National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Small Business Innovation Research 2001 Program Solicitation

TOPIC A5 Access to Space

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A5.01 Advanced Space Transportation System Technologies
A5.02 Small Aircraft Transportation System Propulsion Technologies
A5.03 Space Transportation System Manufacturing Technologies
A5.04 Space Propulsion Systems Test Operations

Of paramount importance is the increase in safety and reliability of our space transportation systems and our goal is to increase flight safety by two orders of magnitude within 10 years from 1997 and by four orders of magnitude in 25 years. Goals also include reducing the payload cost to low earth orbit by an order of magnitude, from $10K to $1K per pound, within 10 years from 1997 and from $1K to $100's per pound by 2025.

A5.01 Advanced Space Transportation System Technologies
Lead Center: MSFC
Participating Center(s): ARC

Second and third generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) systems will require high propellant mass fraction, high thrust to weight propulsion, reliable system performance, extended reusability, autonomous operation, and efficient pre-mission planning in order to achieve cost and crew safety goals. This subtopic emphasizes innovative hardware concepts, subsystems, and design and analysis tools to support development of next generation launch vehicles while lowering operations cost and improving crew safety. Methodology, design and analysis tools, and hardware developed under this subtopic should address technical issues related to propellant tanks, propulsion subsystems, thermal control subsystems, thermal protection systems, structures, guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C), fluid dynamics, supporting discipline analysis, and launch vehicle systems integration issues. Specific areas of interest for technology advancement and innovation include the following:

• Low-cost, lightweight design concepts for propellant tanks and vehicle structures to lower overall vehicle structural mass fraction.
• Control and health management of vehicle and propulsion structural systems by using sensors and effectors that have little influence on the structural system parameters with the exception of the structural damping parameters. This also includes real time health monitoring and control of propulsion systems, reliable lightweight sensors, real time data handling techniques, and associated recognition software.
• Systems to provide continuous estimation of center of mass and inertial properties along with real-time tuning of control algorithms to reflect known changes in vehicle response or sensor performance, and accurate, continuous estimation of fuel remaining on board.
• Advanced concepts and techniques to meet thermal control requirements of various launch vehicle subsystems and payload thermal requirements.
• Innovative thermal protection system concepts such as advanced microencapsulated phase change materials to support RLV thermal protection system coating applications, instrumentation analysis tools, and testing techniques applicable to RLVs, cryo-tanks, and vehicle base heat shield regions.
• Innovative vehicle preliminary design tools that support the design, analysis, and integration of vehicle subsystems and propulsions systems into the vehicle (such as the ability to assess operability of the overall launch vehicle concept and to model the impacts of design changes on vehicle cost, operations, crew safety, vehicle aerodynamics, and controllability). These tools would significantly enhance the overall systems engineering evaluation of potential RLV concepts.
• Integrated CAD, solid-model, structural, dynamic, thermal, and fluid-flow, analysis methods for multidisciplinary analysis and optimization of subsystems, components, and overall launch vehicles; and improved vehicle analysis tools in the areas of stress, thermal, structural, fluid dynamics, and acoustics.
• Manufacturing and testing techniques that will allow for significant reduction in the cost and schedule required to perform wind tunnel aerodynamic testing of candidate RLV configurations.
• Automated propellant management systems; and technologies and innovative engineering capabilities to produce propulsion storage, feed, pressurization, fill and drain, vent, and support/restraint systems that are robust, lighter, or require less volume.
• Optimal fault detection and redundancy management strategies; execution software and advanced navigation hardware/software architectures; and adaptive GN&C utilizing data from sensors such as GPS.
• Advanced guidance concepts that will reduce operational costs and increase reliability by autonomously reshaping trajectories and retargeting landing sites in the presence of abort/failure situations to satisfy vehicle and control constraints and to achieve a safe abort.
• Advanced control concepts that will reduce operational costs and increase reliability by adapting to changing missions/payloads/vehicle models/failures and abort scenarios without requiring ground effort for retuning and analysis.
• Automated mission planning techniques for planning flight operations of RLVs, including trajectory planning, launch window and timeline determination, generation of initialization loads, and verification that the GN&C will successfully fly the vehicle.
• Analysis and testing techniques for prediction and measurement of damage and stress including life prediction, progressive internal damage and dynamic response in structures containing ceramic-matrix, metal-matrix composites, or other composite materials; and nondestructive evaluation of structural integrity of vehicle subsystem and component materials. Methods for efficient characterization of frequency response functions of large structures, and analysis and testing techniques for passive and active vibration isolation devices for launch vehicles and payloads.
• Advanced methods and tools for prediction of dynamic and unsteady environments applicable to RLV systems and components. Methods to predict and evaluate the internal fluctuating environments of propellant delivery systems, dynamic contribution of cavitating pumps, and vehicle/engine system dynamic stability. Methods to predict and evaluate steady and unsteady external environments of complex vehicle/engine combinations related to geometrically complex external aerodynamics, engine start/launch overpressures, and flow dynamics noise.
• Advanced technologies for integrated structural systems such as integrated thermal and structural cryogenic tanks, efficient and effective repair techniques, technologies for modal, acoustic and static testing of large-scale aerospace structural systems, experimental-empirical methods for composite material thermal characterization and response prediction.
• Advanced airbreathing/rocket based combined cycle engine concepts or other combined cycle concepts. Technologies critical to the implementation of such concepts, such as liquid air production or detonation physics, are also of interest. These advanced cycle concepts should have a clear advantage over existing all rocket propulsion systems.

