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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 NTRS2010

Florida Tech CubeSat Experiment Feasibility Study

CubeSats are a relatively new type of satellite. Smaller than long-term (5+ year life expectancy) satellites, these pico-satellites are comparatively cheap, small (10x10x10 cm), and are very versatile. Universities world-wide are using CubeSats to conduct a variety of experiments in space without the need for a large experimental platform. Today CubeSats are considered to be one of the most effective ways to send a small payload into space and has attracted the attention of many educational and non-profit organizations. As this pico-satellite model continues to gain penetration into the satellite build and launch industry, it is expected that more governmental, educational, and commercial interests will emerge. As an example, more of the space-related items of high interest to the National Science Foundation may be tackled with a CubeSat platform resulting in lower life cycle costs than traditional satellite options. NASA LSP, in cooperation with the Florida Institute of Technology, has initiated a feasibility study to investigate the technical aspects of measuring and transferring vibration, acceleration, temperature, and video data from a CubeSat to NASA Hanger AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) a.k.a. Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This report provides a technical feasibility analysis to determine whether-or-not a specific set of NASA/LSP requirements can be accomplished. Our approach has been to provide a "notional" component layout to determine the feasibility of the NASA/LSP stakeholder requirements. The notional layout is used to consider component level technical issues such as size, weight, & power (SWaP), bandwidth, and other critical technical parameters. Even though the notional components may satisfy the stated requirements and thereby demonstrate feasibility, the notional layout is NOT considered a design since no component optimization and design trade-off analysis has taken place. This activity should be accomplished in an appropriate design phase that is outside of the scope of this effort.

Arrasmith, William W.↗
NASA NTRS2009

NASA's Impact in Florida: A Tech Transfer Perspective

The Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is dedicated to forming partnerships that can positively contribute to -- and benefit from -- NASA's research and development (R&D) and technology innovations. This document discusses the IPP-driven impacts of NASA in Florida.

Dunn, Carol↗
NASA NTRS1994

JOVE NASA-FIT program: Microgravity and aeronomy projects

This semi-annual status report is divided into two sections: Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Lab and Aeronomy Lab. The Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) research involves studying solar cell materials using the STM built at Florida Tech using a portion of our initial Jove equipment funding. One result of the participation in the FSEC project will be to design and build an STM system which is portable. This could serve as a prototype STM system which might be used on the Space Shuttle during a Spacelab mission, or onboard the proposed Space Station. The scanning tunneling microscope is only able to image the surface structure of electrically conductive crystals; by building an atomic force microscope (AFM) the surface structure of any sample, regardless of its conductivity, will be able to be imaged. With regards to the Aeronomy Lab, a total of four different mesospheric oxygen emission codes were created to calculate the intensity along the line of sight of the shuttle observations for 2972A, Herzberg I, Herzberg II, and Chamberlain bands. The thermosphere-ionosphere coupling project was completed with two major accomplishments: collection of 500 data points on modulation of neutral wind with geophysical variables, and establishment of constraints on behavior of the height of the ionosphere as a result of interaction between geophysical and geometrical factors. The magnetotail plasma project has been centered around familiarization with the subject in the form of a literature search and preprocessing of IMP-8 data.

Patterson, James D.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Crawler Solids Unknown Analysis

Crawler Transporter (CT) #2 has been undergoing refurbishment to carry the Space Launch System (SLS). After returning to normal operation, multiple filters of the gear box lubrication system failed/clogged and went on bypass during a test run to the launch pad. Analysis of the filters was done in large part with polarized light microscopy (PLM) to identify the filter contaminates and the source of origin.

