Browsing by Author "O'Neill, Jonathan"
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Item Environmental Control and Life Support for Deep Space Travel(46th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2016-07-10) Stapleton, Thomas; Heldmann, Micheal; Schneider, Scott; O'Neill, Jonathan; Samplatsky, Darren; White, Kimberly; Corallo, RogerNASA is working with UTAS Space, Land, and Sea to develop concepts that group Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) systems into logical palletized modules allowing for the maximum use of common components and the development of unique methods and design concepts that support in-flight maintenance and repair to support future exploration platforms. This new approach, developing Palletized ECLS Module designs, is intended to allow previously qualified hardware to be readily integrated into evolving exploration life support platforms. The intent of this paper is to summarize the approach to developing these modules and summarize advancements made over the first seven months of development. Areas of advancement expected to be reviewed in this paper include grouping of ECLS functions onto unique modules, developing a list of common components (valves, sensors, fans, etc.), proposing Palletized Module geometry, in-situ integration, and in-flight maintenance features and techniques.Item Environmental Control and Life Support Module Architecture for Deployment across Deep Space Platforms(49th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2019-07-07) O'Neill, Jonathan; Bowers, Jason; Corallo, Roger; Torres, Miguel; Stapleton, ThomasNASA has outlined plans for earth-independent exploration starting with crewed habitats in a cislunar orbit and progressing toward crewed landings on the moon and Mars. As several aerospace corporations are developing habitats, NASA proposed developing a universal Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) capable of supporting each habitat with nearly identical systems. UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) completed the first phase of this development, or NextSTEP, in September 2016, and is scheduled to complete Phase 2 in early 2019. This paper presents recent work by UTAS to develop a more resilient, readily repairable and flexible system capable of installation on a wide variety of habitat platforms. This new ECLSS technology is then used to plot an evolutionary path that takes the open-loop cislunar ECLSS into a closed-loop deep space configuration. The redesign effort of Phase 2 resulted in a modular, universal ECLSS Pallet System that enhances in-flight maintenance. Finally, this paper presents a brief description of the integrated control system developed for this new ECLSS technology. This control system represents a leap forward in the evolution of ECLSS control systems. This paper shows its architecture and how modern cybernetic structures, such as network protocols and applied artificial intelligence, allow for rapid fault detection, isolation and recommissioning.Item Environmental Control and Life Support System Developed for Deep Space Travel(47th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2017-07-16) Stapleton, Thomas; Heldmann, Michael; Torres, Miguel; O'Neill, Jonathan; Scott-Parry, Tracy; Corallo, Roger; White, Kimberly; Schneider, ScottNASA outlined plans to journey from the current Low Earth Orbit toward earth independent exploration, evolving habitat capacity to support a trip to Mars, a planetary visit, and return home 3 years later. The Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) are being developed to enable this vision. UTAS completed the first phase of this advancement, or NextSTEP, in September 2016, and is currently working on the second phase design for a universal ECLSS Module to support the different habitats. The team defined an evolutionary path that advances a 90-day Cislunar ECLSS toward a deep space, 1,100-day configuration. Integral to this configuration are: a Universal ECLSS Pallet design that enhances in-flight maintenance and, Integrated ECLSS Control System that enables the use of Machine Learning algorithms, intelligent sensors, and a state-of-the-art cross-pallet communication. The overarching design activities included in this effort define a time dependent strategy enabling deep space exploration.Item In-Flight Maintenance Design Philosophy for Gateway and Deep-Space Life Support Systems(49th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2019-07-07) Rohrig, Jake; O'Neill, Jonathan; Stapleton, TomNASA has laid the foundation for the development of the “Gateway,” a platform in cislunar space. The Gateway will enable missions to the lunar surface and serve as a strategic waypoint for future missions to Mars or beyond. Perhaps most importantly, the Gateway missions will function as a fielded proving ground for next-generation in-flight repair methodologies. While the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) deployed on Gateway and beyond will be rooted in decades of operational experience, the means of repairing and refurbishing these systems will require a paradigm shift away from legacy methodologies. Through NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), Collins Aerospace has been advancing the development of the deep-space ECLSS with the vision of modular hardware capable of supporting in-flight maintenance and repair. Maintenance-friendly, repairable hardware allows for contingency solutions that have not been available during legacy missions, such as ISS, where orbital replacement units (ORUs) have been designed only for remove-and-replace fixes. These additional contingency options provide operational flexibility, altering the approach to hardware and consumable provisions, ultimately taking steps towards Earth-independent operations. Through this paper, Collins Aerospace will demonstrate how the vision of in-flight maintenance and repair has manifested itself in the design of the deep-space ECLSS, present principles devised for designing in maintainability, discuss how technology advancements will enable maintainability, and suggest how in-flight maintenance influences the logistics of hardware and consumables.Item Parker Solar Probe Solar Array Cooling System In-Orbit Performance Review(49th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2019-07-07) Cho, Wei-Lin; Miller, Christopher; Zaffetti, Mark; Hansen, Harold; Sears, Patrick; O'Neill, Jonathan; Bechard, Eric; Stewart, GaryAfter years of development, Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was launched on August 12, 2018 starting its seven-year journey to unveil the long-sought mystery of our solar system. The in-situ measurements and imaging, powered by a pair of solar array wings, will be used to understand how the sun's corona is heated and how the solar wind is accelerated. As the PSP orbits close to the sun, the cooling system removes the excess heat from the solar cells to prevent them from overheating. UTC Aerospace Systems (UTAS) started the development of the Solar Array Cooling System (SACS) in late 2008. After extensive studies, a single phase mechanical pump flow loop with water as the working fluid was selected due to the unique operating environment of the PSP. Although it is an excellent heat transfer fluid, water has a major disadvantage: its high freezing point. A unique operating strategy involving two activations and multiple hot slews was developed to prevent the water from freezing throughout the whole mission. The PSP SACS hardware includes two pumps and two motor controllers (one primary and one redundant), one accumulator, two Solar Array Platens (SAPs), four Cooling System Primary Radiators (CSPRs), three isolation valves, three service valves, and instruments. In November 2013, the PSP SACS completed the half scale thermal vacuum tests and achieved TRL 6 advancement. The subsequent full scale SACS thermal-vacuum test and the post-integration observatory level thermal-vacuum test were completed in March 2017 and February 2018, respectively. The PSP SACS has been operating successfully through four major operating points; the first activation, trajectory correction maneuvers, the second activation, and the first perihelion. This paper reviews PSP SACS hardware, the responses of PSP SACS at the aforementioned four operating points, and the overall performance of the PSP SACS in its early mission.