station Freedom is an example of the large Ada software development projects that will require expert systems in the 1990's. Another large scale application that can benefit from Ada based expert system tool technology is the Pilot's Associate (PA) expert system project for military combat aircraft. The Automated Reasoning Tool-Ada (ART-Ada), an Ada expert system tool, is explained. ART-Ada allows applications of a C-based expert system tool called ART-IM to be deployed in various Ada environments. ART-Ada is being used to implement several prototype expert systems for NASA's Space Station Freedom program and the U.S. Air Force.

Lee, S. Daniel↗
NASA NTRS1991

The NASA/DOE/DOD nuclear rocket propulsion project - FY 1991 status

NASA has initiated planning and critical technology development for nuclear rocket propulsion systems for Space Exploration Initiative missions to the moon and to Mars. Interagency agreements are being negotiated between NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense for joint technology development activities. This paper summarizes the activities of the NASA project planning team in FY 1990 that led to the draft Nuclear Propulsion Project Plan, outlines the FY 1991 Interagency activities, and describes the current status of the project plan.

Clark, John S.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Deploying expert systems in Ada

As the Department of Defense Ada mandate begins to be enforced actively, interest in deploying expert systems in Ada has increased. A prototype Ada based expert system tool is introduced called ART/Ada. This prototype was built to support research into the language and operational issues of expert systems in Ada. ART/Ada allows applications of a conventional expert system tool called ART-IM (Automated Reasoning Tool for Information Management) to be deployed in various Ada environments with efficient use of time and space. ART-IM, a C-based expert system tool, is used to generate Ada source code which is compiled and linked with an Ada base inference engine to produce an Ada executable image. ART/Ada will be used to implement several prototype expert systems for the Space Station Freedom Program testbeds.

Lee, S. Daniel↗
NASA NTRS1991

Advanced information processing system for advanced launch system: Avionics architecture synthesis

The Advanced Information Processing System (AIPS) is a fault-tolerant distributed computer system architecture that was developed to meet the real time computational needs of advanced aerospace vehicles. One such vehicle is the Advanced Launch System (ALS) being developed jointly by NASA and the Department of Defense to launch heavy payloads into low earth orbit at one tenth the cost (per pound of payload) of the current launch vehicles. An avionics architecture that utilizes the AIPS hardware and software building blocks was synthesized for ALS. The AIPS for ALS architecture synthesis process starting with the ALS mission requirements and ending with an analysis of the candidate ALS avionics architecture is described.

Lala, Jaynarayan H.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Architecture for Survivable System Processing (ASSP)

The Architecture for Survivable System Processing (ASSP) Program is a multi-phase effort to implement Department of Defense (DOD) and commercially developed high-tech hardware, software, and architectures for reliable space avionics and ground based systems. System configuration options provide processing capabilities to address Time Dependent Processing (TDP), Object Dependent Processing (ODP), and Mission Dependent Processing (MDP) requirements through Open System Architecture (OSA) alternatives that allow for the enhancement, incorporation, and capitalization of a broad range of development assets. High technology developments in hardware, software, and networking models, address technology challenges of long processor life times, fault tolerance, reliability, throughput, memories, radiation hardening, size, weight, power (SWAP) and security. Hardware and software design, development, and implementation focus on the interconnectivity/interoperability of an open system architecture and is being developed to apply new technology into practical OSA components. To insure for widely acceptable architecture capable of interfacing with various commercial and military components, this program provides for regular interactions with standardization working groups (e.g.) the International Standards Organization (ISO), American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Selection of a viable open architecture is based on the widely accepted standards that implement the ISO/OSI Reference Model.

Wood, Richard J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Second CLIPS Conference Proceedings, volume 2

Papers presented at the 2nd C Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS) Conference held at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) on 23-25 September 1991 are documented in these proceedings. CLIPS is an expert system tool developed by the Software Technology Branch at NASA JSC and is used at over 4000 sites by government, industry, and business. During the three days of the conference, over 40 papers were presented by experts from NASA, Department of Defense, other government agencies, universities, and industry.