Polarized Light Microscopy↗
NASA NTRS2015

NASA Work Experience

I have had the opportunity to support the analytical laboratories in chemical analysis of unknown samples, using Optical Microscopy (OM), Polarizing Light Microscopy (PLM), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEMEDS), and X-ray Powder Diffraction (XPD). I have assisted in characterizing fibers pulled from a spacecraft, a white fibrous residue discovered in a jet refueler truck, brown residue from a plant habitat slated for delivery to the ISS (International Space Station), corrosion on a pipe from a sprinkler, and air filtration material brought back from the ISS. I also conducted my own fiber study in order to practice techniques and further my understanding of background concepts. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to participate in diverse work assignments, where I was assigned to work with other branches of the engineering department for 1-2 days each. The first was in the Materials Science branch where I participated in the construction of the plant habitat intended for use in research aboard the ISS. The second was in the Testing Design branch where I assisted with tensile and hardness testing of over 40 samples. In addition, I have had the privilege to attend multiple tours of the NASA KSC campus, including to the Astronaut Crew Quarters, the VAB (the main area, the Columbia room, and the catwalk), the Visitor Center housing the shuttle Atlantis, the Saturn-V exhibit, the Prototype laboratory, SWAMP WORKS, the Shuttle Landing Facility, the Crawler, and the Booster Fabrication Facility (BFF). Lastly, much of my coursework prepared me for this experience, including numerous laboratory courses with topics diverse as chemistry, physics, and biology.

Florida Tech↗
NASA NTRS2016

Polarized Light Microscopy

Polarized light microscopy (PLM) is a technique which employs the use of polarizing filters to obtain substantial optical property information about the material which is being observed. This information can be combined with other microscopy techniques to confirm or elucidate the identity of an unknown material, determine whether a particular contaminant is present (as with asbestos analysis), or to provide important information that can be used to refine a manufacturing or chemical process. PLM was the major microscopy technique in use for identification of materials for nearly a century since its introduction in 1834 by William Fox Talbot, as other techniques such as SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy), XPD (X-ray Powder Diffraction), and TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) had not yet been developed. Today, it is still the only technique approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for asbestos analysis, and is often the technique first applied for identification of unknown materials. PLM uses different configurations in order to determine different material properties. With each configuration additional clues can be gathered, leading to a conclusion of material identity. With no polarizing filter, the microscope can be used just as a stereo optical microscope, and view qualities such as morphology, size, and number of phases. With a single polarizing filter (single polars), additional properties can be established, such as pleochroism, individual refractive indices, and dispersion staining. With two polarizing filters (crossed polars), even more can be deduced: isotropy vs. anisotropy, extinction angle, birefringence/degree of birefringence, sign of elongation, and anomalous polarization colors, among others. With the use of PLM many of these properties can be determined in a matter of seconds, even for those who are not highly trained. McCrone, a leader in the field of polarized light microscopy, often advised, If you cant determine a specific optical property of a particle after two minutes, move onto another configuration. Since optical properties can be seen so very quickly and easily under polarized light, it is only necessary to spend a maximum of two minutes on a technique to determine a particular property, though often only a few seconds are required.

Engineering↗
NASA NTRS1999

An Acoustic Charge Transport Imager for High Definition Television

This project, over its term, included funding to a variety of companies and organizations. In addition to Georgia Tech these included Florida Atlantic University with Dr. William E. Glenn as the P.I., Kodak with Mr. Mike Richardson as the P.I. and M.I.T./Polaroid with Dr. Richard Solomon as the P.I. The focus of the work conducted by these organizations was the development of camera hardware for High Definition Television (HDTV). The focus of the research at Georgia Tech was the development of new semiconductor technology to achieve a next generation solid state imager chip that would operate at a high frame rate (I 70 frames per second), operate at low light levels (via the use of avalanche photodiodes as the detector element) and contain 2 million pixels. The actual cost required to create this new semiconductor technology was probably at least 5 or 6 times the investment made under this program and hence we fell short of achieving this rather grand goal. We did, however, produce a number of spin-off technologies as a result of our efforts. These include, among others, improved avalanche photodiode structures, significant advancement of the state of understanding of ZnO/GaAs structures and significant contributions to the analysis of general GaAs semiconductor devices and the design of Surface Acoustic Wave resonator filters for wireless communication. More of these will be described in the report. The work conducted at the partner sites resulted in the development of 4 prototype HDTV cameras. The HDTV camera developed by Kodak uses the Kodak KAI-2091M high- definition monochrome image sensor. This progressively-scanned charge-coupled device (CCD) can operate at video frame rates and has 9 gm square pixels. The photosensitive area has a 16:9 aspect ratio and is consistent with the "Common Image Format" (CIF). It features an active image area of 1928 horizontal by 1084 vertical pixels and has a 55% fill factor. The camera is designed to operate in continuous mode with an output data rate of 5MHz, which gives a maximum frame rate of 4 frames per second. The MIT/Polaroid group developed two cameras under this program. The cameras have effectively four times the current video spatial resolution and at 60 frames per second are double the normal video frame rate.

