Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Our Decade In Space Plug-And-Play Avionics (Spa), James Lyke, Quinn Young, Jacob Christensen, David Anderson

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Outline

• History / Background
• Overview of Plug-and-Play Technology
• Current Status
• Road Ahead

Precision Tracking Space System (Ptss) Infrared Sensor Thermal Testing And Model Correlation, Matt Felt, Brian Thompson, Lorin Zollinger, Mike Marley, Ed Hawkins, Patrick Stadter

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS) was a constellation of infrared (IR) sensors planned by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to observe and track ballistic missile objects in flight. The PTSS program funded testing to characterize the parasitic heat loads expected on the actively-cooled multi-band IR sensor assembly, a subassembly within the optical telescope, thereby reducing uncertainty in the cooler heat lift requirements and system power budget. A detailed flight-like thermal analog of the sensor assembly, including designed conductances, surface treatments, and multi-layer insulation, was tested in a fixture that simulated its flight interfaces with a controllable interface temperature. …

Application Of A Modified Backwards Lagrangian Stochastic Model To Estimate Particulate Matter Emissions From A Dairy, Kori Moore, Michael Wojcik, Randy Martin, Richard Pfeiffer, John Prueger, Jerry Hatfield

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Background

• SDL, USU, and ARS have assembled sensors to measure PM and NH₃ concentrations around area sources
• Point and remote sensors, including a PM calibrated scanning lidar
• Emissions estimated using concentration measurements
• Mass balance (lidar only)
• Inverse modeling

Space Layer Experiment (Slx) Sensor Calibration, Scott Hansen, Brian Thompson, Lorin Zollinger, Dean Wada, Ed Hawkins, Brian Kantsiper

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Space Layer Experiment (SLX) is a sensor planned by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to test technology to observe and track objects in space. Subject to SLX program and funding restraints, a detailed and thorough ground calibration is planned to support observation and tracking goals, with continuing calibration experiments planned after launch. This presentation provides an overview of the SLX ground calibration that will use existing SDL calibration equipment and expertise with allowances made for SLX sensor design and program schedule. Preliminary plans for on-orbit calibration will also be presented with the goal of receiving expert feedback to …

Side-Stepping The Politics: Cooperative Programs, James Marshall, Garry Schnelzer

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

SDL Presentation on International Cooperative Programs

Model-Based 3d Sar Reconstruction, Chad Knight, Jake Gunther, Todd Moon

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Three dimensional scene reconstruction with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is desirable for target recognition and improved scene interpretability. The vertical aperture, which is critical to reconstruct 3D SAR scenes, is almost always sparsely sampled due to practical limitations, which creates an underdetermined problem. This papers explores 3D scene reconstruction using a convex model-based approach. The approach developed is demonstrated on 3D scenes, but can be extended to SAR reconstruction of sparsely sampled signals in the spatial and, or, frequency domains. The model-based approach enables knowledge-aided image formation (KAIF) by incorporating spatial, aspect, and sparsity magnitude terms into the image reconstruction. …

Making Every Gram Count - Big Measurements From Tiny Platforms, C. S. Fish, C. M. Swenson, S. Bailey, R. Bevilacqua, T. Neilsen, A. Marchant, C. Frazier, E. Stromberg, C. Weston, M. Jeppesen, J. Sojka

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Significant advances in Earth, solar, and space physics over the next decades will originate from new, system-level observational techniques. The most promising technique to still be fully developed and exploited requires conducting multi-point or distributed constellation-based observations. This system-level observational approach is required to understand the “big picture” coupling between disparate regions such as the solar-wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, upper atmosphere, land, and ocean. However, the costs to date of these and other similar proposed constellations have been prohibitive given the traditional “large satellite” architectures and the multiple launch vehicles required for implementing the constellations.

Financially sustainable development and deployment of …

Uncertainty Quantification Of Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using Monte Carlo Simulation And Experimental Repeatability, Austin Fleming

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Photothermal Radiometry is a common thermal property measurement technique which is used to measure the properties of layered materials. Photothermal Radiometry uses a modulated laser to heat a sample, in which the thermal response can be used to determine the thermal properties of layers in the sample. The motivation for this work is to provide a better understanding of the accuracy and the repeatability of the Photothermal Radiometry measurement technique. Through this work the sensitivity of results to input uncertainties will be determined. Additionally, using numerical simulations the overall uncertainty on a theoretical measurement will be determined.