Giarratano, Joseph↗
NASA NTRS1990

STS-36 Space Shuttle mission report

The STS-36 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report contains a summary of the vehicle subsystem activities on this thirty-fourth flight of the Space Shuttle and the sixth flight of the OV-104 Orbiter vehicle, Atlantis. In addition to the Atlantis vehicle, the flight vehicle consisted of an External Tank (ET) (designated as ET-33/LWT-26), three Space Shuttle main engines (SSME's) (serial numbers 2019, 2030, and 2029), and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB's) (designated as BI-036). The STS-36 mission was a classified Department of Defense mission, and as such, the classified portions of the mission are not discussed. The unclassified sequence of events for this mission is shown in tabular form. Summarized are the significant problems that occurred in the Orbiter subsystems during the mission. The official problem tracking list is presented. In addition, each of the Orbiter problems is cited in the subsystem discussion.

Mechelay, Joseph E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

STS-38 Space Shuttle mission report

The STS-38 Space Shuttle Program Mission Report contains a summary of the vehicle subsystem activities on this thirty-seventh flight of the Space Shuttle and the seventh flight of the Orbiter vehicle Atlantis (OV-104). In addition to the Atlantis vehicle, the flight vehicle consisted of an External Tank (ET) (designated as ET-40/LWT-33), three Space Shuttle main engines (SSME's) (serial numbers 2019, 2022, 2027), and two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB's), designated as BI-039. The STS-38 mission was a classified Department of Defense mission, and as much, the classified portions of the mission are not presented in this report. The sequence of events for this mission is shown. The significant problems that occurred in the Space Shuttle Orbiter subsystem during the mission are summarized and the official problem tracking list is presented. In addition, each Space Shuttle Orbiter problem is cited in the subsystem discussion.

Camp, David W.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ionizing radiation exposure of LDEF

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was launched into orbit by the Space Shuttle 'Challenger' mission 41C on 6 April 1984 and was deployed on 8 April 1984. The original altitude of the circular orbit was 258.5 nautical miles (479 km) with the orbital inclination being 28.5 degrees. The 21,500 lb NASA Langley Research Center satellite, having dimensions of some 30x14 ft was one of the largest payloads ever deployed by the Space Shuttle. LDEF carried 57 major experiments and remained in orbit five years and nine months (completing 32,422 orbits). It was retrieved by the Shuttle 'Columbia' on January 11, 1990. By that time, the LDEF orbit had decayed to the altitude of 175 nm (324 km). The experiments were mounted around the periphery of the LDEF on 86 trays and involved the representation of more than 200 investigators, 33 private companies, 21 universities, seven NASA centers, nine Department of Defense laboratories and eight foreign countries. The experiments covered a wide range of disciplines including basic science, electronics, optics, materials, structures, power and propulsion. The data contained in the LDEF mission represents an invaluable asset and one which is not likely to be duplicated in the foreseeable future. The data and the subsequent knowledge which will evolve from the analysis of the LDEF experiments will have a very important bearing on the design and construction of the Space Station Freedom and indeed on other long-term, near-earth orbital space missions. A list of the LDEF experiments according to experiment category and sponsor is given, as well as a list of experiments containing radiation detectors on LDEF including the LDEF experiment number, the title of the experiment, the principal investigator, and the type of radiation detectors carried by the specific experiment.

Benton, E. V.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Federal Conference on Intelligent Processing Equipment

Research and development projects involving intelligent processing equipment within the following U.S. agencies are addressed: Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Emergency Management Agency, NASA, National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

Nuclear electric propulsion development and qualification facilities

This paper summarizes the findings of a Tri-Agency panel consisting of members from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that were charged with reviewing the status and availability of facilities to test components and subsystems for megawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) systems. The facilities required to support development of NEP are available in NASA centers, DOE laboratories, and industry. However, several key facilities require significant and near-term modification in order to perform the testing required to meet a 2014 launch date. For the higher powered Mars cargo and piloted missions, the priority established for facility preparation is: (1) a thruster developmental testing facility, (2) a thruster lifetime testing facility, (3) a dynamic energy conversion development and demonstration facility, and (4) an advanced reactor testing facility (if required to demonstrate an advanced multiwatt power system). Facilities to support development of the power conditioning and heat rejection subsystems are available in industry, federal laboratories, and universities. In addition to the development facilities, a new preflight qualifications and acceptance testing facility will be required to support the deployment of NEP systems for precursor, cargo, or piloted Mars missions. Because the deployment strategy for NEP involves early demonstration missions, the demonstration of the SP-100 power system is needed by the early 2000's.

