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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 1,747 records · Page 97
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Investigating the Combustion Performance of Dual Fuel Combustion with Diesel and Port Injected Hydrogen in a Large Bore Locomotive Engine

The heavy-duty transportation sector has primarily relied on conventional diesel combustion engines given their reliability and high thermal efficiency relative to spark ignition engines, but increased focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions has led to investigation into alternative fuels. Gaseous hydrogen fuel has garnered a great deal of recent interest in the engine community given it has zero carbon, but hydrogen is not available at the scale and cost that petroleum fuels are currently available, and this is a barrier to adoption for industries that are looking to decarbonize their operations. Because of the fuel flexibility provided, dual fuel technology offers a pathway for some industries to adopt hydrogen as a fuel source while maintaining sufficient flexibility in times and locations where the new fuel is not yet available. This computational study investigates dual fuel combustion in a large bore locomotive engine architecture using direct injected diesel and port injected gaseous hydrogen fuel. With an optimal port fuel injection configuration from previous work, simulations of varying substitution ratio, compression ratio, manifold air temperature, diesel injection timing, and diesel injection pressure were performed to understand their effect on combustion performance. Results indicated that both increased substitution ratio and higher intake air temperature accelerates hydrogen flame propagation and can result in high peak cylinder pressures. Additionally, diesel injection timing and injection pressure were demonstrated as effective methods for controlling dual fuel combustion heat release rates.

ODonnell, Patrick Christopher↗
DOE OSTI2017

Carbon Capture Multidisciplinary Simulation Center Trilab Support Team (TST) Fall Meeting 2016 Report

The theme of this year’s meeting was “Predictivity: Now and in the Future”. After welcoming remarks, Erik Draeger gave a talk on the NNSA Labs’ history of predictive simulation and the new challenges faced by upcoming architecture changes. He described an example where the volume of analysis data produced by a set of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) simulations on the Trinity machine was too large to store or transfer, and the steps needed to reduce it to a manageable size. He also described the software re-engineering plan for LLNL’s suite of multiphysics codes and physics packages with a new push toward common components, making collaboration with teams like the CCMSC who already have experience trying to architect complex multiphysics code infrastructure on next-generation architectures all the more important. Phil Smith then gave an overview outlining the goals of the project, namely to accelerate development of new technology in the form of high efficiency carbon capture pulverized coal power generation as well as further optimize existing state of the art designs. He then presented a summary of the Center’s top-down uncertainty quantification approach, in which ultimate target predictivity informs uncertainty targets for lower-level components, and gave data on how close all the different components currently are to their targets. Most components still need an approximately two-fold reduction in uncertainty to hit the ultimate predictivity target, but the current accuracy is already rather impressive.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
NASA NTRS1996

Flight evaluation of advanced controls and displays for transition and landing on the NASA V/STOL systems research aircraft

Flight experiments were conducted on Ames Research Center's V/STOL Systems Research Aircraft (VSRA) to assess the influence of advanced control modes and head-up displays (HUD's) on flying qualities for precision approach and landing operations. Evaluations were made for decelerating approaches to hover followed by a vertical landing and for slow landings for four control/display mode combinations: the basic YAV-8B stability augmentation system; attitude command for pitch, roll, and yaw; flightpath/acceleration command with translational rate command in the hover; and height-rate damping with translational-rate command. Head-up displays used in conjunction with these control modes provided flightpath tracking/pursuit guidance and deceleration commands for the decelerating approach and a mixed horizontal and vertical presentation for precision hover and landing. Flying qualities were established and control usage and bandwidth were documented for candidate control modes and displays for the approach and vertical landing. Minimally satisfactory bandwidths were determined for the translational-rate command system. Test pilot and engineer teams from the Naval Air Warfare Center, the Boeing Military Airplane Group, Lockheed Martin, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, Northrop Grumman, Rolls-Royce, and the British Defense Research Agency participated in the program along with NASA research pilots from the Ames and Lewis Research Centers. The results, in conjunction with related ground-based simulation data, indicate that the flightpath/longitudinal acceleration command response type in conjunction with pursuit tracking and deceleration guidance on the HUD would be essential for operation to instrument minimums significantly lower than the minimums for the AV-8B. It would also be a superior mode for performing slow landings where precise control to an austere landing area such as a narrow road is demanded. The translational-rate command system would reduce pilot workload for demanding vertical landing tasks aboard ship and in confined land-based sites.

