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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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NASA NTRS2014

James Webb Space Telescope Initial Mid-Course Correction Monte Carlo Implementation using Task Parallelism

The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched into a highly elliptical orbit that does not possess sufficient energy to achieve a proper Sun-Earth L2 libration point orbit. Three mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers are planned to rectify the energy deficit: MCC-1a, MCC-1b, and MCC-2. To validate the propellant budget and trajectory design methods, a set of Monte Carlo analyses that incorporate MCC maneuver modeling and execution are employed. The first analysis focuses on the effects of launch vehicle injection errors on the magnitude of MCC-1a. The second on the spread of potential V based on the performance of the propulsion system as applied to all three MCC maneuvers. The final highlights the slight, but notable, contribution of the attitude thrusters during each MCC maneuver. Given the possible variations in these three scenarios, the trajectory design methods are determined to be robust to errors in the modeling of the flight system.

Libration Point Orbit↗

NASA NTRS2014

James Webb Space Telescope Initial Mid-Course Correction Monte Carlo Implementation using Task Parallelism

The James Webb Space Telescope will be launched into a highly elliptical orbit that does not possess sufficient energy to achieve a proper Sun-Earth/Moon L2 libration point orbit. Three mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers are planned to rectify the energy deficit: MCC-1a, MCC-1b, and MCC-2. To validate the propellant budget and trajectory design methods, a set of Monte Carlo analyses that incorporate MCC maneuver modeling and execution are employed. The first analysis focuses on the effects of launch vehicle injection errors on the magnitude of MCC-1a. The second on the spread of potential V based on the performance of the propulsion system as applied to all three MCC maneuvers. The final highlights the slight, but notable, contribution of the attitude thrusters during each MCC maneuver. Given the possible variations in these three scenarios, the trajectory design methods are determined to be robust to errors in the modeling of the flight system.

James Webb Space Telescope↗

NASA NTRS2019

Mid-Course Correction Contingency Analysis for the James Webb Space Telescope

This investigation details two analyses performed as part of an early orbit contingency operations study related to the James Webb Space Telescope’s limited ability to maneuver in a sunward direction. First, contingency planning developed by the Flight Dynamics Team and shared with the Science and Operations Center to quickly assess the available timeline in the event of a delayed mid-course correction maneuver is presented. Second, the methods for recovering from a maneuver over-burn using observatory geometry to exploit the solar radiation pressure perturbation contributions from the large sunshield as well as adjusting the maneuver campaign to recover the observatory are examined.

JWST↗

NASA NTRS2010

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Thruster Control Mode Design and Flight Experience

National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, MD, designed, built, tested, and launched the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on June 18, 2009. The LRO spacecraft is the first operational spacecraft designed to support NASA s return to the Moon, as part of the Vision for Space Exploration. LRO was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 launch vehicle into a direct insertion trajectory to the Moon. Twenty-four hours after separation the propulsion system was used to perform a mid-course correction maneuver. Four days after the mid-course correction a series of propulsion maneuvers were executed to insert LRO into its commissioning orbit. The commission period lasted eighty days and this followed by a second set of thruster maneuvers that inserted LRO into its mission orbit. To date, the spacecraft has been gathering invaluable data in support of human s future return to the moon. The LRO Attitude Control Systems (ACS) contains two thruster based control modes: Delta-H and Delta-V. The design of the two controllers are similar in that they are both used for 3-axis control of the spacecraft with the Delta-H controller used for momentum management and the Delta-V controller used for orbit adjust and maintenance maneuvers. In addition to the nominal purpose of the thruster modes, the Delta-H controller also has the added capability of performing a large angle slew maneuver. A suite of ACS components are used by the thruster based control modes, for both initialization and control. For initialization purposes, a star tracker or the Kalman Filter solution is used for providing attitude knowledge and upon entrance into the thruster based control modes attitude knowledge is provided via rate propagation using a inertial reference unit (IRU). Rate information for the controller is also supplied by the IRU. Three-axis control of the spacecraft in the thruster modes is provided by eight 5-lbf class attitude control thrusters configured in two sets of four thrusters for redundancy purposes. Four additional 20-lbf class thrusters configured in two sets of two thrusters are used for Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuvers. The propulsion system is one the few systems on-board the LRO spacecraft that has built in redundancy. The Delta-H controller consists of a Proportional-Derivative (PD) controller with a structural filter on the thrusters and a Proportional controller on the reaction wheels. The PD control that employs the thrusters is used for attitude and rate control. The Proportional controller on the reaction wheels is used for commanding the wheels to a new momentum state. The ground commands used for the Delta-H controller are the system momentum vector, reaction wheel momentum, maximum expected command time, and which set of attitude control thrusters to use. The ability to command both the system momentum vector and reaction wheel momentum in the Delta-H controller provides both a capability and an additional source of operator error. Large angle slews via the Delta-H controller is achievable via this commands because these commands are used for the exit mode criteria. Setting these commands to non-consistent values prevents the mode from exiting nominally.