A5.02 Reusable Launch Vehicle Airframe Technologies
Lead Center: LaRC
Participating Center(s): MSFC

Next generation space transportation systems must address the significant challenge of significantly reducing the cost of space access while providing orders-of-magnitude improvements in safety. To accomplish these goals, the airframes/spaceframes for future launch vehicles and upper stages must be reusable and incorporate advanced technologies in materials and structural concepts, validated, safe structural analysis and design technologies, and improved manufacture of large-scale, advanced structures; and must utilize advanced control, health monitoring, and maintenance technologies to enable low cost and safe operations. To facilitate the improvement of safety, the uncertainties in airframe loads, responses and failure mechanisms must also be reduced so that design margins that contribute to safety can be quantified with an accuracy much greater than is possible today. The conflicting requirements of low cost and safety must also be balanced with the need for performance sufficient for space transportation vehicles.

Airframe systems of primary interest in this subtopic include innovative concepts in reusable cryogenic propellant tanks, and "integrated thermal structures" (i.e., airframe structures, such as integral cryogenic tanks, intertanks, wings/fins, thrust structures, fairings, control surfaces and leading edges that are hot structures or have the reentry thermal protection system closely integrated with the structure). Proposals for innovative research in design and mechanics, and in materials technologies addressing these airframe systems are solicited. Proposals of specific interest in this subtopic include one or more of the following items:

Design and Mechanics

• Specialized modeling, analysis, and design tools for integrated structural, thermal, thermal-structural, or acoustic responses, and innovative measurement and test methods for design validation. Application of methodology to circular and multi-lobed, membrane cryogenic tanks, and for conformal, non-membrane tanks is of special interest.
• Novel methods for prediction and testing of material and structural durability and damage tolerance with emphasis on cryogen leakage, environmental degradation, combined thermal-mechanical loads, and operation beyond nominal design conditions; and related methods to repair damaged structures.

Materials Technologies

• Significant advances in critical properties for high-temperature nickel, iron, and titanium alloys, intermetallics, refractory metals, Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), Metals and Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) along with their related processing into useful product forms for fabrication into the airframe systems of interest.
• Materials technologies focused on advanced, high temperature materials compatible with cryogenic and gaseous hydrogen and oxygen; and for composite tanks, focused on cryogen leakage prevention and/or detection and/or sealing.
• Practical processing methods for large-scale manufacture of cryogenic tanks with efficient and reliable joining, and process development for advanced forming such as out-of-autoclave manufacture for composites, and near-net-shape and free-form fabrication for metals.

A5.03 Space Transportation System Manufacturing Technologies
Lead Center: MSFC
Participating Center(s): None

Innovative manufacturing, materials, and processes technologies are sought for increasing safety and reducing cost and weight of space transportation propulsion, launch vehicle, and spacecraft systems and components. NASA is seeking research proposals in four major areas: Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), Metals and Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs), and Intelligent Synthesis Environment (ISE) for manufacturing. However, functionally formed components are also of interest (e.g., composed of a CMC and PMC, high to low thermal conductivity materials, etc.). As appropriate, proposals should justify selection of material constituents for process development, provide flexible, process development matrix correlated to test matrices, verify processes with microscopic analysis (e.g., microprobe, SEM, XRD, etc.) and macroscopic analysis (e.g., tensile strength, interlaminar shear strength, thermal and physical properties, etc.), explain how aspects of similar, previous efforts are leveraged, verify specific end-use application by testing for permeability, thermal shock, etc., and explain key issues and how mitigated. For those efforts that fabricate components, plans are sought which describe how the component will handle the potential system requirements (e.g., how components/structures are joined, manifolded, integrally and specifically function, etc.) and describe component/coupon nondestructive evaluation plans. Also, any plans necessary for manufacturing scale-up for target components should be described and deliverables listed. Deliverables that are sought include: Components/systems, test data (component, stress-strain curves, shear, etc.), material analyses (microscopic analysis, etc.), and coupon samples for testing and analysis as appropriate. Proposers should strive to develop processes that ensure worker saftey and health.