Franklin, James A.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Development of an Ion Thruster and Power Processor for New Millennium's Deep Space 1 Mission

The NASA Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Applications Readiness Program (NSTAR) will provide a single-string primary propulsion system to NASA's New Millennium Deep Space 1 Mission which will perform comet and asteroid flybys in the years 1999 and 2000. The propulsion system includes a 30-cm diameter ion thruster, a xenon feed system, a power processing unit, and a digital control and interface unit. A total of four engineering model ion thrusters, three breadboard power processors, and a controller have been built, integrated, and tested. An extensive set of development tests has been completed along with thruster design verification tests of 2000 h and 1000 h. An 8000 h Life Demonstration Test is ongoing and has successfully demonstrated more than 6000 h of operation. In situ measurements of accelerator grid wear are consistent with grid lifetimes well in excess of the 12,000 h qualification test requirement. Flight hardware is now being assembled in preparation for integration, functional, and acceptance tests.

Sovey, James S.↗
NASA NTRS2011

NASA Tech Briefs, August 2011

Topics covered include: Miniature, Variable-Speed Control Moment Gyroscope; NBL Pistol Grip Tool for Underwater Training of Astronauts; HEXPANDO Expanding Head for Fastener-Retention Hexagonal Wrench; Diagonal-Axes Stage for Pointing an Optical Communications Transceiver; Improvements in Speed and Functionality of a 670-GHz Imaging Radar; IONAC-Lite; Large Ka-Band Slot Array for Digital Beam-Forming Applications; Development of a 150-GHz MMIC Module Prototype for Large-Scale CMB Radiation; Coupling Between Waveguide-Fed Slot Arrays; PCB-Based Break-Out Box; Multiple-Beam Detection of Fast Transient Radio Sources; Router Agent Technology for Policy-Based Network Management; Remote Asynchronous Message Service Gateway; Automatic Tie Pointer for In-Situ Pointing Correction; Jitter Correction; MSLICE Sequencing; EOS MLS Level 2 Data Processing Software Version 3; DspaceOgre 3D Graphics Visualization Tool; Metallization for Yb14MnSb11-Based Thermoelectric Materials; Solvent/Non-Solvent Sintering To Make Microsphere Scaffolds; Enhanced Fuel-Optimal Trajectory-Generation Algorithm for Planetary Pinpoint Landing; Self-Cleaning Coatings and Materials for Decontaminating Field-Deployable Land and Water-Based Optical Systems; Separation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with DEP-FFF; Li Anode Technology for Improved Performance; Post-Fragmentation Whole Genome Amplification-Based Method; Microwave Tissue Soldering for Immediate Wound Closure; Principles, Techniques, and Applications of Tissue Microfluidics; Robotic Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering and Organ Growth; Stress-Driven Selection of Novel Phenotypes; Method for Accurately Calibrating a Spectrometer Using Broadband Light; Catalytic Microtube Rocket Igniter; Stage Cylindrical Immersive Display; Vacuum Camera Cooler; Atomic Oxygen Fluence Monitor; Thermal Management Tools for Propulsion System Trade Studies and Analysis; Introduction to Physical Intelligence; Technique for Solving Electrically Small to Large Structures for Broadband Applications; Accelerated Adaptive MGS Phase Retrieval; Large Eddy Simulation Study for Fluid Disintegration and Mixing; Tropospheric Correction for InSAR Using Interpolated ECMWF Data and GPS Zenith Total Delay; Technique for Calculating Solution Derivatives With Respect to Geometry Parameters in a CFD Code; Acute Radiation Risk and BRYNTRN Organ Dose Projection Graphical User Interface; Probabilistic Path Planning of Montgolfier Balloons in Strong, Uncertain Wind Fields; Flight Simulation of ARES in the Mars Environment; Low-Outgassing Photogrammetry Targets for Use in Outer Space; Planning the FUSE Mission Using the SOVA Algorithm; Monitoring Spacecraft Telemetry Via Optical or RF Link; and Robust Thermal Control of Propulsion Lines for Space Missions.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2015

