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NASA NTRS2019

Challenges and Potential Solutions to Develop and Fund NASA Flagship Missions

Large, strategic "Flagship" missions have unique characteristics that lead to challenging developmental difficulties for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) had technical and programmatic challenges that led to significant schedule delays and subsequent cost growth. Although NASA has instituted policies that have reduced cost growth for more "typical" NASA science missions, NASA Flagship missions remain a distinct challenge due to their requirement to provide unprecedented science or tackle bold exploration goals, typically while concurrently developing new technologies. The unique challenges presented by Flagship missions make it extremely difficult to fully predict cost and schedule given that the technical and programmatic advances needed to meet performance requirements are unprecedented. This paper addresses why Flagship missions are unique and proposes a new programmatic approach to develop and fund Flagship missions.

flagship missions↗
NASA NTRS2019

Challenges and Potential Solutions to Develop and Fund NASA Flagship Missions

Large, strategic "Flagship" missions have unique characteristics that lead to challenging developmental difficulties for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Missions such as the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) had technical and programmatic challenges that led to significant schedule delays and subsequent cost growth. Although NASA has instituted policies that have reduced cost growth for more "typical" NASA science missions, NASA Flagship missions remain a distinct challenge due to their requirement to provide unprecedented science or tackle bold exploration goals, typically while concurrently developing new technologies. The unique challenges presented by Flagship missions make it extremely difficult to fully predict cost and schedule given that the technical and programmatic advances needed to meet performance requirements are unprecedented. This paper addresses why Flagship missions are unique and proposes a new programmatic approach to develop and fund Flagship missions.

Develop↗
NASA NTRS2019

Managing Flagship Missions to Reduce Cost and Schedule

Flagship missions are highly complex with highly nested systems. This level of complexity poses unique management problems as complexity influences risk which, in turn, affects cost and schedule. Establishing a strong technical and programmatic leadership team is critical to mission success. Developing and using a mission architecture is critical to informing the management organization, product ownership, interface and integration relationships, schedule organization, and integration and test paths. In highly nested systems, the mission phasing can be significantly out of sync with product phasing. Targeted technology development prior to Phase A is critical to reducing risk. Early architecture, concept design, and requirements development is critical to reducing risk. Modular design; pathfinders; parallel manufacturing and integration and test paths; and properly handling institutional requirements across interfaces are all management techniques that can be applied to reduce risk. NASA’s large strategic missions, sometimes referred to as flagship missions, are designed to provide answers to some of the most compelling scientific questions being asked. These types of missions are a series of highly nested subsystems that pose unique management problems when compared to more traditional instrument and spacecraft designs. They typically have an overall architecture that is very complex and nested; they typically require a tremendous amount of technology development; they typically involve many contractors and subcontractors with many associated contracts; and they typically involve staff from all over the world. Successful management of a flagship requires the balance between science requirements, engineering and technology capabilities, and resource constraints. Mismanaging these flagship missions can and will lead to significant cost and schedule growth, both of which are detrimental to NASA’s overall reputation which, in turn, is detrimental to the development of future flagship missions. While many of the same management principles used on smaller instruments and spacecraft are relevant, managing flagship missions requires an evolution of those current best practices to better address the specific needs and additional complexity and vastness of these missions. This paper explores how to leverage lessons learned from previous flagship missions to better manage flagship missions in the future.

Hylan, Jason↗
NASA NTRS2008

Titan Flagship Mission 3-Degree-of-Freedom Simulation Analysis

A NASA flagship mission to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the only moon in the solar system with a significant atmosphere, has been designed that uses three separate spacecraft, each requiring significant interaction with the atmosphere. The first vehicle is a Titan lander for lower-atmosphere and surface science. The second is an aerial vehicle for aerial science at approximately 10 km altitude with an expected lifetime of one year. This spacecraft will use the natural winds of Titan to cover a large area over its lifetime. The third vehicle is a Titan orbiter that will interact with the atmosphere in two respects. The first atmospheric interaction is the orbital insertion maneuver that will be accomplished using aerocapture, during which time the hyperbolic approach of 6.5 km/s will be reduced to 1.6 km/s over 41 minutes with an exit periapsis altitude of 130 km. The second atmospheric interaction occurs after a propulsive maneuver has raised the periapsis after aerocapture to 1170 km, where the atmosphere will be sampled over several months. This is the first phase of aerosampling that covers southern latitudes. After a 3.3-year circular science phase at an altitude of 1700 km, a second phase of additional aerosampling is performed sampling northern latitudes. The atmospheric trajectory analysis for these three spacecraft will be discussed throughout this paper.