Hsu, Oscar C.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Orbit Determination Support for the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP)

The Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is a Medium Class Explorers (MIDEX) mission produced in partnership between Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and Princeton University. The main science objective of the MAP mission is to produce an accurate full-sky map of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations anisotropy. MAP was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Complex 17 aboard a Delta II 7425-10 expendable launch vehicle at exactly 19:46:46.183 UTC on June 30, 2001. The spacecraft received a nominal direct insertion by the Delta into a 185 km circular orbit. MAP was then maneuvered into a sequence of phasing loops designed to set up a lunar swingby (gravity-assisted acceleration) of the spacecraft onto a transfer trajectory to a Lissajous orbit about the Earth-Sun L2 point. The mission duration is approximately 27 months with 3 to 4 months of transfer time to the final mission orbit about L2. The MAP transfer orbit consisted of 3.5 phasing loops: the first loop has a 7-day period, the second and third loops have a 9-day period, and the last half loop has a 4-day period as illustrated in Figure 1, which also indicates the placement of maneuvers. A Pfinal correction maneuver was performed 18 hours after the last perigee to more closely achieve the targeted lissajous orbit. The lunar encounter or swingby took place approximately 30 days after launch. After the lunar encounter, the spacecraft will cruise for approximately 120 days before it arrives at L2. A Mid-Course Correction (MCC) maneuver was executed seven days after the swingby to further refine the trajectory. Once the MAP satellite is injected into the L2 Lissajous orbit, it will perform occasional stationkeeping maneuvers to maintain the Lissajous orbit for a minimum of two years (and a goal of four years). Because of its complex orbital characteristics, the mission provided a unique challenge to orbit determination (OD) support in many orbital regimes. Extensive trajectory error covariance analysis was performed to predict ephemeris accuracy for the OD process using a Bayesian least-squares technique. The orbit determination error analysis is essential for maneuver planning and maneuver recovery study. Several tracking scenarios were investigated for each phase of the mission. This paper provides a summary of the premission trajectory covariance error analysis, as well as actual real-time OD results. The use and impact of the various tracking stations, systems, and measurements will be discussed. Details of the operational OD support and the inferred OD accuracy will be presented, and the results will be compared to the premission covariance analysis, In addition, there will be a discussion of the challenges presented to OD support including delta-Vs at apogee as well as perigee, and effects due to spacecraft attitude mode, in light of their implications to the OD accuracy and covariance analysis.

Truong, Son H.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Turbulence Modeling: Progress and Future Outlook

Progress in the development of the hierarchy of turbulence models for Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes codes used in aerodynamic applications is reviewed. Steady progress is demonstrated, but transfer of the modeling technology has not kept pace with the development and demands of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. An examination of the process of model development leads to recommendations for a mid-course correction involving close coordination between modelers, CFD developers, and application engineers. In instances where the old process is changed and cooperation enhanced, timely transfer is realized. A turbulence modeling information database is proposed to refine the process and open it to greater participation among modeling and CFD practitioners.

Marvin, Joseph G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

An Overview of Trajectory Design Operations for the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) Mission

The main science objective of the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) mission is to produce an accurate full-sky map of the cosmic microwave background temperature fluctuations - anisotropy. MAP will collect these measurements from a lissajous orbit about the Sun-Earth/Moon L2 Lagrange Point. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch provided mission analysis, maneuver planning and maneuver calibration for the MAP spacecraft. This paper will provide an overview of the MAP trajectory design, a summary of the maneuvers executed. Differences from the pre-launch nominal plan will also be discussed. During the MAP phasing loops, MAP performed three calibration maneuvers in order to characterize the performance of the primary sets of thrusters - +X, +Z, and -Z. The calibration maneuvers were designed to minimize their impact on the trajectory. Four maneuvers were performed to set up the gravity assist of the Moon - required to propel MAP out to its orbit about L2. These maneuvers were performed at the three phasing loop perigees and at 18 hours after the final perigee. It became necessary to alter some of the perigee maneuvers in order to shape the gravity assist. This shaping was done to help meet some mission goals. In particular, the gravity assist was changed slightly in order to remove lunar shadows in both the cruise out to L2 and in the first revolution about L2. This amounted to a change in the phasing loop AV of less than 1 m/s. After the gravity assist, two mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers were performed in order to fine-tune the trajectory. MCC1 was used to clean up and errors which resulted from the gravity assist. MCC2 was performed in order to mitigate a large stationkeeping maneuver following a crucial instrument calibration period during the cruise phase. MAP executed it's first stationkeeping maneuver in January 16th and is ready for a second calibration period during late Winter / early Spring. Further information concerning subsequent stationkeeping maneuver will be added as they become available.