Microelectrospray Thrusters

Propulsion technology is often a critical enabling technology for space missions. NASA is investing in technologies to enable high value missions with very small spacecraft, even CubeSats. However, these nanosatellites currently lack any appreciable propulsion capability. CubeSats are typically deployed and tumble or drift without any ability to transfer to higher value orbits, perform orbit maintenance, or perform de-orbit. Larger spacecraft can also benefit from high precision attitude control systems. Existing practices include reaction wheels with lifetime concerns and system level complexity. Microelectrospray thrusters will provide new propulsion capabilities to address these mission needs. Electric propulsion is an approach to accelerate propellant to very high exhaust velocities through the use of electrical power. Typical propulsion systems are limited to the combustion energy available in the chemical bonds of the fuel and then acceleration through a converging diverging nozzle. However, electric propulsion can accelerate propellant to ten times higher velocities and therefore increase momentum transfer efficiency, or essentially, increase the fuel economy. Fuel efficiency of thrusters is proportional to the exhaust velocity and referred to as specific impulse (Isp). The state-of-the-art (SOA) for CubeSats is cold gas propulsion with an Isp of 50-80 s. The Space Shuttle main engine demonstrated a specific impulse of 450 s. The target Isp for the Mars Exploration Program (MEP) systems is >1,500 s. This propellant efficiency can enable a 1-kg, 10-cm cube to transfer from low-Earth orbit to interplanetary space with only 200 g of propellant. In September 2013, NASA's Game Changing Development program competitively awarded three teams with contracts to develop MEP systems from Technology Readiness Level-3 (TRL-3), experimental concept, to TRL-5, system validation in a relevant environment. The project is planned for 18 months of system development. Due to the ambitious project goals, NASA has awarded contracts to mature three unique methods to achieve the desired goals. Some of the MEP concepts have been developed for more than a decade at the component level, but are now ready for system maturation. The three concepts include the high aspect ratio porous surface (HARPS) microthruster system, the scalable ion electrospray propulsion system (S-iEPS), and an indium microfluidic electrospray propulsion system. The HARPS system is under development by Busek Co. The HARPS thruster is an electrospray thruster that relies on surface emission of a porous metal with a passive capillary wicking system for propellant management. The HARPS thruster is expected to provide a simple, high ΔV and low-cost solution. The HARPS thruster concept is shown in figure 1. Figure 1 includes the thruster, integrated power processing unit, and propellant reservoir.

Dankanich, John↗
DOE OSTI2022

DETAIL Component Scaling and Methodology Comparison

The purpose of this study was to develop a process to convert input signals from one facility into another by reflecting geometric and environmental settings. The Dynamic Energy Transport and Integration Laboratory (DETAIL) is a research facility in development. Its aim is to emulate the daily interactions among power production industry systems and receive real-time data from those systems as inputs. To convert signals and ensure that the temporal sequences and magnitudes reflect laboratory settings, the ability to scale and project data is essential. To demonstrate this ability, Dynamical System Scaling (DSS) and Hierarchical Two-Tiered Scaling (H2TS) (methodologies that enable systems to scale and project or extrapolate data sets to desired environments while conserving the observed behavior based on first principles) were applied to DETAIL’s thermocline thermal storage system in the Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS) facility and solid-oxide electrolysis cell in the High Temperature Hydrogen Electrolysis (HTHE) facility. Both thermocline and electrolysis cell systems were successfully scaled, and test cases were conducted to generate a doubly accelerated energy charge and discharge in reference to past experimental data from the facilities. The research results represented a case for the thermocline system that required signals to be accelerated without altering the stored energy. To enhance the quality of the accelerated data, error propagation analyses were conducted on DSS post-processing terms to determine the consequences of raw-data-associated errors.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS2000

