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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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16 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1980

A hybrid water-splitting cycle using copper sulfate and mixed copper oxides

The Institute of Gas Technology has derived and developed a hybrid thermochemical water-splitting cycle based on mixed copper oxides and copper sulfate. Similar to other metal oxide-metal sulfate cycles that use a metal oxide to 'concentrate' electrolytically produced sulfuric acid, this cycle offers the advantage of producing oxygen (to be vented) and sulfur dioxide (to be recycled) in separate steps, thereby eliminating the need of another step to separate these gases. The conceptual process flow-sheet efficiency of the cycle promises to exceed 50%. It has been completely demonstrated in the laboratory with recycled materials. Research in the electrochemical oxidation of sulfur dioxide to produce sulfuric acid and hydrogen performed at IGT indicates that the cell performance goals of 200 mA/sq cm at 0.5 V will be attainable using relatively inexpensive electrode materials.

Schreiber, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Hydrogen energy systems technology study

The paper discusses the objectives of a hydrogen energy systems technology study directed toward determining future demand for hydrogen based on current trends and anticipated new uses and identifying the critical research and technology advancements required to meet this need with allowance for raw material limitations, economics, and environmental effects. Attention is focused on historic production and use of hydrogen, scenarios used as a basis for projections, projections of energy sources and uses, supply options, and technology requirements and needs. The study found more than a billion dollar annual usage of hydrogen, dominated by chemical-industry needs, supplied mostly from natural gas and petroleum feedstocks. Evaluation of the progress in developing nuclear fusion and solar energy sources relative to hydrogen production will be necessary to direct the pace and character of research and technology work in the advanced water-splitting areas.

Kelley, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Energy Servers Deliver Clean, Affordable Power

K.R. Sridhar developed a fuel cell device for Ames Research Center, that could use solar power to split water into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for fuel on Mars. Sridhar saw the potential of the technology, when reversed, to create clean energy on Earth. He founded Bloom Energy, of Sunnyvale, California, to advance the technology. Today, the Bloom Energy Server is providing cost-effective, environmentally friendly energy to a host of companies such as eBay, Google, and The Coca-Cola Company. Bloom's NASA-derived Energy Servers generate energy that is about 67-percent cleaner than a typical coal-fired power plant when using fossil fuels and 100-percent cleaner with renewable fuels.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1985

Novel extraterrestrial processing for space propulsion

In the present quantitative consideration of space processing concepts for chemicals, theoretical parametric calculations are supplemented by a bench scale experiment. Attention is given to the case of water splitting to generate hydrogen and oxygen for a simple rocket motor that can be used in periodic thrusting. This concept of in situ propellant production is treated in detail and compared with more recent energy and materials technologies.

Ramohalli, K.↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Slope Imaging Multi-Polarization Photon-Counting Lidar: Development and Performance Results

The Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon-counting Lidar is an airborne instrument developed to demonstrate laser altimetry measurement methods that will enable more efficient observations of topography and surface properties from space. The instrument was developed through the NASA Earth Science Technology Office Instrument Incubator Program with a focus on cryosphere remote sensing. The SIMPL transmitter is an 11 KHz, 1064 nm, plane-polarized micropulse laser transmitter that is frequency doubled to 532 nm and split into four push-broom beams. The receiver employs single-photon, polarimetric ranging at 532 and 1064 nm using Single Photon Counting Modules in order to achieve simultaneous sampling of surface elevation, slope, roughness and depolarizing scattering properties, the latter used to differentiate surface types. Data acquired over ice-covered Lake Erie in February, 2009 are documenting SIMPL s measurement performance and capabilities, demonstrating differentiation of open water and several ice cover types. ICESat-2 will employ several of the technologies advanced by SIMPL, including micropulse, single photon ranging in a multi-beam, push-broom configuration operating at 532 nm.

