Award Data

This NASA sponsored STTR project will investigate methods for close-out of large, liquid rocket engine, nickel or stainless steel nozzle, coolant channels utilizing robotic laser and pulsed-arc additive manufacturing (AM)methods. Structural jacket to coolant channel land area interface strength will be quantified and metallurgical characterization completed.Process optimizations will be conducted ...

Phase I has proven that the current setup achieves better than 8mm spatial resolution for 2.2MeV prompt gammas. However, 1mm spatial resolution presents a significant challenge for the current setup due in part to limited timing resolution and count rate. A new analog ASIC will be developed to replace the current analog ASIC that will have better timing resolution and deliver higher count rates. I ...

For long duration space missions beyond LEO, the complexity of the missions and the latency of communications with Earth will require HPC systems that would be prohibitively expensive if qualified under traditional guidelines for high reliability space systems. There is a wealth COTS hardware that could potentially be used for HPC systems for non-critical tasks within heavily shielded spacecraft c ...

Technology currently used for terrestrial navigation is extremely limited in the challenging environments on icy moons and ocean worlds such as Europa. Autonomous platforms used to collect data from beneath these ice and ocean surfaces cannot depend on access to satellite or any other electromagnetic communication. Autonomous systems in these environments are required to perform highly-complex tas ...

Today many spacecraft carry two propulsion options: high thrust required for high acceleration maneuvers such as orbit insertion and rapid response; and low thrust required for station keeping and less critical maneuvers. A new class of non-toxic monopropellants, such as AF-M315E and LMP-103S, perform well in both high and low thrust regimes. Significant investments are maturing both monopropellan ...

Research in Flight (RIF) and Auburn University are offering the development of an advanced, robust tool and methodology that allows the simulation and modeling of gust and wake vortex encounters for Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP) enabled Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicle concepts. DEP enabled UAM concepts offer the potential for large performance improvements by exploiting favorable synergie ...

Suppression of noise from aircraft is a vital NASA goal, especially important for the vision of Urban Air Mobility. Small urban aircraft may utilize Distributed Electric Propulsion along with advanced structural and electric motor/storage technologies to achieve the necessary flight capability. However, these aircraft utilize propellers or fans to achieve the necessary thrust, with attendant commu ...

This program will design, fabricate, and test a dual mode propulsion system in a non-flight-weight configuration using a novel energetic, low-toxicity ionic liquid for both high thrust (conventional catalyst-based monopropulsion system) and low thrust (electrospray) engines. Non-Stoichiometric HydroxyEthyl Hydrazinium Nitrate (NSHEHN), developed under Army and NASA SBIR programs, will be used for ...

Significant risks result from the plume-surface interaction during propulsive landings on unprepared regolith in extra-terrestrial environments. Dust and debris particles are liberated and may strike the landing vehicle and surrounding assets and may obscure ground observation for safe landing. In addition, craters are formed on the landing surface, posing an additional challenge to vehicle stabil ...

As part of the Game Changing Development (GCD) Program, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) has been identified as a critical technology needed for human missions to Mars due to its high specific impulse (Isp) as compared to traditional chemical propulsion systems.nbsp; A critical aspect of the program is to develop a robust, stable cermet based nuclear fuel.nbsp; To reduce cost and potential burdens ...