Accelerating Innovation: Turning Goals into Reality

The success of NASA's programs depends upon innovation, which is recognized by several characteristics. All aspects of a program including tools, processes, materials, subsystems, vehicles, and operations should be evaluated to determine possible innovations which might be implemented. Several examples are presented of ways in which innovation has substantially furthered the goals of NASA. The specific fields mentioned include high performance computing, advanced technologies for aerospace system design, advanced materials and manufacturing processes, neural based flight control, linear aerospike engines, advanced space propulsion systems, high altitude and long duration autonomous flights, advanced vehicle concepts, advanced space propulsion systems, as well as advanced weather information. A final list details the perceived ways in which NASA can benefit from continued innovation in such ways as partnering with the private sector.

VanDalsem, William R.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Wear Mechanisms in Electron Sources for Ion Propulsion, 1: Neutralizer Hollow Cathode

Upon the completion of two long-duration life tests of a 30-cm ion engine, the orifice channel of the neutralizer hollow cathode was eroded away to as much as twice its original diameter. Whereas the neutralizer cathode orifice opened significantly, no noticeable erosion of the discharge cathode orifice was observed. Noquantitative explanation of these erosion trends has been established since the completion of the two life tests. A two-dimensional model of the partially ionized gas inside these devices has been developed and applied to the neutralizer hollow cathode. The numerical simulations show that the main mechanism responsible for the channel erosion is sputtering by Xe+. These ions are accelerated by the sheath along the channel and bombard the surface with kinetic energy/charge of about 17 V at the beginning of cathode life. The density of the ions inside the neutralizer orifice is computed to be as high as 2.1 x 10(sup 22) m(sup -3). Because of the 3.5-times larger diameter of the discharge cathode orifice, the ion density inside the orifice is more than 40 times lower and the sheath drop 7 V lower compared with the values in the neutralizer. At these conditions, Xe+ can cause no significant sputtering of the surface.

ionized gas↗
DOE OSTI2023

Engineering chirality at wafer scale with ordered carbon nanotube architectures

Creating artificial matter with controllable chirality in a simple and scalable manner brings new opportunities to diverse areas. Here we show two such methods based on controlled vacuum filtration - twist stacking and mechanical rotation - for fabricating wafer-scale chiral architectures of ordered carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with tunable and large circular dichroism (CD). By controlling the stacking angle and handedness in the twist-stacking approach, we maximize the CD response and achieve a high deep-ultraviolet ellipticity of 40 ± 1 mdeg nm -1 . Our theoretical simulations using the transfer matrix method reproduce the experimentally observed CD spectra and further predict that an optimized film of twist-stacked CNTs can exhibit an ellipticity as high as 150 mdeg nm -1 , corresponding to a g factor of 0.22. Furthermore, the mechanical rotation method not only accelerates the fabrication of twisted structures but also produces both chiralities simultaneously in a single sample, in a single run, and in a controllable manner. The created wafer-scale objects represent an alternative type of synthetic chiral matter consisting of ordered quantum wires whose macroscopic properties are governed by nanoscopic electronic signatures and can be used to explore chiral phenomena and develop chiral photonic and optoelectronic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2020