The repeatability of …

Sweeping Langmuir Probe (Slp) Of The Storms Sounding Rocket Mission, Padmashri Suresh, Charles Swenson

Browse all Datasets

On October 30, 2007 NASA launched rocket 36.218 carrying the mission: “Investigation of Mid Latitude Ionospheric Irregularities Associated with Terrestrial Weather Systems” also known as the STORMS Mission. The rocket was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia (37.95◦ N, 284.53◦ E, 67.5◦ dip angle) at twelve minutes past local midnight. It flew along an azimuth of 114◦ and reached apogee near 394 km. The rocket payload had a suite of instruments from Utah State University/Space Dynamic Lab (USU/SDL) and University of Texas, Dallas (UTD), for making in-situ electron density, wind and electric field measurements.

The Sweeping Langmuir Probe or SLP was …

Rfbr: Radio Frequency Beacon Receiver, Space Dynamics Laboratory

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University (SDL/USU), the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have teamed together to provide a portable ground-based radio frequency beacon receiver (RFBR) system capable of characterizing ionospheric parameters, including total electron content (TEC), amplitude, and phase scintillation. The system, derived almost entirely of COTS parts, can be configured to receive RF beacons such as those transmitted by existing on-orbit Coherent Electromagnetic Radio Tomography (CERTO) instrumentation, the upcoming Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC2), or other frequencies from VHF to S-band. By …

Pyrolysis Of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (Abs) Under High Heat Flux Conditions, James R. Wilson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is a common industrial plastic that is widely used for structural and piping applications. Additionally, within the past decade ABS has become the most popular material used in a type of rapid prototyping known as fused- deposition modeling (FDM). Within the past three years, ABS plastic blends have also been investigated as a potential fuel for hybrid- and solid-propelled rocket systems, exhibiting promising results. Because the use of ABS as a rocket propellant is very recent, a pyrolysis database, describing how ABS will burn, at the temperatures and heating rates experienced by rocket systems does not exist. Previous …

Geosynchronous Earth Orbit/Low Earth Orbit Space Object Inspection And Debris Disposal: A Preliminary Analysis Using A Carrier Satellite With Deployable Small Satellites, Derick A. Crockett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

From communication to weather prediction, to national security, geosynchronous satellites play an important role in our society. Geosynchronous satellites are about 35,786 km (22,236 miles) from the surface of the earth. Getting a satellite to this altitude is very expensive, making geosynchronous satellites highly valued assets. Ground-based observation of these satellites is very limited and provides little insight when failures or anomalies occur. To provide detailed images and information of these critical satellites, highly functioning smaller satellites can be employed. This study explores the potential benefits of using these smaller satellites to perform on-orbit proximity inspections of geosynchronous satellites. The …

Linear Covariance Analysis For Gimbaled Pointing Systems, Randall S. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Linear covariance analysis has been utilized in a wide variety of applications. Historically, the theory has made significant contributions to navigation system design and analysis. More recently, the theory has been extended to capture the combined effect of navigation errors and closed-loop control on the performance of the system. These advancements have made possible rapid analysis and comprehensive trade studies of complicated systems ranging from autonomous rendezvous to vehicle ascent trajectory analysis. Comprehensive trade studies are also needed in the area of gimbaled pointing systems where the information needs are different from previous applications. It is therefore the objective of …

Middle Atmosphere Temperature Results From A New, High-Powered, Large-Aperture Rayleigh Lidar, Leda Sox, Vincent B. Wickwar, Joshua P. Herron

Utah Space Grant Consortium

In June–July 2012, observations were carried out using the recently upgraded, large-aperture, Rayleigh-scatter lidar system located at the Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO) on the campus of Utah State University, in Logan, UT (41.7 N, 111.8 W). This time period was significant because it enabled us to observe the annual temperature minimum in the upper mesosphere-lower thermosphere region. The data collected during the campaign were analyzed for temperatures between ~70–109 km. The results above ~95 km are the first obtained with a Rayleigh-scatter lidar, extending the technique well into the lower thermosphere. A great deal of variability from night-to-night is evident …

Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis For Photothermal Radiometry Measurements Using A Curve Fit Process, Kyle Horne, Austin Fleming, Heng Ban

Utah Space Grant Consortium

Photothermal Radiometry (PTR) has become a popular method to measure thermal properties of layered materials. Much research has been done to determine the capabilities of PTR, but with little uncertainty analysis. This study performs a Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis to quantify uncertainty of film diffusivity and effusivity measurements, presents a sensitivity study for each input parameter, compares linear and logarithmic spacing of data points on frequency scans, and investigates the validity of a 1-D heat transfer assumption.