Hunt, William D.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Observations and Analysis of Atmospheric Hydroxyl

Ground-based measurements of sunlight absorption at the OH P(sub 1)(l) resonance line at 308 nm have been made on a continuous basis at Fritz Peak, Colorado. The derived OH vertical column abundances show the persistence of a new seasonal regime which began in 1991. The fall minimum has been consistently depressed about 10-15% below the 1980-1990 average fall values. While the initial onset of depressed fall abundances occurred a few months after the Pinatubo eruption, there has been no fall OH recovery correlating with decreased amounts of volcanic aerosol found since spring 1993. The Colorado data also continues to exhibit an AM-PM asymmetry which varies seasonally, approximately in phase with local total ozone. These observations were presented at the Front Range AGU meeting in February 1996 and were published in Geophysical Research Letters in July 1996 (preprint enclosed). An update through the fall of 1996, when morning abundances were found to be extremely low, was presented at the Fall 1996 AGU meeting (abstract attached). A PEPSIOS instrument of identical design is currently operational and has been used since April 1996 for OH column measurements at New Mexico Tech, Socorro, NM. Title for both instruments was transferred from Florida Atlantic University to New Mexico Tech in February of 1996. Comparative measurements from the two instruments for April-July 1996 indicate small differences in OH column abundances, with New Mexico (34 deg N) abundances about 10% above Colorado (40 deg N) values for comparable solar zenith angles. A more detailed comparison will require at least one full year of data from both locations. New Mexico measurements were obtained on June 10, 1996, concurrently with a balloon launch of the NASA STRAT mission from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. We hope to make use of STRAT measurements H2O, CH4, and O3 which are particularly relevant to OH photochemistry. Additional work at New Mexico Tech involves a comparison of P(sub 1)(1) and Q(sub 1)(3) absorption by the method of Doppler shift of solar limb spectra. These are being used to infer path weighted temperatures and for validations studies on the standard method of analysis using the single P(sub 1)(1) line. Results were presented at the Fall 1996 AGU meeting (abstract attached). A graduate student in the Physics Department at New Mexico Tech has been supported since August 1996. The student is investigating column OH behavior using the NCAR 2-D model of the middle atmosphere. Graduate student support was not available until the start of the second year (Nov. 15, 1996), therefore funds have been transferred from the allocation for the research associate, who resigned from the project July 1, 1996.

Minschwaner, Ken R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Camp Blanding Lightning Mapping Array

A seven station, short base-line Lightning Mapping Array was installed at the Camp Blanding International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) during April 2011. This network will support science investigations of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) and lightning initiation using rocket triggered lightning at the ICLRT. The network operations and data processing will be carried out through a close collaboration between several organizations, including the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, University of Florida, and New Mexico Tech. The deployment was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The network does not have real-time data dissemination. Description, status and plans will be discussed.