A Summary of Airframe Results from a Fokker F28 Full-Scale Crash Test

On June 20, 2019, a full-scale crash test was conducted on a Fokker F28 MK1000 aircraft as a part of a joint NASA / Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) research effort to investigate the crashworthiness characteristics of a Transport Category Aircraft (TCA), as defined by 14 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 25. The test was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center’s Landing and Impact Research Facility and was the third in a test series to further understand TCA crashworthiness characteristics. The test article featured 24 Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs, a.k.a. crash test dummies), and over 700 channels of instrumentation covering major aircraft structures such as the wings, tail, nose, cockpit and cabin, along with recording seat, overhead bin and ATD accelerations. Five different U.S. Government agencies collaborated on the test including: NASA, the FAA, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This report will covertest article build up, which includes weight and balance measurements and pre-test laser scans. It will also cover the events of the test, which includes the test sequence of events and post-test damage inspections. Finally, it will show airframe level accelerations at all positions measured, with discussion on correlation to the airframe damage witnessed. The test build up consisted of outfitting the main cabin section of the aircraft with 24 ATDs seated in 12 rows of seats, overhead mass and the under floor cargo area with foam representing the luggage. The main cabin also included all of the onboard data system pallets, which recorded711 channels of data from the test. All major portions of the aircraft were instrumented, including locations at the floor / frame junction locations in the cabin where the ATDs were located along with other major exterior components such as the nose, the tail, each engine cowling, and at overhead hat rack ballast locations. The aircraft impacted a soil surface at65.3 ft/s horizontal and 31.8 ft/s vertical velocities. The aircraft plowed through the soil and slid a distance of 32.5 feet from the initial impact location. There was a secondary impact occurring 0.9 s due to the “slap down” of the nose during the post-impact response. The duration of the event from impact to rest was1.62 seconds. There was major structural damage in the lower fuselage areas around the Wingbox and Aft Fuselage sections. The Aft Fuselage section deformation caused some cabin intrusion from the keel beams pushing the aft cabin floor into the cabin. Other structural deformations occurred around the tail and at transition regions in the aircraft structure; mainly in locations of differing overall stiffness. The data obtained showed average vertical accelerations between 12 and 16 g with spikes reaching almost 40 g at certain floor locations. Average horizontal accelerations were approximately 10 g for all floor locations measured with spikes reaching approximately 25 g in some locations. The report includes a full set of results on aircraft deformation and accelerations along with discussions as to the effect on the aircraft structure.

Justin D Littell↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Kokkos Ecosystem [Brief]

In 2016/2017, the field of High-Performance Computing (HPC) entered a new era driven by fundamental physics challenges to produce ever more energy and cost-efficient processors. Since the convergence on the Message-Passing Interface (MPI) standard in the mid-1990s, application developers enjoyed a seemingly static view of the underlying machine — that of a distributed collection of homogeneous nodes executing in collaboration. However, after almost two decades of dominance, the sole use of MPI to derive parallelism acted as a limiter to improved future performance. While MPI is widely expected to continue to function as the basic mechanism for communication between compute nodes for the immediate future, additional parallelism is required on the computing node itself if high performance and efficiency goals are to be realized. When reviewing the architectures of the top HPC systems today, the change in paradigm is clear: the compute nodes of the leading machines in the world are either powered by many-core chips with a few dozen cores each, or use heterogeneous designs, where traditional CPUs marshal work to massively parallel compute accelerators which has as many as 200,000 processing threads in flight simultaneously. Complicating matters further for application developers, each processor vendor has its own preferred way of writing code for their architecture.The Kokkos EcoSystem was released by Sandia in 2017 to address this new era in HPC system design by providing a vendor independent performance portable programming system for scientific, engineering, and mathematical software applications written in the C++ programming language. Using Kokkos, application developers can be more productive because they will not have to create and maintain separate versions of their software for each architecture, nor will they have to be experts in each architecture's peculiar requirements. Instead, they will have a single method of programming for the diverse set of modern HPC architectures. While Kokkos started in 2011 as a programming model only, it soon became clear that complex applications needed more. It is also critical to have a portable mathematical functions and developers need tools to debug their applications, gain insight into the performance characteristics of their codes and tune algorithm performance parameters through automated processes. The Kokkos EcoSystem addresses those needs through its three main components: the Kokkos Core programming model, the Kokkos Kernels math library, and the Kokkos Tools project.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