Dabney, Phillip↗
NASA NTRS1979

Hydrogen as the solar energy translator

Many concepts are being investigated to convert sunlight to workable energy forms with emphasis on electricity and thermal energy. The electrical alternatives include direct conversion of photons to electricity via photovoltaic solar cells and solar/thermal production of electricity via heat-energy cycles. Solar cells, when commercialized, are expected to have efficiencies of about 12 to 14 percent. The cells would be active about eight hours per day. However, solar-operated water-splitting process research, initiated through JPL, shows promise for direct production of hydrogen from sunlight with efficiencies of up to 35 to 40 percent. The hydrogen, a valuable commodity in itself, can also serve as a storable energy form, easily and efficiently converted to electricity by fuel cells and other advanced-technology devices on a 24-hour basis or on demand with an overall efficiency of 25 to 30 percent. Thus, hydrogen serves as the fundamental translator of energy from its solar form to electrical form more effectively, and possibly more efficiently, than direct conversion. Hydrogen also can produce other chemical energy forms using solar energy.

Kelley, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An unmanned mission to Mars with sample collection and in-situ resource utilization

The design for the Mars Analysis and Return Vehicle with In-Situ Resource Utilization (MARVIN) project is outlined. The MARVIN mission is designed to collect samples of the Martian environment; to produce fuel from local Martian resources; and to use the fuel produced to return the samples to earth. It uses only existing technologies. Exploratory Technologies' mission-design efforts have focused on methods of orbit determination, sample collection, fuel production, power, communications, control, and structural design. Lambert Targeting provided Delta-V's, launch dates, and travel times. The landing site is the Tharsis Plateau, to the southeast of Olympus Mons, chosen for its substantial scientific value. Samples of soil, dust, and atmosphere are collected with lander-based collection devices: the soil sample, with a robotic arm similar to those used in the Viking missions; the atmospheric sample, from a bleed line to the compressor in the fuel-production facility; a dust sample, from the dust-collection container in the fuel-production facility; and a redundant dust sample, with a with a passive filter system, which relies upon neither a power source nor other collection methods. The sample-return capsule (SRC) houses these samples, which are triply contained to prevent contamination. Proven technology can be used to produce methane and oxygen for fuel with relative ease at the landing site: the Sabatier reactor produces methane and water by combining carbon dioxide and hydrogen (brought from earth); the Reverse Water-Gas Shift unit combines carbon dioxide and hydrogen to form carbon monoxide and water; a water-electrolysis unit splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The Mars-lander vehicle (MLV) transports the equipment from earth to Mars. The Mars-ascent vehicle (MAV) contains the SRC and the engine, which is the same for both the MLV and the MAV. All equipment that is unnecessary for the Mars-Earth trajectory remains on Mars. This report presents detailed sizing information, for which a spreadsheet has been developed. The trends suggest possibilities for expansion, and suggestions for future work in these areas are offered.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Magnetically Damped Furnace Bitter Magnet Coil 1

A magnet has been built by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory for NASA on a cost reimbursement contract. The magnet is intended to demonstrate the technology and feasibility of building a magnet for space based crystal growth. A Bitter magnet (named after Francis Bitter, its inventor) was built consisting of four split coils electrically in series and hydraulically in parallel. The coils are housed in a steel vessel to reduce the fringe field and provide some on-axis field enhancement. The steel was nickel plated and Teflon coated to minimize interaction with the water cooling system. The magnet provides 0.14 T in a 184 mm bore with 3 kW of power.

Bird, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS2024

The Scientific Importance of the Lunar Environment

Many recent efforts to land robotic missions on the surface of the Moon are paving the way to return humans to the lunar surface and setting the stage for an ongoing human presence. Artemis is a NASA-led international effort to return humans to the Moon. One of the goals of Artemis is to use innovative technologies to address priority science objectives. At the same time, the European Space Agency (ESA) is exploring designs for a Moon base to enable ongoing human activity on the surface of the Moon. Furthermore, China plans to land humans on the Moon by 2030. In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) – the extraction of useful materials from the Moon itself – will be beneficial for efforts to sustain such human presence. ISRU could provide water that can be utilized by astronauts or split into hydrogen and oxygen rocket fuel for returning to Earth or moving forward to Mars, along with other vital resources. While this is exciting, it is critical that we recognize how human and robotic activity will impact the lunar environment and not having a global strategy to characterize lunar volatile materials before their scientific value is lost will significantly degrade the scientific potential of the Moon.

