Joel C. Sercel

Icemaker/sup TM/: an excel-based environment for collaborative design

The creative process of team design can be rapid and powerful when focused, yet complex designs, such as spacecrafit, can slow and quench the essential elements of this process. Concurrent Engineering techniques partially address this problem, but a fuller realization of their benefits require an approach centering on the human aspects of teamwork. ICEMaker^(TM) is a Microsoft Excel® based software tool that facilitates closer-to-ideal collaboration within teams employing the new Integrated Concurrent Engineering (ICE) methodology. ICE is a generic approach that emphasizes focused collaborative design in a single-room context, and is now employed at several aerospace organizations to increase the productivity of design teams defining complex early development-phase products. By way of introduction, this paper describes the basic elements of ICE needed to understand ICEMaker and its application. We present the design approach, philosophy, and client-server architecture of the ICEMaker system, as well as a simplified user scenario. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has recently adopted ICEMaker for its primary early-phase space mission and system advanced project design team, Team-X. We describe Team-Xs experience with ICEMaker and report on the lessons learned, and qualitative product improvements, resulting from JPLs implementation of ICEMaker.

Small Body Rendezvous Mission Using Solar Electric Ion Propulsion: Low Cost Mission Approach and Technology Requirements

Abstract This paper shows that existing solar electric ion propulsion (SEP) technology can deliver substantial payloads to important small bodies for an effective cost. SEP, using hardware being validated by the NASA SEP Technology Application Readiness (NSTAR) program, can deliver significantly more mass in a dramatically shorter period of time than a chemical propulsion system launched from the same Delta II launch vehicle. Analysis of three rendezvous missions shows that NSTAR hardware can deliver a payload (spacecraft with science) of 364 kg to asteroid Vesta, 280 kg to the outer main belt asteroid Ceres, and 291 kg to comet Kopff. The paper begins with a discussion of why SEP is now ready for space science missions, the NSTAR program, benefits of ion propulsion, the range of SEP applications, a detailed SEP mass breakdown, and the cost and other considerations of using an ion propulsion system. A discussion of SEP navigation and a new start development schedule concludes the paper.

Advanced propulsion options for the Mars cargo mission

Several advanced propulsion options for a split-mission piloted Mars exploration scenario are presented. The primary study focus is on identifying concepts that can reduce total initial mass in low earth orbit (IMLEO) for the cargo delivery portion of the mission; in addition, concepts that can reduce the trip time of the piloted option are assessed. The propulsion options considered are nuclear thermal propulsion, solar sails, multimegawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion, solar electric propulsion, magnetic sails, mass drivers, rail guns, solar thermal rockets, beamed-energy propulsion systems, and tethers. For the cargo mission, solar sails are found to provide the greatest mass savings over the baseline chemical system, although they suffer from having very long trip times; a good performance compromise between a low IMLEO and a short trip time can be obtained using multimegawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion systems.

The ballistic Mars hopper - An alternative Mars mobility concept

The ballistic Mars hopper is proposed as an alternative mobility concept for unmanned exploration of the martian surface. In the ballistic Mars hopper concept, oxygen and carbon monoxide produced from the martian atmosphere are used as propellants in a rocket propulsion system for an unmanned vehicle on suborbital trajectories between landing sights separated by distances of up to 1000 km. This mobility concept is seen as uniquely capable of allowing both intensive and extensive exploration of the planet using only a single landed vehicle massing approximately 2000 kg. The technical challenges associated with In-Situ Propellant Production (ISPP) on the surface of Mars are reviewed. A rocket propulsion subsystem capable of using oxygen and carbon monoxide as propellants is described. Finally, results of mission analysis and a hopper landing hazard simulation are reported. It is concluded that an attractive Mars hopper can be developed based on relatively near-term technology.

Electric thruster models for multimegawatt nuclear electric propulsion mission design

Three types of electric thrusters currently under development at JPL have potential to support future missions which utilize multimegawatt nuclear electric propulsion. These electric thrusters are the electron bombardment ion thruster, the magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thruster, and the electron‐cyclotron‐resonance (ECR) thruster. The electron bombardment ion thruster is a relatively mature technology which has been developed for operation at kilowatt power levels but will require new development for application in the multimegawatt regime. The MPD engine represents a technology which may be very well suited to steady‐state multimegawatt applications but which has been limited to sub‐scale (100’s of kW) and pulsed (MW) testing thus far. The ECR plasma engine represents a class of very promising new concepts which are still in the basic research phase of development, but which may possess important fundamental advantages over other electric thruster technologies. In this paper, models of these thrusters are d...

An overview of the NASA Advanced Propulsion Concepts program

NASA Advanced Propulsion Concepts (APC) program for the development of long-term space propulsion system schemes is managed by both NASA-Lewis and the JPL and is tasked with the identification and conceptual development of high-risk/high-payoff configurations. Both theoretical and experimental investigations have been undertaken in technology areas deemed essential to the implementation of candidate concepts. These APC candidates encompass very high energy density chemical propulsion systems, advanced electric propulsion systems, and an antiproton-catalyzed nuclear propulsion concept. A development status evaluation is presented for these systems. 45 refs.

Web N.0: The next revolution in information systems is upon us

Sercel will describe the results of a recent study of our societys technology needs in the coming decades and will outline new technological directions the aerospace community must move in to remain vibrant and relevant in the 21st century. Analysis shows that eight specific overlapping technology trends are uniting in the free market to form an entirely new technological paradigm. This new paradigm is the much ballyhooed Web N, but it is not what the prognosticators think is Web N. Each of the 8 emerging trends will described and shown to enable truly transformational systems and increase productivity of aerospace engineers in this surprising presentation.