FEED Study of Carbon Capture Inc. DAC and CarbonCure Utilization Using United States Steel's Gary Works Waste Plant

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is spearheading a front-end engineering design (FEED) study of a Direct Air Capture and Utilization System (DACUS) that can remove 5,000 tonnes/yr net CO2 from ambient air, utilizing it in the production of concrete. The designed system, if built, would be larger than any currently existing DAC collector. Such carbon negative technologies are critical to meeting the goals of the DOE’s program to accelerate climate-critical technology. DAC is a promising new technology for reducing the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere but is expensive, partly due to the energy required to capture and then release CO2 during the process. By integrating CarbonCapture Technologies Inc. DAC collector at United States Steel's Gary Works and utilizing steel plant's waste heat, energy, and location so energy & transportation costs can be minimized. CarbonCapture has developed an innovative DAC system using novel adsorbents to cost- effectively capture CO2. The captured, liquified CO2 will be trucked to ready-mix concrete plants across Illinois, Indiana, & Wisconsin, where CarbonCure will inject it into concrete during the mixing process. The carbon dioxide reacts with concrete, mineralizing into calcium carbonate (CaCO3), sequestering the CO2 into the concrete, and reducing the amount of cement, the manufacturing of which is among the major sources of CO2 emissions. This FEED study demonstrates a full CO2 value chain for DACUS from industrial facilities. It also provided an opportunity to assess the impact of this holistic approach on job creation, regional economic impact, and environmental justice.

Carbon management, ccus, carbon capture, utilizati↗
NASA NTRS1983

Single event upset (SEU) of semiconductor devices - A summary of JPL test data

The data summarized describe single event upset (bit-flips) for 60 device types having data storage elements. The data are from 15 acceleration tests with both protons and heavier ions. Tables are included summarizing the upset threshold data and listing the devices tested for heavy ion induced bit-flip and the devices tested with protons. With regard to the proton data, it is noted that the data are often limited to one proton energy, since the tests were usually motivated by the engineering requirement of comparing similar candidate devices for a system. It is noted that many of the devices exhibited no upset for the given test conditions (the maximum fluence and the maximum proton energy Ep are given for these cases). It is believed, however, that some possibility of upset usually exists because there is a slight chance that the recoil atom may receive up to 10 to 20 MeV of recoil energy (with more energy at higher Ep).

Nichols, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Requirements and Development of an Acceleration Measurement System for International Space Station Microgravity Science Payloads

The International Space Station is being developed by NASA and international partners as a versatile user platform to allow long term on-orbit investigations of a variety of scientific and technology arenas. In particular, scientific studies are planned within a research class known as microgravity science in areas such as biotechnology, combustion, fluid physics, and materials sciences. An acceleration measurement system is in development to aid such research conducted in the on-orbit conditions of apparent weightlessness. This system provides a general purpose acceleration measurement capability in support of these payloads and investigators. Such capability allows for systematic study of scientific phenomena by obtaining information regarding the local accelerations present during experiment operations. Preparations for implementing this flight measurement system involves two distinct stages: requirements development prior to initiating the design activity, and the design activity itself. This paper defines the requirements definition approach taken, provides an overview of the results of the requirements phase, and outlines the initial design considerations being addressed for this measurement system. Some preliminary engineering approaches are also described.