Kathleen E Mandt↗
NASA NTRS1987

Some aspects of space propulsion with extraterrestrial resources

Extraterrestrial resources for space processing of chemicals, in general, and propellants, in particular, are explored quantitatively. It is seen that, for several candidate space mission scenarios, space processing of both space resources and earth-carried resources can make decisive differences in the mission success for a given payload. To fix ideas and demonstrate trends, the specific case of water splitting to extract oxygen, discard (or use without storage) the resulting hydrogen, and burn earth-carried noncryogenic liquid fuel(s) in a simple rocket motor, designed for periodic thrusting, is treated in some detail. Experimental hardware is assembled and demonstrated to perform adequately, besides showing compactness of the space-packaged 'capsule' module that is self-contained. Building upon previous studies, the concept of in situ propellant production (ISPP) is reexamined in light of more recent energy and materials technologies. Missions to comets and Mars Sample Return are mentioned as candidate scenarios. The mission duration, reliability-repairability of hardware, resource availability in low earth orbit (LEO), and the thrust requirements are considered in turn. It is seen that space storage of hydrogen for extended durations (5-10 years) involves problems that require detailed studies, besides involving many presently unanswered issues. A study of the energy option in LEO and in deep space is developed in simple terms. The different solar, radioisotope, and nuclear power sources are mentioned. Storage and handling of raw and processed chemicals are considered.

Ramohalli, Kumar↗
NASA NTRS1991

Conceptual study of on orbit production of cryogenic propellants by water electrolysis

The feasibility is assessed of producing cryogenic propellants on orbit by water electrolysis in support of NASA's proposed Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions. Using this method, water launched into low earth orbit (LEO) would be split into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis in an orbiting propellant processor spacecraft. The resulting gases would then be liquified and stored in cryogenic tanks. Supplying liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel to space vehicles by this technique has some possible advantages over conventional methods. The potential benefits are derived from the characteristics of water as a payload, and include reduced ground handling and launch risk, denser packaging, and reduced tankage and piping requirements. A conceptual design of a water processor was generated based on related previous studies, and contemporary or near term technologies required. Extensive development efforts would be required to adapt the various subsystems needed for the propellant processor for use in space. Based on the cumulative results, propellant production by on orbit water electrolysis for support of SEI missions is not recommended.

Moran, Matthew E.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Conceptual study of on orbit production of cryogenic propellants by water electrolysis

The feasibility is assessed of producing cryogenic propellants on orbit by water electrolysis in support of NASA's proposed Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions. Using this method, water launched into low earth orbit (LEO) would be split into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis in an orbiting propellant processor spacecraft. The resulting gases would then be liquified and stored in cryogenic tanks. Supplying liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel to space vehicles by this technique has some possible advantages over conventional methods. The potential benefits are derived from the characteristics of water as a payload, and include reduced ground handling and launch risk, denser packaging, and reduced tankage and piping requirements. A conceptual design of a water processor was generated based on related previous studies, and contemporary or near term technologies required. Extensive development efforts would be required to adapt the various subsystems needed for the propellant processor for use in space. Based on the cumulative results, propellant production by on orbit water electrolysis for support of SEI missions is not recommended.

Moran, Matthew E.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Case Study for Lunar ISRU Systems Utilizing Polar Water

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is key to long term presence at any extraterrestrial destination. Current NASA direction is to achieve a sustainable presence on the lunar surface by 2028. Mission plans currently target the lunar South Pole to leverage the extended periods of solar illumination and allows for potential access to water ice in the permanently shadowed areas around the poles. With water, it is possible to produce both fuel and oxidizer to fully refuel a vehicle. In order to address ISRU infusion into mission planning, a study of an end-to-end ISRU propellant production system was initiated to assess ISRU architectures and obtain mass and power estimates for each. The results of these case studies will be presented. For this study, The ISRU system architecture involved two sites; the mine site in a shadowed crater where water ice is excavated and extracted from the regolith and the propellant production site at an illuminated ridge where the water is processed into liquefied O2 and H2 propellants. Fixed hardware would be emplaced at each site, with two alternating water tankers to transport water between them. Notional lunar sites were identified for this architecture for baseline environmental parameters. Technology solutions for each subsystem were selected based on those with the highest fidelity models or those that have empirical laboratory data to anchor to. While power needs were identified for each location, a power solution was not prescribed, therefore the masses presented do not include surface power systems. The baseline case in this study assumed that 10 mT of oxygen, along with enough hydrogen to support a propulsion mixture ratio of 6, must be produced in 225 days. Therefore 15 mT of water would need to be collected and processed. The baseline solution resulted in a system mass of5 mT and a total required power of 68kW. The majority of the mass was split between the ridge site system and the two water tankers (2.6 mTand 1.8mTrespectively). The majority of the required power was with three subsystems at approximately 20 kW each: hydrogen liquefaction, electrolysis, and the water extractor subsystem. Trades for four key variables are also presented, namely production rate, water concentration, dry overburden depth, and number of water transport trips. This can be compared to a system that targets oxygen from the minerals in the surface regolith material. A carbothermal reduction reactor system was used for this comparison. The use of direct solar thermal energy to process the regolith and the ease of access of the resource resulted in significantly lower values for the oxygen case: approximately 2.7 mT and 11.8 kW. However, the mass trade would favor the water case over successive missions where the hydrogen up-mass of 2 mT per mission will accrue against the oxygen system.1Aerospace Research Engineer, Chemical and Thermal Propulsion Systems Branch, Senior Member.2Mechanical Engineer, Propulsion and Power Division/Energy Conversion Systems, 2101 Nasa Pkwy/Mailcode EP3 Houston, TX 77058, AIAA member.