Cuevas, Osvaldo O.↗

NASA NTRS2002

The MAP Propulsion Subsystem

This paper describes the requirements, design, integration, test, performance, and lessons learned of NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) propulsion subsystem. MAP was launched on a Delta-II launch vehicle from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 30, 2001. Due to instrument thermal stability requirements, the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point was selected for the mission orbit. The L2 trajectory incorporated phasing loops and a lunar gravity assist. The propulsion subsystem's requirements are to manage momentum, perform maneuvers during the phasing loops to set up the lunar swingby, and perform stationkeeping at L2 for 2 years. MAP's propulsion subsystem uses 8 thrusters which are located and oriented to provide attitude control and momentum management about all axes, and delta-V in any direction without exposing the instrument to the sun. The propellant tank holds 72 kg of hydrazine, which is expelled by unregulated blowdown pressurization. Thermal management is complex because no heater cycling is allowed at L2. Several technical challenges presented themselves during I and T, such as in-situ weld repairs and in-situ bending of thruster tubes to accommodate late changes in the observatory CG. On-orbit performance has been nominal, and all phasing loop, mid-course correction, and stationkeeping maneuvers have been successfully performed to date.

Davis, Gary T.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Orbit Determination Support for the Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP)

THe microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) ia the second Medium Class Explorer (MIDEX) mission of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The main goal of the MAP observatory is to measure the temperature fluctuations, known as anisotropy, of the cosmic microwave background (CBG) radiation over the entire sky and to produce a map of the CMB anisotropies with an angular resolution of approximately 3 degrees. MAP was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Complex 17 aboard a Delta II 7425-10 expendable launch vehicle at exactly 19:46:46.183 UTC on June 30, 20001. The spacecraft receiver a nominal direct insertion by the Delta expendable launch vehicle into a 185-km circular orbit with a 28.7 deg. inclination. MAP was than maneuvered into a sequence of phasing loops designed to set up a lunar gravity-assisted acceleration of the spacecraft onto a transfer trajectory to a lissajous orbit about the Earth-Sun L2 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million km from Earth. The science mission minimum lifetime is two years of observations at L2 with a desired lifetime of 4 years. The MAP transfer orbit consisted of 3.5 phasing loops.The MAP trajectory schematic all the way through L2 is shown. The first loop had a period of 7 days, the second and third loops were 10 days long, and the last half loop was 5 days. The periselene (i.e., lunar encounter or swingby) took place approximately 30 days after launch. After the periselene, the spacecraft cruised for approximately 60 days before it arrived in the vicinity of the L2 libration point. Two mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers were performed to refine MAP's post-launch trajectory-one after periselene and one prior to arrival at vicinity of L2. Now that MAP is at its operational L2 lissajous orbit, the MAP satellite is commanded to perform occasional station-keeping (SK) maneuvers in order to maintain its orbit around L2. Because of its complex orbital characteristics, the mission provided a unique challenge to orbit determination (OD) support in many orbital regimes.

Truong, Son H.↗

NASA NTRS2003

Students Work Alongside Scientists to Test Mars Rover

NASA's 2003-2004 Mars Exploration Rovers and associated Athena Science Payload will provide an exciting opportunity to get students and the public involved in Mars exploration. One outreach component, the Athena Student Interns Program, will directly engage high school students in scientific discovery on Mars by incorporating the students into the mission s science team. The Athena Student Interns Program, based on the successful LAPIS program, was prototyped during the FIDO rover field trials that took place in the Arizona desert and at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in August 2002 (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer/fido). Use of a participatory evaluation process allowed mid-course corrections to be made to the program and provided the model for mission-related outreach.