Prince, Jill L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thermal Protection Design for Uranus Orbiter Flagship Mission: Probes and Aerocapture

Introduction: The Decadal Strategy for Plane-tary Science and Astrobiology prioritized a Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) as the highest-priority new Flagship mission for the 2023 – 2032 decade. Missions to the outer solar system require significant interplanetary cruise durations on the order of 12 – 15 years while carrying propellant to reduce velocity by several km/s to achieve a desired orbit. Parasitic mass and travel time can be traded where faster arrival velocities require more mass expensive capture burns. Recent advancements in Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) for planetary entry enable mass-efficient designs for atmospheric probes and missions that apply aerocapture for orbit insertion.

Uranus TPS Aerocapture Probe↗
NASA NTRS2020

Encealdus Orbilander: A Flagship Mission Concept for Astrobiology

"Whether life exists beyond Earth remains a fundamental question driving our exploration of the Solar System. At Saturn’s moon Enceladus, plumes of oceanic material vented into space allow the investigation of the astrobiological potential of an ocean world, hinted at by Cassini, without the necessity of drilling through kilometers of ice crust. The Enceladus Orbilander is a flagship ($2.56B in fiscal year 2025 dollars) mission concept created for the 2023–2033 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Orbilander takes full advantage of the opportunity provided by Enceladus’ plumes to search for signs of life. A single spacecraft both orbits and lands, capturing samples from four distinct reservoirs offered by the plumes. These samples, both particulate and vapor, are then analyzed by the Life Detection Suite (LDS), a set of five instruments conducting complementary and orthogonal biosignature-seeking measurements. To provide the context that specifically enhances interpretation of LDS measurements, geochemical and geophysical investigations are conducted both in orbit and on the surface. These reveal the physio-chemical state of the ocean and core as well as the processes involved in ejection of plume material and how these affect the ocean material analyzed by the LDS. The Orbilander can be delivered to the Saturn system via several launch vehicle and trajectory options, including a direct trajectory (7-year cruise), a ∆V-EGA trajectory (9-year cruise) and several options using an inner cruise with Venus and Earth flybys (10-year cruise). Upon Saturn Orbit Insertion, a 4-year moon tour pumps down the Orbilander’s orbit to intercept Enceladus. The most optimal arrival times balance the Jupiter flyby opportunities of the late 2030s and solar illumination at the Enceladus high southern latitudes where plume material is most abundant. This mission concept therefore targets project start in 2030. Upon Enceladus Orbit Insertion, the Orbilander begins a 1.5-year-long campaign of landing site reconnaissance, remote sensing science, and collecting sufficient plume sample to run all but one of the LDS measurements. After successful landing, the Orbilander spends 2 years on the surface conducting multiple LDS measurements with all five instruments on actively and passively collected plume material, as well as seismic investigations. The schedule laid out here is well-defined, but the mission also has operational and resource flexibility should additional reconnaissance be needed. As part of the design study, mission and development risks were identified and mitigation strategies proposed. Technologies key to achieving the life detection science objectives include instrumentation matured under programs like COLDTech and ICEE-2, such as aspects of the sampling system and microfluidic devices, as well as well-known techniques like high-resolution and separation-capable mass spectrometers. Autonomous onboard navigation is planned to maintain a halo orbit around Enceladus to enable passive sampling from orbit as well as reconnaissance measurements for use in site selection and landing. Terrain relative navigation is included to ensure safe landing, given that targeted areas may contain landing hazards. Continued development of radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) technology and long-life batteries is essential for this long duration mission. The Enceladus Orbilander represents an optimal point in the trade space of science value versus cost, taking advantage of the extensive knowledge of Enceladus provided by Cassini, how well Enceladus lends itself to a search for life in material from its ocean, and the flexibility afforded by the innovative design developed by the APL team. By taking full advantage of Enceladus’ plumes both in orbit and on the surface, Orbilander represents a robust search for life with complementary and orthogonal biosignatures as well as contextual geophysical and geochemical measurements, determining not only whether Enceladus is inhabited (at levels up to 500,000× scarcer than in Earth’s oceans) but also why. "