Lunar↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Progress of 2.05 uM Fiber Laser Development for A Martian Co2 Dial

We have proposed a new concept for differential absorption lidar (DIAL) operating in the 2050 nm CO 2 absorption band for atmospheric CO 2 and pressure observations on Mars. This concept has earned us funding from NASA's PICASSO Program to advance 2050 nm fiber laser technology for future space applications. The laser design is an all-fiber master oscillator and power amplifier (MOPA) system. The master oscillator with pulse shaping and several stages of fiber preamplifiers has been built. Preliminary tests show the output pulse energy can reach 1 mJ, meeting our baseline goal. However, the current power amplifier design has an issue with undesired parasitic lasing at a different frequency, which exhausts pump energy and limits the laser energy. We have modified the power amplifier design to suppress parasitic lasing, and higher laser power energy is expected. To achieve high measurement accuracy, the laser frequency must be stabilized. A fraction of the master oscillator is split to lock the laser frequency to the center of the selected absorption line. The laser can then be shifted to a frequency far from the absorption line center, where extinction due to CO 2 and other trace gases is minimal, serving as the offline reference. The online wavelength is optimized at 2050.44156 nm, ensuring a CO 2 absorption optical depth (AOD) of approximately 1.1 at 3 km, which maximizes the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for measurements in the lower Martian atmosphere. At the conference, we will provide more details about this project and report on the progress of instrument development.

DIAL↗
NASA NTRS2011

Landsat Data Continuity Mission

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is currently under development and is on schedule to launch the 8th satellite in the Landsat series in December of 2012. LDCM is a joint project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). NASA is responsible for developing and launching the flight hardware and on-orbit commissioning and USGS is responsible for developing the ground system and operating the system onorbit after commissioning. Key components of the flight hardware are the Operational Land Imager (OLI), nearing completion by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp in Boulder, CO, the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS), being built by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the spacecraft, undergoing integration at Orbital Sciences Corp in Gilbert, Arizona. The launch vehicle will be an Atlas-5 with launch services provided by NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Key ground systems elements are the Mission Operations Element, being developed by the Hammers Corporation, and the Collection Activity Planning Element, Ground Network Element, and Data Processing and Archive System, being developed internally by the USGS Earth Resources Observations and Science (EROS) Center. The primary measurement goal of LDCM is to continue the global coverage of moderate spatial resolution imagery providing continuity with the existing Landsat record. The science goal for this imagery is to monitor land use and land cover, particularly as it relates to global climate change. Together the OLI and TIRS instruments on LDCM replace the ETM+ instrument on Landsat-7 with significant enhancements. The OLI is a pushbroom design instrument where the scanning mechanism of the ETM+ is effectively replaced by a long line of detectors. The OLI has 9 spectral bands with similar spatial resolution to ETM+: 7 of them similar to the reflective spectral bands on ETM+ and two new bands. The two new bands cover (1) the shorter wavelength blue part of the spectrum to help with coastal studies and aerosol analyses/atmospheric correction and (2) an atmospheric water absorption band, where the Earth surface is generally not visible, but Cirrus clouds are, to aid in cloud detection and screening. The radiometry of OLI benefits from improved SNR, dynamic range and quantization. OLI is undergoing system testing with a delivery scheduled for Spring 2011. The TIRS is also a pushbroom design and used QWIPS detectors that require cooling to 43K using a cryocooler. It.has two spectral bands, effectively splitting the ETM+ band 6 in half, that can be used as a split window to aid in atmospheric correction. It has nominally 100 m spatial resolution as opposed to the 60 m of Landsat-7 ETM+: TIRS has commenced integration and test, with a delivery to the spacecraft vendor scheduled for Winter 2011-2012. The Orbital spacecraft currently being integrated for LDCM will have improved capabilities for pointing over previous missions. These capabilities will allow the OLI and TIRS instruments to point off-nadir the equivalent of one WRS-2 path to increase the chances of coverage for high priority targets, particularly in the event of natural disasters. Also, the pointing capability will allow the calibration of the OLI using the sun (roughly weekly), the moon (monthly), stars (during commissioning) and the Earth (at 90 deg from normal orientation, a.k.a., side slither) quarterly. The solar calibration will be used for OLI absolute and relative calibration, the moon for trending the stability of the OLI response, the stars will be used for Line of Sight determination and the side slither will be an alternate OLI and relative gain determination methodology. The spacecraft is scheduled to begin integration with the OLI instrument in Summer 2011. The LDCM data processing and archive system (DPAS), located at USGS EROS, generates the products for distribution to users. Like Landsat-7 this includes an image assessment system for characrizing instrument performance and updating calibration parameters. Products will be generated that include the spectral bands from both instruments, terrain corrected and registered to the geoid. Also, like Landsat-7, data products will be distributed at no charge to the user. The current status and plans of the space and ground segments of the LDCM project will be presented along with performance predictions as available. More detailed information on the two instruments is intended to be presented in separate papers.

