Award Data

Chemical contamination of spacecraft components as well as thermal and force loading from firing liquid propellant thrusters are critical concerns for in-space propulsion applications. Gas molecular contamination and liquid droplet deposition due to incomplete combustion threaten to damage surface materials, sensitive instruments and optical sensors, and poses major risks for mission success. Liqu ...

In the Phase I effort, Gloyer-Taylor Laboratories LLC (GTL) verified the feasibility of generating power from space particle radiation. This effort successfully demonstrated electrical power production from a particle radiation source using an initial proof-of-concept device. The effort also identified a second approach that has the potential for even better power generation and offers enhanced ...

Cost-effective application of advanced commercial electronics technologies in DoD space systems requires early development of radiation-hardened-by-design (RHBD) techniques, and use of simulations is critical to the efficiency of this process. CFDRC has developed an integrated, mixed-mode simulation approach allowing their NanoTCAD device physics simulator to interface with commercial circuit simu ...

Launch vehicles experience extreme acoustic loads dominated by rocket exhaust plume interactions with ground structures during lift-off, which can produce damaging vibro-acoustic loads on the vehicle and payloads if not properly understood and mitigated against. Existing capabilities for modeling the turbulent plume physics during early lift-off are too dissipative to accurately resolve the propag ...

Solid rocket motor (SRM) design requires thorough understanding of the slag accumulation process in order to: predict thrust continuity, optimize propellant conversion efficiency, predict coning effects from sloshing, and assess potential orbital debris (slag) hazard. Current state-of-the-art models for SRM environment do not have the capability to simulate the accumulation and dynamics of slag in ...

Launch safety and efficiency requires timely and accurate wind, thermodynamic and pressure information from the surface to 20 km height, and lightning risk identification. A Doppler radar now provides wind measurements that satisfy this requirement at the Eastern Test Range. Thermodynamic soundings are provided by intermittent radiosondes on launch day. Typical intervals of an hour or more between ...

Distributed Spacecraft Missions (DSMs) such as constellations, formation-flying missions, and fractionated missions provide unique scientific and programmatic benefits. Distributed mission architectures allow for multipoint in-situ measurements, multi-angle viewpoints, and considerably improved understanding of the connections between separately measured phenomena and their time variations. DSMs a ...

GTL has developed an innovative composite repair methodology known as the Composite Repair System (CRS). In this phase I effort, CRS is being developed for the repair of damaged induced in thin-laminate composite cryotanks. In applying CRS to damaged composite structures, the required level of structural capacity is recovered to within a predetermined percentage of its original performance after ...

Thin-ply composites are being considered by NASA for space exploration applications, where the suppression of microcracks could give rise to linerless cryogenic tanks. In this proposed Phase I STTR effort, material testing coupled with health monitoring techniques will be used to quantify damage accumulation within composite materials, both standard ply thickness and of the thin-ply design. A mu ...

Despite the rapid commercialization of additive manufacturing technology such as selective laser melting, SLM, there are gaps in models for material microstructure and property prediction that slow qualification and certification. Improvements in coupling microstructure prediction models to local process conditions, validation, and control of material microstructure are required to mature the stat ...