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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1998

From Engineering Science to Big Science: The NACA and NASA Collier Trophy Research Project Winners

The chapters of this book discuss a series of case studies of notable technological projects carried out at least in part by the NACA and NASA. The case studies chosen are those projects that won the National Aeronautic Association's (NAA) Collier Trophy for "the greatest achievement in aviation in America, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by use during the preceding year." Looking back on the whole series of projects we can examine both what successes were seen as important at various times, and how the goals and organization of these notable projects changed over time.

Mack, Pamela E.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Science in 60 – Tiny Satellites, Big Science

When cube satellites first sprung on the scene in the late 1990s, they were seen as cheap, cute and novel. But today, these lunch-box-sized orbiters are heralded as powerful, cost-effective tools that help strengthen our national security presence in space. Los Alamos National Laboratory developed, built and tested CubeSats that are easily programmable from the ground, making them responsive to up-to-the-minute, mission-critical needs. While CubeSats are still the new kid on the celestial block, that’s about to change. These small, agile pieces of technology hold a universe of promise.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Lessons for delivering big science projects

As the construction of the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is starting, here, the EIC Project Director Jim Yeck shares his experience on the main ingredients for success of big science projects.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

The Big Science of stockpile stewardship

In the quarter century since the US last exploded a nuclear weapon, an extensive research enterprise has maintained the resources and know-how needed to preserve confidence in the country’s stockpile.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
NASA NTRS2007

Big Science, Small-Budget Space Experiment Package Aka MISSE-5: A Hardware And Software Perspective

Conducting space experiments with small budgets is a fact of life for many design groups with low-visibility science programs. One major consequence is that specialized space grade electronic components are often too costly to incorporate into the design. Radiation mitigation now becomes more complex as a result of being restricted to the use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts. Unique hardware and software design techniques are required to succeed in producing a viable instrument suited for use in space. This paper highlights some of the design challenges and associated solutions encountered in the production of a highly capable, low cost space experiment package.

Krasowski, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2002

STARDUST and Interplanetary Dust Particles - Big Science from Small Samples

Comets are primitive bodies that are widely believed to be a reservoir of preserved interstellar and circumstellar grains, and molecular cloud materials (organics). Direct samples of cometary dust along with interstellar grains will be returned by the STARDUST Mission in 2006. Analyses of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and analogue materials in the laboratory provide constraints and serve as "ground truth" for evaluating various hypotheses on the nature of comets and interstellar grains. Anhydrous IDPs are the most primitive remnants of the primordial Solar System, and are our only known samples of comets. These cometary lDPs are rich in preserved interstellar organic compounds II]. In addition, abundant interstellar silicates have recently been discovered in cluster lDPs [2]. In some of these IDPs, the presolar silicate abundance reaches 1 wt %, exceeding the total presolar grain abundance in meteorites by three orders of magnitude, where presolar silicates are still notably absent. The results to date support the idea that comets are rich in presolar materials, but are at odds with the common perception that they are 'pristine aggregates of interstellar grains'. These results underscore the scientific importance of sample return missions to comets. The technology for the analysis of micrometer-sized samples is well advanced. The newest generation of ion probe instruments allow for isotopic analyses at the submicrometer level. The nature of the organic matter is analyzed using Infrared and soft X-ray spectroscopy techniques on synchrotron-based instruments, also at the micrometer-scale and smaller. Electron microscopy and spectroscopy provide details on the mineralogy and chemistry of constituent grains in !DPs at nearly the atomic scale. Novel sample preparation techniques have been developed such that all of these measurements can now be made on the same 10 micrometer diameter particle. Returned comet samples captured in aerogel will pose new challenges in sample analysis, but should provide a major leap in our understanding of the fundamental building blocks of our Solar System.

Keller, L. P.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Magnetospheric Constellation: Leveraging Space 2.0 for Big Science

Earth's magnetosphere is a large magnetic cavity formed through the interaction of the solar wind and Earth's intrinsic magnetic field. Solar wind energy enters this cavity through a boundary - the magnetopause - separating Earth's field from the solar wind. This energy leads to many forms of "space weather", including the aurora, geomagnetic storms, and energization of the Van Allen radiation belts. Despite decades of research, we still do not understand the extent of dayside reconnection sites, nor do we have a quantifiable understanding of how much energy enters the magnetosphere during different solar wind conditions - necessary for space weather prediction. On the nightside, impulsive flows at various spatial and temporal scales occur frequently during storms and substorms, and couple to the ionosphere through still unresolved physical mechanisms. Because the magnetosphere is so large, it has been understood since the dawn of the space age that a full understanding of this complex region could only be achieved with a large fleet of in situ spacecraft. NASA has studied one such constellation, the socalled "Magnetospheric Constellation" (MagCon), since the1990's, but it is deemed too expensive to implement using traditional approaches. The CubeSat/ SmallSat revolution represents a fundamental disruption to traditional mission architectures, and in this paper I will discuss how, by leveraging innovation in spacecraft subystems, advanced manufacturing, and access to space, we can finally realize this long-term vision of exploration and discovery. The proposed modular approach, utilizing rideshare and propulsive ESPAs, would also enable worldwide participation in the mission, and is applicable to any constellation mission, including Earth Science missions.