Markham, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2009

Use of NASA Satellite Data in Aiding Mississippi Barrier Island Restoration Projects

This presentation discusses a NASA Stennis Space Center project in which NASA-supported satellite and aerial data is being used to aid state and federal agencies in restoring the Mississippi barrier islands. Led by the Applied Science and Technology Project Office (ASTPO), this project will produce geospatial information products from multiple NASA-supported data sources, including Landsat, ASTER, and MODIS satellite data as well as ATLAS multispectral, CAMS multispectral, AVIRIS hyperspectral, EAARL, and other aerial data. Project objectives include the development and testing of a regional sediment transport model and the monitoring of barrier island restoration efforts through remote sensing. Barrier islands provide invaluable benefits to the State of Mississippi, including buffering the mainland from storm surge impacts, providing habitats for valuable wildlife and fisheries habitat, offering accessible recreational opportunities, and preserving natural environments for educating the public about coastal ecosystems and cultural resources. Unfortunately, these highly valued natural areas are prone to damage from hurricanes. For example, Hurricane Camille in 1969 split Ship Island into East and West Ship Island. Hurricane Georges in 1998 caused additional land loss for the two Ship Islands. More recently, Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike impacted the Mississippi barrier islands. In particular, Hurricane Katrina caused major damage to island vegetation and landforms, killing island forest overstories, overwashing entire islands, and causing widespread erosion. In response, multiple state and federal agencies are working to restore damaged components of these barrier islands. Much of this work is being implemented through federally funded Coastal Impact Assessment and Mississippi Coastal Improvement programs. One restoration component involves the reestablishment of the island footprints to that in 1969. Our project will employ NASA remote sensing data and products to support these federally funded efforts on multiple fronts. Landsat and ASTER data is being analyzed to assess changes in barrier island land cover over the last 35 years. ASTER, SRTM, and EAARL terrain products and other NASA airborne imagery are being applied in assessing changes in barrier island geomorphology and geospatial extent. MODIS data is being examined as a tool for sediment transport modeling by supplying geospatial data that quantifies in-water sediment concentrations. MODIS satellite data is being assessed for monitoring changes in the spatial extent of individual barrier islands. Results thus far indicate that NASA data products are useful in assessing barrier island conditions and changes. This value is enhanced with additional historical geospatial data, commercial high resolution satellite data, other non-NASA aerial imagery, and field survey data. The project s products are relevant to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance priority issues, including coastal habitat conservation, restoration and coastal community resilience. Such products will be available to state and federal agencies involved with coastal restoration. Potential end-users of these products include the National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Giardino, Marco↗