Power Efficient Restart-Capable Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene-Based Arc Ignition For Hybrid Rocket Motors, Nathan R. Inkley

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Hybrid rocket ignition has historically involved either dangerous energetic materials or inefficient and failure-prone plasma sources. The vast majority of such systems cannot sup- port multiple restart cycles, thus limiting the applicability of hybrid rockets–especially for in-space propulsion. During research investigating its use as a fuel for hybrid rockets, it was discovered that Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic possesses unique electrical breakdown characteristics. During a properly designed breakdown event, application of a strong electric field induces a high-temperature arc along the surface of the ABS, concurrent with rapid production of hydrocarbon vapor. This behavior forms the basis of a novel …

Development Of The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid For Nanosats (Muphyn) Miniature Thruster, Shannon Dean Eilers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Multiple Use Plug Hybrid for Nanosats (MUPHyN) prototype thruster incorporates solutions to several major challenges that have traditionally limited the deployment of chemical propulsion systems on small spacecraft. The MUPHyN thruster offers several features that are uniquely suited for small satellite applications. These features include 1) a non-explosive ignition system, 2) non-mechanical thrust vectoring using secondary fluid injection on an aerospike nozzle cooled with the oxidizer flow, 3) a non-toxic, chemically-stable combination of liquid and inert solid propellants, 4) a compact form factor enabled by the direct digital manufacture of the inert solid fuel grain. Hybrid rocket motors provide …

Spin Stability Of Sounding Rocket Secondary Payloads Following High Velocity Ejections, Weston Mcclain Nelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Auroral Spatial Structures Probe (ASSP) mission is a sounding rocket mission studying the effects of solar energy on space weather. ASSP requires the high speed ejection (up to 50 m/s) of 6 secondary payloads to gather the required data. The scientific instruments on the secondary payloads require that the payloads are stable in flight with coning angles of less than 5º, where the coning angle is the amount the payload is allowed to “wobble” about its spin axis. The secondary payloads are also required to have their spin axes aligned with 25º of the local magnetic field lines. Current …

The Effect Of Navigation State Selection On Fuel Dispersions For Powered Lunar Descent, Jessica Thornley Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A Monte Carlo simulation is developed to study the performance of the closed-loop guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) system of a lunar lander in powered descent. The simulation includes six-degrees-of-freedom dynamics, an extended Kalman filter, guidance based upon modified Apollo methods, an attitude control system, and several different types of sensors. Sensors included in the sensor suite include accelerometers, gyroscopes, a star camera, an altimeter, a velocimeter, and a radio navigation system. The simulation is used to examine the effects of sensor errors and the number of navigation states on total fuel use.

Error Modeling And Analysis Of Star Cameras For A Class Of 1u Spacecraft, David M. Fowler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As spacecraft today become increasingly smaller, the demand for smaller components and sensors rises as well. The smartphone, a cutting edge consumer technology, has impressive collections of both sensors and processing capabilities and may have the potential to fill this demand in the spacecraft market. If the technologies of a smartphone can be used in space, the cost of building miniature satellites would drop significantly and give a boost to the aerospace and scientific communities.

Concentrating on the problem of spacecraft orientation, this study sets ground to determine the capabilities of a smartphone camera when acting as a star camera. …

Design And Testing Of Digitally Manufactured Paraffin Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Hybrid Rocket Motors, Jonathan M. Mcculley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hybrid motors that employ non-toxic, non-explosive components with a liquid oxidizer and a solid hydrocarbon fuel grain have inherently safe operating characteristics. The oxidizer is blown though the solid fuel where it is combusted through a nozzle to produce thrust. This research investigated the combination of Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene impregnated with paraffin wax as the solid fuel component burned with nitrous oxide. The paraffin provides an enhanced regression rate over ABS; however, it lacks structural integrity and combustion efficiency. Multiple fuel grains with various ABS-to-Paraffin mass ratios were fabricated and burned with nitrous oxide. Analytical predictions for end-to-end motor performance and fuel …

Catalytic Decomposition Of Nitrous Oxide Monopropellant For Hybrid Motor Ignition, Matthew D. Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), a commonly-used industrial gas, is also often used as a rocket motor oxidizer. It has been used in both hybrid rocket motors (using a solid fuel and a liquid oxidizer) and liquid rocket engines (using liquid fuel and oxidizer).