Fuchs, M. P.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Lunar Surface Access Module Pump-Fed Engine Turbopump Technology

The need for a high specific impulse LOX/LH2 pump-fed lunar lander engine has been established by NASA for the new Exploration architecture. Preliminary studies indicate that a 4 engine cluster in the thrust range of 9,000-lbf each is a likely configuration for the main propulsion of the manned lunar lander vehicle. The main Lunar Surface Access Module engines will likely be responsible for mid-course correction burns, lunar orbit insertion burns, a deorbit burn, and the powered descent to the lunar surface. This multi-task engine philosophy imposes a wide throttling requirement on the engines in the range of 10:1. Marshall Space Flight Center has initiated an internal effort to mature the technologies needed for full scale development of such a LOX/LH2 pump-fed engine. In particular, a fuel turbopump is being designed and fabricated at MSFC to address the issues that a small high speed turbopump of this class will face. These issues include adequate throttling performance of the pump and turbine over a very wide operating range. The small scale of the hardware presents issues including performance scaling, and manufacturing issues like that will challenge the traditional methods we have used to fabricate and assemble larger scale turbopumps. The small high speed turbopump being developed at MSFC will operate at speeds greater than 100,000-rpm. These speeds create issues that include structural dynamics and high cycle fatigue as well as rotordynamic stability. The fuel turbopump development at MSFC will address these issues, and plans are in work for component level testing as well as operation in a test bed engine environment. The fuel turbopump design is nearing completion and described herein.

Thornton, Randall J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Lunar Surface Access Module Descent Engine Turbopump Technology: Detailed Design

The need for a high specific impulse LOX/LH2 pump-fed lunar lander engine has been established by NASA for the new lunar exploration architecture. Studies indicate that a 4-engine cluster in the thrust range of 9,000-lbf each is a candidate configuration for the main propulsion of the manned lunar lander vehicle. The lander descent engine will be required to perform minor mid-course corrections, a Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn, a de-orbit burn, and the powered descent onto the lunar surface. In order to achieve the wide range of thrust required, the engines must be capable of throttling approximately 10:1. Working under internal research and development funding, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has been conducting the development of a 9,000-lbf LOX/LH2 lunar lander descent engine testbed. This paper highlights the detailed design and analysis efforts to develop the lander engine Fuel Turbopump (FTP) whose operating speeds range from 30,000-rpm to 100,000-rpm. The capability of the FTP to operate across this wide range of speeds imposes several structural and dynamic challenges, and the small size of the FTP creates scaling and manufacturing challenges that are also addressed in this paper.

Alarez, Erika↗

NASA NTRS2014

James Webb Space Telescope Orbit Determination Analysis

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is designed to study and answer fundamental astrophysical questions from an orbit about the Sun-Earth/Moon L2 libration point, 1.5 million km away from Earth. This paper describes the results of an orbit determination (OD) analysis of the JWST mission emphasizing the challenges specific to this mission in various mission phases. Three mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers during launch and early orbit phase and transfer orbit phase are required for the spacecraft to reach L2. These three MCC maneuvers are MCC-1a at Launch+12 hours, MCC-1b at L+2.5 days and MCC-2 at L+30 days. Accurate OD solutions are needed to support MCC maneuver planning. A preliminary analysis shows that OD performance with the given assumptions is adequate to support MCC maneuver planning. During the nominal science operations phase, the mission requires better than 2 cm/sec velocity estimation performance to support stationkeeping maneuver planning. The major challenge to accurate JWST OD during the nominal science phase results from the unusually large solar radiation pressure force acting on the huge sunshield. Other challenges are stationkeeping maneuvers at 21-day intervals to keep JWST in orbit around L2, frequent attitude reorientations to align the JWST telescope with its targets and frequent maneuvers to unload momentum accumulated in the reaction wheels. Monte Carlo analysis shows that the proposed OD approach can produce solutions that meet the mission requirements.