Exobiology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Technological Developments of NexGen Micro-Shutter Array (NGMSA) for the Future Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Flagship Mission

We present the most up to date advancements in production, design, and performance of the NexGen Micro-Shutter Array (NGMSA) for Multi-object Spectroscopy (MOS), intended for the future Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Flagship. A microshutter array functions as a programmable slit mask, to generate slits corresponding to sparsely distributed sources in the field of view of a telescope. In contrast to the magnetic/electrostatic microshutter arrays used in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the NGMSA is fully operated by electrostatics, simplifying overall system. Our small pilot array proved its capability from FORTIS sounding rocket mission in 2019. As we are switching to a larger HWO flight size array process, we encounter multiple processing related issues. Also, there has been individual shutter level issue that impairs operation and performance. We will discuss those problems and strategies to overcome the challenges to achieve an on/off contrast of >1e5 with near 100% shutter operability.

Microshutter↗
NASA NTRS2019

Cryosystem Design for the Origins Astrophysics Flagship Mission

Origins Space Telescope (OST) is a study performed over the last several years for NASA Headquarters Astrophysics Division to cover the wavelength range from 3 to 600 microns (mid to far infrared) with sensitivity improvements of up to 4 orders of magnitude over previous observatories. The mid- and far-IR are not accessible from ground based observatories in general due to the opacity of the Earth's atmosphere. Even if this were not the case, the telescope would need to be cooled to close to 4 degrees Kelvin to limit its own emission in the far IR. We are therefore studying a 5.9 meter diameter space telescope cooled to 4.5 degrees Kelvin with instruments operating from 4.5 degrees Kelvin down to 0.05 degrees Kelvin. The overall architecture of the design reference mission, some of the science goals, and the instrument suite will be described.

Cryogenic System↗
NASA NTRS2021

Venus Flagship Mission Concept: A Decadal Survey Study

More than any other known planet, Venus is essential to our understanding of the evolution and habitability of Earth-size planets throughout the galaxy. We address two critical questions for planetary science: 1) How, if at all, did Venus evolve through a habitable phase? 2) What circumstances affect how volatiles shape habitable worlds? More than any other group, volatile elements have a strong influence on the evolutionary paths of rocky bodies and are critical to understanding solar system evolution. It is clear that Venus experienced a different volatile element history from the Earth and provides the only accessible example of one end-state of habitable Earth-size planets. Venus will allow us to identify the mechanisms that operate together to produce and maintain habitable worlds like our own.The (VFM) concept architecture relies on five collaborative platforms: an Orbiter, Lander, variable-altitude Aerobot and two Small Satellites (SmallSats) delivered via a single launch on a Falcon 9 heavy expendable. The platforms would use multiple instruments to measure the exosphere, atmosphere and surface at multiple scales with high precision and over time. VFM would provide the first measurements of mineralogy and geochemistry of tessera terrain to examine rocks considered to be among the most likely to have formed in a habitable climate regime. Landed, descent, aerial and orbital platforms would work synergistically to measure the chemical composition of the atmosphere including the Aerobot operating for 60 days in the Venus clouds. Loss mechanisms would be constrained by the SmallSats in two key orbits. The baseline payload for VFM includes instruments to make the first measurements of seismicity and remanent magnetism, the first long-lived (60 day) surface platform and the first life detection instrument at Venus to interrogate what could be an inhabited world.The VFM concept directly addresses each of the three Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG) goals as well as several of the strategic objectives of the 2020 NASA Science Plan, Planetary Science Division, Heliophysics and Astrophysics. The simultaneous, synergistic measurements of the solid body, surface, atmosphere and space environment provided by the VFM would allow us to target the most accessible Earth-size planet in our galaxy, and gain a profound new understanding of the evolution of our solar system and habitable worlds.