Dutt, D. S.↗
NASA NTRS1991

US Coast Guard GPS Information Center (GPSIC) and its function within the Civil GPS Service (CGS)

The Global Positioning System Information Center (GPSIC) was created to provide civil users of the Global Positioning System with timely system status and other GPS satellite information. The GPSIC began providing basic services on a test and evaluation basis in March 1990. Since then we have improved these services, formalized the information gathering processes, and expanded GPSIC operations to meet GPS user needs. The GPSIC serves as a central point of contact for civil users to make their interests and needs known to the system operator, the Department of Defense (DOD) under the management of the U.S. Air Force. The GPSIC provides GPS information to civil users through Operational Advisory Broadcasts (OAB) containing GPS performance data. The OABs are disseminated through numerous sources including 24 hour access to a voice telephone recording and a computer bulletin board system (BBS). The GPSIC staff also responds to individual user inquiries, comments, or concerns about civil access to and use of the GPS during normal working hours. This paper provides an overview of the Civil GPS Service as well as the details of the type of information and services that are available through the GPSIC and how they can be obtained. It will also address the future expansion of GPSIC responsibilities.

Luann Barndt↗
NASA NTRS1992

Orbital debris: Technical issues and future directions

An international conference on orbital debris sponsored jointly by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, NASA, and the Department of Defense, was held in Baltimore, Maryland, 16-19 Apr. 1990. Thirty-three papers were presented. The papers were grouped into the areas of measurements, modeling, and implications of orbital debris for space flight. New radar and optical measurements of orbital debris were presented that showed the existence of a large population of small debris. Modeling of potential future environments showed that runaway growth of the debris population from random collisions was a real possibility. New techniques for shielding against orbital debris and methods for removal of satellites from orbit were discussed.

Potter, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS1991

Is bigger always better? An economic study of U.S. ETO vehicle architectures

This analysis, performed as part of NASA's Space Transportation Infrastructure Study, compares the cost efficiency of two candidate launch vehicle families, used in conjunction with existing expendable launch vehicles and the Shuttle, to accomplish the nation's future space missions through 2030. Missions analyzed include those identified in NASA's Civil Needs Data Base (CNDB) and Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) Option E program, as well as estimates of commercial and U.S. Department of Defense flights. A family of Shuttle-derived In-line vehicles is compared against a family designed around a vehicle optimized for large (250t) payloads. The analysis is performed within the context of an entire space transportation architecture. The goal is to determine which architecture best captures the required missions most cost-effectively. Results indicate that, for the particular mission model analyzed, neither option is clearly superior across the entire payload range. The Shuttle-derived family displays a better evolutionary path for supporting the total mission model (CNDB plus SEI missions). It also reduces earth-to-orbit (ETO) peak funding by 20 percent. The architecture incorporating the Heavy Lift ETO family minimizes SEI program cost and on-orbit operations but is subject to greater schedule risk because of the need for concurrent ETO core and engine development.

Eimers, Dan R.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The manned transportation system study - Defining human pathways into space

The Manned Transportation System (MTS) Study, conducted by a NASA-Industry Team (NIT), has developed substantiating data for subsequent NASA decisions on the “right” set of manned transportation elements needed for human access to space. It also provides the framework for detailed definition of those manned transportation elements. Including the next manned transportation system, to be developed. Process and product are presented to inform the aerospace community and subject our approach and conclusions to peer review, NASA/JSC lead the NIT, with participation from KSC, LaRC, MSFC, and NASA/Headquarters, along with six aerospace contractor (Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin Marietta, McDonnell Douglas, and Rockwell). Each major milestone was archived through team consensus. Our mission model was derived from the FY90 Civil Needs Data Base (CNDB) and included flight assignments for Department of Defense (DOD) missions. Identifying and defining architecture evaluation criteria, i.e. attributes, specified the amount and type of data needed for each concept under consideration. Several architectures, each beginning with today’s transportation systems, were defined using representative systems to explore our future options and address specific questions currently being debated. Our solutions are a function of the level of space activity the nation chooses to follow. However, they all emphasize affordability, safety, routineness, and reliability. Finally, key issues associated with our current business practices were challenged and the impact associated with those practices quantified.

NASA Langley Research Center↗