Libration Point Orbit↗

NASA NTRS2014

James Webb Space Telescope Orbit Determination Analysis

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is designed to study and answer fundamental astrophysical questions from an orbit about the Sun-EarthMoon L2 libration point, 1.5 million km away from Earth. Three mid-course correction (MCC) maneuvers during launch and early orbit phase and transfer orbit phase are required for the spacecraft to reach L2. These three MCC maneuvers are MCC-1a at Launch+12 hours, MCC-1b at L+2.5 days and MCC-2 at L+30 days. Accurate orbit determination (OD) solutions are needed to support MCC maneuver planning. A preliminary analysis shows that OD performance with the given assumptions is adequate to support MCC maneuver planning. During the nominal science operations phase, the mission requires better than 2 cmsec velocity estimation performance to support stationkeeping maneuver planning. The major challenge to accurate JWST OD during the nominal science phase results from the unusually large solar radiation pressure force acting on the huge sunshield. Other challenges are stationkeeping maneuvers at 21-day intervals to keep JWST in orbit around L2, frequent attitude reorientations to align the JWST telescope with its targets and frequent maneuvers to unload momentum accumulated in the reaction wheels. Monte Carlo analysis shows that the proposed OD approach can produce solutions that meet the mission requirements.

James Webb Space Telescope↗

NASA NTRS2015

Early Mission Maneuver Operations for the Deep Space Climate Observatory Sun-Earth L1 Libration Point Mission

The Deep Space Climate Observatory mission launched on February 11, 2015, and inserted onto a transfer trajectory toward a Lissajous orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 libration point. This paper presents an overview of the baseline transfer orbit and early mission maneuver operations leading up to the start of nominal science orbit operations. In particular, the analysis and performance of the spacecraft insertion, mid-course correction maneuvers, and the deep-space Lissajous orbit insertion maneuvers are discussed, com-paring the baseline orbit with actual mission results and highlighting mission and operations constraints..

OPERATIONS↗

NASA NTRS2017

Development of the European Service Module Propulsion Subsystem for the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Hardware Heritage Schedule limitations and budget constraints drove the need for extensive use of heritage hardware designs. In some cases (OMS and TVC) flight hardware reuse (from Shuttle) was required,and will be delta-qualified for use on Orion Primary sources of heritage: ATV Shuttle Orion CM PSS Ariane 5 EPS Targeted Development Testing Component development testing was performed to address the highest risk areas of heritage design compliance with Orion requirements Assembly level development testing was performed to understand complex assemblies and component interactions Heritage Direct re-use of assets from Shuttle Orbiters, all assets have varying flight history. Orion Use Used by Orion to gimbal the main engine during major translational maneuvers Development Testing Random vibration on controller box (lead to card retention design mod) Design Changes (only as required) Circuit board retention in controller box (single instance from Shuttle flight history) New, longer harnesses Basic Specs(8) fixed position engines Thrust: 105 lbf Nozzle area ratio: 164:1 Orion Use Nominally used for separation maneuvers and mid-course correction maneuvers In contingency scenario (failed main engine), used for major translational maneuvers Drives the need for long continuous duration firing Drives the need for off-pulsing (to steer) Control authority requires 50 duty cycle Development Testing Random Vibration (added vibration isolation bracket) Hot fire, duty cycle (changed MR)

pressure fed↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Flight Dynamics Planning and Operations Support for the JWST Mission

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched from Kourou Spaceport on December 25, 2021, at 12:20 UTC on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. The launch vehicle inserted JWST into a 30-day transfer trajectory to the Sun-Earth-Moon (SEM) Lagrange point L2 region. JWST executed three mid-course correction maneuvers (MCCs) to insert the spacecraft into a quasi-halo orbit about SEM L2; JWST will maintain its trajectory about L2 for at least 5.5 years, with a goal of at least 10.5 years. This paper summarizes the flight dynamics support for JWST, including the prelaunch nominal trajectory design, the launch window analysis, contingency planning for trajectory-related anomalies, mission operations support for the first 6 months, and a comparison of the planned and achieved actual JWST trajectory results. The orbit determination strategy, both planned and executed, will be summarized, and the method of addressing the anomalies as they occurred will be included.

Karen Richon↗

NASA NTRS1962

Rendezvous Guidance Technology

The literature on rendezvous guidance technology is reviewed and a bibliography of about 160 documents is presented. The importance of the proper selection of the ascent trajectory and of the orbit for a manned space station or an orbiting launch complex is emphasized. The way the launch delay problem affects the selection of the ascent trajectory and the target orbit is discussed. A specific ascent trajectory and an orbit for a manned space station or an orbiting launch complex is recommended on the premise that launch delay problems will continue to outweigh most of the other orbit selection criteria. A new method for determining the velocity corrections required for mid-course guidance is proposed . The proposed methods consist of an "exact-numerical" solution of the relative equations of motion in the "Shell-coordinate system." The proposed "exact-numerical" method extends the applicability of the mid- course equations to a much greater range than that of the currently available linear methods .

Trajectory↗