Segura, Marcia↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Imaging Science Requirements for a Uranus Flagship Mission

Introduction: Our presentation will summarize the requirements for UV/Visible/Near-IR remote-sensing imaging science instruments (including mapping spectrometers) envisioned for the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission recommended by the recent planetary decadal survey. The Uranus system offers many targets for imaging investigations. Imaging science investigations are crucial to answering fundamental questions about various physical processes that shape the Uranian system and drive its evolution. Each science objective addressed through imaging has requirements for observation and illumination geometries as well as coverage and resolution in the spatial, spectral and temporal dimensions. By combining the requirements for the diverse science targets in the Uranian system, we present a set of overarching imaging science requirements for UOP. Atmospheric Science: The study of Uranus’ atmosphere is crucial in understanding the planet's energy balance and interior heat flux. Imaging observations map how the atmosphere scatters incident solar radiation. Imaging is key to characterizing planetary-scale energy/material transport though global atmospheric dynamics and local meteorology. Hyperspectral mapping combined with radiative transfer analysis reveals the vertical distribution of clouds and hazes. Chronicling temporal variabilities of atmospheric features is key to understanding the various processes that operate within the dynamic Uranian atmosphere. A comprehensive understanding of Uranus' atmosphere is essential in deciphering the planet's origins and evolution as well as providing insight into the broader field of planetary and exoplanetary science. Magnetospheric Interactions: Imaging science is critical to understand the elusive Uranian aurorae. Mapping the aurorae and their temporal dynamics will reveal the interaction of Uranus’ complex magnetosphere with the solar wind. The apparent decades-long cooling of Uranus’ upper atmosphere is thought to be due to changes in energy input from the overlying magnetosphere, and so mapping and quantifying the auroral evidence for this energy flux is particularly relevant for upper atmospheric science In addition, Uranus’ large moons may generate auroral footprints, which can be used to constrain the planet’s unusual magnetic field structure. Satellite Interiors: Imaging science can address the potential habitability of the larger moons of Uranus by measuring their shapes and rotational states (including librations), which combined with gravity data are crucial to understanding their internal density structure. Satellite Origins: Origin markers such as organics and volatiles may be preserved on the satellite surfaces, which may be sensed by UV/IR mapping. Imaging combined with the moons’ densities may reveal whether the moons formed in Uranus’ circumplanetary disk, rings, or from ejecta of a giant impact on Uranus. Satellite Geology: Imaging investigations, including stereo imaging to obtain topography, will enable constraining each satellite’s geologic history by investigating the distributions and morphologies of impact craters, tectonic and potential cryovolcanic features, and regolith and mass wasting deposits. These records will help unravel the past complex history of orbital resonances that occurred between Uranian satellites, which may have driven geologic activity. Analyses of these features will also point to resurfacing styles and modification processes important for understanding each moon’s thermal evolution, and any present-day geological activity, including potential subsurface deep oceans or possible current activity. Additionally, hyperspectral imaging will enable mapping the surface composition and identifying the potential presence of material that may point to a subsurface ocean, such as ammonia-bearing species. Rings and Small Moons: Imaging observations elucidate the physical processes that contribute to the complex ring-moon system’s inferred unstable state. Imaging surveys will seek smaller moons and other debris that could provide evidence of past collisions, while precise astrometric data of moons will determine the current dynamical state of the system. Many of Uranus' rings are exceptionally narrow, and images of the rings covering a broad range of longitudes, and high-resolution images of features within the rings will reveal how these rings are confined and maintained, as well as illustrating the rings' internal structure and dynamics. Images of the rings and moons obtained at a variety of wavelengths and lighting conditions are also needed to quantify the composition and the size distribution of the small satellites and ring particles.

K M Sayanagi↗