Kepko, Emil Larry↗
NASA NTRS2016

Big Science in Small Packages: a Constellation of Cubesats to Search for Near Earth Asteroids

Astronomers for many decades have been searching for Near Earth Asteroids (NEA) that could potentially impact the Earth in the future. Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), when completed, would be by far the most powerful tool for a ground-based search for NEAs. In space, IR telescopes are undergoing detailed design studies. These facilities are projected to find 90% of potentially hazardous NEAs in about a dozen years. We introduce a different approach to search for these objects by using multiple micro- and nano-spacecraft distributed in orbit around the Sun. Their ability to faint moving objects with small telescopes is based on a new generation of low noise, fast-frame cameras combined with processors that can execute 100’s of gigaflops in a low power space environment.

Shao, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2018

Big Data Just Got Bigger

The Trinity supercomputer broke a world record in how quickly they generated a trillion files. A Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist having trouble solving a stubborn research problem needed some help – his scientific simulations had generated a sea of data, but it took so long to search the data that he couldn’t find the information he needed. He found himself looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. At the same time, the lab’s storage research team had been hard at work on another classic big data problem: creating massive numbers of files as quickly as possible. The day the team met with the scientist, you could say that Big Science and Big Data put their heads together – and now they’re making history.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1996

To See the Unseen: A History of Planetary Radar Astronomy

This book relates the history of planetary radar astronomy from its origins in radar to the present day and secondarily to bring to light that history as a case of 'Big Equipment but not Big Science'. Chapter One sketches the emergence of radar astronomy as an ongoing scientific activity at Jodrell Bank, where radar research revealed that meteors were part of the solar system. The chief Big Science driving early radar astronomy experiments was ionospheric research. Chapter Two links the Cold War and the Space Race to the first radar experiments attempted on planetary targets, while recounting the initial achievements of planetary radar, namely, the refinement of the astronomical unit and the rotational rate and direction of Venus. Chapter Three discusses early attempts to organize radar astronomy and the efforts at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, in conjunction with Harvard radio astronomers, to acquire antenna time unfettered by military priorities. Here, the chief Big Science influencing the development of planetary radar astronomy was radio astronomy. Chapter Four spotlights the evolution of planetary radar astronomy at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA facility, at Cornell University's Arecibo Observatory, and at Jodrell Bank. A congeries of funding from the military, the National Science Foundation, and finally NASA marked that evolution, which culminated in planetary radar astronomy finding a single Big Science patron, NASA. Chapter Five analyzes planetary radar astronomy as a science using the theoretical framework provided by philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn. Chapter Six explores the shift in planetary radar astronomy beginning in the 1970s that resulted from its financial and institutional relationship with NASA Big Science. Chapter Seven addresses the Magellan mission and its relation to the evolution of planetary radar astronomy from a ground-based to a space-based activity. Chapters Eight and Nine discuss the research carried out at ground-based facilities by this transformed planetary radar astronomy, as well as the upgrading of the Arecibo and Goldstone radars. A technical essay appended to this book provides an overview of planetary radar techniques, especially range-Doppler mapping.

Butrica, Andrew J.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Linguistic Privilege and Justice: What can we learn from STEM?

The linguistic privilege of native speakers in scientific communication, both oral and written, has been widely reported to influence researchers’ publications and careers in and beyond academia. I analyze social structure and communication in the STEM field through the example of big science and attempt to answer the question of why language injustice has a less significant effect on nonnative scientists and engineers than on humanity scholars, scrutinizing the role of signs and nonlinguistic boundary objects in STEM practice and written communication and how they mitigate the emphasis on linguistic eloquence. I suggest that although big science is relatively linguistically inclusive, for collaborative publications and presentations the rhetoric component requirements nevertheless remain at a level comparable to that of the humanities. I draw on the theory of justice to argue that to increase L2 speakers’ and writers’ satisfaction, language standards for international communication must be adjusted to a level convenient for an average L2.

Pronskikh, V.↗