As a liquid form, nitrous oxide is highly stable, but in vapor form it can be decomposed, releasing large amounts of heat as it dissociates into nitrogen and oxygen. This project investigates using the energy from decomposing nitrous oxide to ignite a hybrid or liquid rocket. Such a system would be practical in rocket …

Assess The Accuracy Of The Variational Asymptotic Plate And Shell Analysis Using The Generalized Uni, Luciano Demasi, Wenbin Yu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The accuracy of the Variational Asymptotic Plate and Shell Analysis (VAPAS) is assessed against several higher order, zig zag and layerwise theories generated by using the invariant axiomatic framework denoted as Generalized Unified Formulation (GUF). These theories are also compared against the elasticity solution developed for the case of a sandwich structure with high Face to Core Stiffness Ratio. GUF allows to use an infinite number of axiomatic theories (Equivalent Single Layer theories with or without zig zag effects and Layerwise theories as well) with any combination of orders of the displacements and it is an ideal tool to precisely …

Closed-Loop Thrust And Pressure Profile Throttling Of A Nitrous Oxide/Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene Hybrid Rocket Motor, Zachary W. Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hybrid motors that employ non-toxic, non-explosive components with a liquid oxidizer and a solid hydrocarbon fuel grain have inherently safe operating characteristics. The inherent safety of hybrid rocket motors offers the potential to greatly reduce overall operating costs. Another key advantage of hybrid rocket motors is the potential for in-flight shutdown, restart, and throttle by controlling the pressure drop between the oxidizer tank and the injector. This research designed, developed, and ground tested a closed-loop throttle controller for a hybrid rocket motor using nitrous oxide and hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as propellants. The research simultaneously developed closed-loop throttle algorithms and lab scale …

Waste Heat Utilization In An Anaerobic Digestion System, Brett Boissevain

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Anaerobic digestion has great potential as an energy source. Not only does it provide an effective method for waste mitigation, but it has the potential to generate significant quantities of fuel and electricity. In order to ensure efficient digestion and biomass utilization, however, the system must be continuously maintained at elevated temperatures. It is technically feasible to supplement such a system with outside energy, but it is more cost effective to heat the system using only the produced biogas. While there is considerable literature covering the theory of anaerobic digestion, there are very few practical studies to show how heat …

Design Of A Split Hopkinson Bar Apparatus For Use With Fiber Reinforced Composite Materials, Shawn Michael Lang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Tabulated material properties are the starting block for the design of most structures. Mechanical structures undergo a wide range of loading conditions. Structures can be loaded statically or dynamically with a wide range of strain rates. With impact loading or high strain rates the relationships between stress and strain are not the same as in static loading. It has been observed that material properties are dependent upon the rate at which they are tested. Many investigators have studied the effect of high compressive strain rate loading conditions, in metals. The most common method for determining the dynamic response of materials …

Numerical And Experimental Study Of Anisotropic Effective Thermal Conductivity Of Particle Beds Under Uniaxial Compression, Jingwen Mo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Planetary heat flow is of great interests to planetary scientists, which can be used to determine the history and current status of pianetary bodies. Thermal conductivities of planetary bodies are generally measured using long needle-like probes inserted into planet's surface, which measure the horizontal effective thermal conductivity (parallel to the planetary surface). The vertical effective thermal conductivity (perpendicular to the planetary surface), used for heat flow calculation, is assumed to be the same as the horizontal effective thermal conductivity. However, ETC of particle beds is known to be an anisotropic property under low compressive pressures.

The objective of this study …

Experimental Studies Of Vertical Mixing In An Open Channel Raceway For Algae Biofuel Production, Ram Sudheer Voleti

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The USU BioEnergy Center has been successful in developing algae feedstocks for renewable biofuels and bioproducts. The concept is to utilize and maximize algae feedstocks for liquid transportation fuels, biomass for burning and digestion, and high value co-products. It is theorized that increasing the mixing in open and closed algal production systems improves the productivity of the algae culture. A raceway cultivation system was chosen to examine the phenomena of mixing. Vertical mixing will provide more uniform exposure to sunlight for all of the algae in the raceway. The main focus of this research was to increase vertical mixing. Delta …

Merrill-Cazier Library Gas Exhibition, Betty Rozum, Andrew Wesolek, Pamela N. Martin

Education and Outreach

This exhibition, presented in the Merrill-Cazier Library, captured the history and accomplishments of the GAS program. Click the download button to see a PowerPoint presentation featuring images and text from the exhibition.

Evaluation Of Turbulence Variable Distributions For Incompressible Fully Rough Pipe Flows, Emilie B. Fowler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The specific turbulent kinetic energy, root-mean-square fluctuating vorticity, and mean-vortexwavelength distributions are presented for fully rough pipe flow. The distributions of these turbulence variables are obtained from a proposed turbulence model. Many of the turbulence models commonly used for computational fluid dynamics are based on an analogy between molecular and turbulent transport. However, traditional k-ε and k-ω models fail to exhibit proper dependence on the molecular viscosity. Based on a rigorous application of the Boussinesq’s hypothesis, Phillips proposed a vorticity-based transport equation for the turbulent kinetic energy. The foundation for this vorticity-based transport equation is presented. In future development of …