Blakeslee,Richard↗
NASA NTRS2003

Home Insulation With the Stroke of a Brush

Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions, LLC, of Melbourne, Florida, is producing a very complex blend of ceramic vacuum-filled refractory products designed to minimize the path of hot air transfer through ceilings, walls, and roofs. The insulating ceramic technology blocks the transfer of heat outward when applied to paint on interior walls and ceilings, and prevents the transfer of heat inward when used to paint exterior walls and roofs, effectively providing year-round comfort in the home. As a manufacturer and marketer of thermal solutions for residential, commercial, and industrial applications, Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions attributes its success to the high performance insulating ceramic microsphere originally developed from NASA thermal research at Ames Research Center. Shaped like a hollow ball so small that it looks as if it is a single grain of flour to the naked eye (slightly thicker than a human hair), the microsphere is noncombustible and fairly chemical-resistant, and has a wall thickness about 1/10 of the sphere diameter, a compressive strength of about 4,000 pounds per square inch, and a softening point of about 1,800 C. Hy-Tech Thermal Solutions improved upon these properties by removing all of the gas inside and creating a vacuum. In effect, a 'mini thermos bottle' is produced, acting as a barrier to heat by reflecting it away from the protected surface. When these microspheres are combined with other materials, they enhance the thermal resistance of those materials. In bulk, the tiny ceramic 'beads' have the appearance of a fine talcum powder. Their inert, nontoxic properties allow them to mix easily into any type of paint, coating, adhesive, masonry, or drywall finish. Additionally, their roundness causes them to behave like ball bearings, rolling upon each other, and letting the coatings flow smoothly. When applied like paint to a wall or roof, the microsphere coating shrinks down tight and creates a dense film of the vacuum cells. The resulting ceramic layer improves fire resistance, protects from ultraviolet rays, repels insects such as termites, and shields from the destructive forces of nature.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2025

Converter Compressor Building, SWMU 089 Monitoring Well 21 Area Implementation Work Plan Kennedy Space Center, Florida

This Implementation Work Plan (IWP) was prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc., for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract 80KSC019D0011/80KSC019F0070, for the implementation of a bioremediation Interim Measure (IM) at the Converter Compressor Building (CCB) site located at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The location of CCB within KSC is shown on Figure A-1. CCB has been designated as Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 089 under KSC’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program. The overall Corrective Action Objective (CAO) for CCB is to reduce concentrations of trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE), trans-1,2-dichloroethene (tDCE), and vinyl chloride (VC) to less than State of Florida Groundwater Cleanup Target Levels (GCTLs). The objective for the IM associated with this IM is to reduce groundwater concentrations for the contaminants of concern (COCs) to less than their Natural Default Attenuation Concentrations (NADCs) within the Monitoring Well 21 Area (herein referred to as MW21 Area) via bioremediation injections to support transition to long term monitoring (LTM). This IWP describes the activities that will be performed for the treatment of the MW21 Area. The Revision 1 CCB MW21 Area Interim Measure Work Plan (IMWP; NASA, 2024), which was approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on December 26, 2024, was used as the design basis for this IWP.

Mark Jonnet↗
NASA NTRS2016

Hypergol Maintenance Facility Hazardous Waste South Staging Areas, SWMU 070 Corrective Measures Implementation

This document presents the Corrective Measures Implementation (CMI) Year 10 Annual Report for implementation of corrective measures at the Hypergol Maintenance Facility (HMF) Hazardous Waste South Staging Areas at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The work is being performed by Tetra Tech, Inc., for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) NNK12CA15B, Task Order (TO) 07. Mr. Harry Plaza, P.E., of NASA's Environmental Assurance Branch is the Remediation Project Manager for John F. Kennedy Space Center. The Tetra Tech Program Manager is Mr. Mark Speranza, P.E., and the Tetra Tech Project Manager is Robert Simcik, P.E.