PMCs: Advancement in the following areas to promote the utilization of advanced polymer matrix composite materials in structures, components, and systems include, but are not limited to: Large scale manufacturing, non-autoclave curing, especially automated fabrication, techniques using e-beam, thermoplastics, or other in situ technologies for providing damage tolerant and repairable structures, development of materials and manufacturing processes compatible with Fuels/Oxidizers, and technologies for bonding PMCs.

CMCs: CMCs composed of fibers selected by end users such as high strength carbon fibers, SiC fibers, etc. are desired. Advanced fiber interface coatings yielding optimal composite life and composite performance with respect to cost and time for fabrication are also desired. The following areas for CMCs are of interest, but not limited to: pressure containment vessels (e.g., lining for turbopump housings, tanks, and integral injector and thrust chambers-with/without active cooling), cooled panels, inter-engine seals for CMC nozzles, inserted blades for turbine disks, and process and component operation health monitoring preforms, and low cost (with metrics) rapid, scalable, repeatable fabrication processes.

Metals and MMCs: Advanced low-cost manufacturing processes such as pressure infiltration casting, laser engineered near net shaping, and electron beam physical vapor deposition are desired. These processes and joining techniques for manufacturing metallic or metal matrix composite (MMC) propulsion system components should target increasing specific strength, specific stiffness, and temperature and oxidizing or high pressure hydrogen environments. Develop and optimize metallic matrix alloy compositions for MMCs with unique properties such as high specific strength, high ductility and good joinability (welding/brazing). The following aspects are to be considered: Alloy type (aluminum, Copper, Haynes 214, Mg, nanophase alloys), reinforcement material (Al₂O₃, SiC, B₄C), reinforcement type (particulate, fiber, hybrid, functionally graded). Advanced joining of metallic and MMC materials is also sought for the previously mentioned areas, in addition to bonding and joining of similar and dissimilar materials.

ISE: Developments in ISE and collaborative engineering tools for manufacturing are solicited. Emphasis is placed on: "The Manufacturing Element" of life cycle product development including virtual product development, information-based systems, web-based manufacturing, biomimetic or self-assembly processes, virtual product development and manufacturing simulation, science-based manufacturing, in addition to process control and instrumentation for characterization and verification of material properties (including thermal, optical, electrical, mechanical, and moisture absorption).

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A5.04 Space Propulsion Systems Test Operations
Lead Center: SSC
Participating Center(s): None

Proposals are solicited for innovative concepts in the area of propulsion test operations. Proposal should support the reduction of overall propulsion test operations costs (recurring costs) and/or increase reliability and performance of ground test facilities and operations methodologies. Specific areas of interest in this subtopic include the following:

Improvements in Ground Test Operations, Safety and Reliability

• New innovative non-intrusive sensors for measuring flow rate, temperature, pressure, rocket plume constituents, effluent gas detection, hydrogen gas and hydrogen fire detection.
• Improved cryogenic propellant conditioning methods.

Facility and Test Article Health Monitoring Technologies

• Intelligent sensor technology: self-diagnosing, self-calibrating, self-installing, sensors as networked devices capable of operating remotely.
• Software environments to implement an Intelligent Health Monitoring and Diagnostics System (IHMDS) that can ensure efficient operation and integrity of every element in a test stand (elements include sensors, assem-blies, components, processes, and procedures).
• Network protocol implementations for fast communication and data transfer for use by networked intelligent devices (sensors, controllers, etc.).
• Small wireless communications for remote sensing and control.
• Smart system components (control valves, regulators, and relief valves) that provide real-time closed-loop control, component configuration, automated operation, and component health.
• Cryogenic propellant transfer system operation technologies which include automated propellant transfer, automated propellant-line (liquid hydrogen) purge systems, and automated and/or manual propellant-line quick-disconnect systems.
• Cryogenic storage tank lifetime monitor systems for temperature cycles, stress, acoustics, pressure, and shock.