Sutliff, Thomas J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Spaceliner Class Operability Gains Via Combined Airbreathing/ Rocket Propulsion: Summarizing an Operational Assessment of Highly Reusable Space Transports

In discussing a new NASA initiative in advanced space transportation systems and technologies, the Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Arthur G. Stephenson, noted that, "It would use new propulsion technology, air-breathing engine so you don't have to carry liquid oxygen, at least while your flying through the atmosphere. We are calling it Spaceliner 100 because it would be 100 times cheaper, costing $ 100 dollars a pound to orbit." While airbreathing propulsion is directly named, rocket propulsion is also implied by, "... while you are flying through the atmosphere." In-space final acceleration to orbital speed mandates rocket capabilities. Thus, in this informed view, Spaceliner 100 will be predicated on combined airbreathing/rocket propulsion, the technical subject of this paper. Interestingly, NASA's recently concluded Highly Reusable Space Transportation (HRST) study focused on the same affordability goal as that of the Spaceliner 100 initiative and reflected the decisive contribution of combined propulsion as a way of expanding operability and increasing the design robustness of future space transports, toward "aircraft like" capabilities. The HRST study built on the Access to Space Study and the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) development activities to identify and characterize space transportation concepts, infrastructure and technologies that have the greatest potential for reducing delivery cost by another order of magnitude, from $1,000 to $100-$200 per pound for 20,000 lb. - 40.000 lb. payloads to low earth orbit (LEO). The HRST study investigated a number of near-term, far-term, and very far-term launch vehicle concepts including all-rocket single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) concepts, two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) concepts, concepts with launch assist, rocket-based combined cycle (RBCC) concepts, advanced expendable vehicles, and more far term ground-based laser powered launchers. The HRST study consisted of preliminary concept studies, assessments and analysis tool development for advanced space transportation systems, followed by end-to-end system concept definitions and trade analyses, specific system concept definition and analysis, specific key technology and topic analysis, system, operational and economics model development, analysis, and integrated assessments. The HRST Integration Task Force (HITF) was formed to synthesize study results in several specific topic areas and support the development of conclusions from the study: Systems Concepts Definitions, Technology Assessment, Operations Assessment, and Cost Assessment. This paper summarizes the work of the Operations Assessment Team: the six approaches used, the analytical tools and methodologies developed and employed, the issues and concerns, and the results of the assessment. The approaches were deliberately varied in measures of merit and procedure to compensate for the uncertainty inherent in operations data in this early phase of concept exploration. In general, rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) concepts appear to have significantly greater potential than all-rocket concepts for reducing operations costs.

Nix, Michael B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

STS-111 Flight Day 1 Highlights

On Flight Day 1 of STS-111, the crew of Endeavour (Kenneth Cockrell, Commander; Paul Lockhart, Pilot; Franklin Chang-Diaz, Mission Specialist; Philippe Perrin, Mission Specialist) and the Expedition 5 crew (Valery Korzun, Commander; Peggy Whitson, Flight Engineer; Sergei Treschev, Flight Engineer) being transported to the International Space Station (ISS) are shown preparing for launch in the suit-up room of the crew quarters, and then shown heading to the shuttle. Following commencement of the countdown, the launch is then shown, with close-ups of the rocket nozzles as lift-off occurs. Endeavour is shown as it gains altitude, accelerates to 2400 mph, and drops its solid rocket boosters. The video ends with video of Endeavour's payload bay, having been opened after leaving Earth's atmosphere.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

NASA and Education

President Bush endorsed a package of six goals developed by the governors of the 50 states, among them making the United States first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. The crux of the technical manpower problem is that too few people in the workforce today have the skills required to function in a technologically advanced society. All over the U.S., government, industry and academic organizations, individually and in concert, at the national, state and local levels, are accelerating efforts to find remedies for the educational and training maladies that threaten America's scientific and technological future. NASA is among the leading education promoting organizations and the agency is expanding its effort. In May 1990, NASA and the Department of Energy concluded an agreement for a cooperative program directed at encouraging more U.S. students to pursue careers in science, engineering and mathematics, and at improving the instructional process in those areas at the precollege and university levels.

Source record↗