CMI↗
NASA NTRS1991

Museum Exhibit

A TSP from NASA Tech Briefs provided the solution to an electrical problem at a Florida museum. When a model train would not start without a jerk, a Marshall Space Flight Center development called pulse width control was adapted. The new circuit enables the train to start smoothly and reduces construction and maintenance costs. The same technology is also used in another hands-on exhibit. Applications of other TSPs are anticipated.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

The CHARA optical array

The Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy (CHARA) was established in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University in 1984 with the goals of designing, constructing, and then operating a facility for very high spatial resolution astronomy. The interest in such a facility grew out of the participants' decade of activity in speckle interferometry. Although speckle interferometry continues to provide important astrophysical measurements of a variety of objects, many pressing problems require resolution far beyond that which can be expected from single aperture telescopes. In early 1986, CHARA received a grant from the National Science Foundation which has permitted a detailed exploration of the feasibility of constructing a facility which will provide a hundred-fold increase in angular resolution over what is possible by speckle interferometry at the largest existing telescopes. The design concept for the CHARA Array was developed initially with the contractural collaboration of United Technologies Optical Systems, Inc., in West Palm Beach, Florida, an arrangement that expired in August 1987. In late November 1987, the Georgia Tech Research Institute joined with CHARA to continue and complete the design concept study. Very high-resolution imaging at optical wavelengths is clearly coming of age in astronomy. The CHARA Array and other related projects will be important and necessary milestones along the way toward the development of a major national facility for high-resolution imaging--a true optical counterpart to the Very Large Array. Ground-based arrays and their scientific output will lead to high resolution facilities in space and, ultimately, on the Moon.

Mcalister, Harold A.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Oceanic Storm Characteristics off the Kennedy Space Center Coast

Natural cloud-to-ground lightning may behave differently depending on the characteristics of the attachment mediums, including the peak current (inferred from radiation fields) and the number of ground strike locations per flash. Existing literature has raised questions over the years on these characteristics of lightning over oceans, and the behaviors are not yet well understood. To investigate this we will obtain identical electric field observations over adjacent land and ocean regions during both clear air and thunderstorm periods. Oceanic observations will be obtained using a 3-meter NOAA buoy that has been instrumented with a Campbell Scientific electric field mill and New Mexico Techs slow antenna, to measure the electric fields aloft. We are currently obtaining measurements from this system on-shore at the Florida coast, to calibrate and better understand the behavior of the system in elevated-field environments. Sometime during winter 2013, this system will be moored 20NM off the coast of the Kennedy Space Center. Measurements from this system will be compared to the existing on-shore electric field mill suite of 31 sensors and a coastal slow antenna. Supporting observations will be provided by New Mexico Techs Lightning Mapping Array, the Eastern Range Cloud to Ground Lightning Surveillance System, and the National Lightning Detection Network. An existing network of high-speed cameras will be used to capture cloud-to-ground lightning strikes over the terrain regions to identify a valid data set for analysis. This on-going project will demonstrate the value of off-shore electric field measurements for safety-related decision making at KSC, and may improve our understanding of relative lightning risk to objects on the ground vs. ocean. This presentation will provide an overview of this new instrumentation, and a summary of our progress to date.

Ocean↗
NASA NTRS2017

Tech Transfer News

Kennedy Tech Transfer News is the magazine of the Technology Transfer Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This magazine seeks to inform and educate civil servant and contractor personnel at Kennedy Space Center about actively participating in achieving NASA's technology transfer and partnership goals.

Victor, Megan E.↗
NASA NTRS2010

KSC Tech Transfer News, Volume 3, No. 1

Kennedy Tech Transfer News is the semiannual magazine of the Innovative Partnerships Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This magazine seeks to inform and educate civil servant and contractor personnel at Kennedy about actively participating in achieving NASA's technology transfer and partnership goals. The contents include: 1) About IPP; 2) NTR corner; 3) Innovator Insights; 4) Licensing Success; 5) Partnership Success; 6) SBIR/STTR Success; 7) Events; 8) Trands in Innovation; 9) Q&A: Data Rights; and 10) Awards.

Dunn, Carol↗