Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Embedded Spacecraft Thermal Control Using Ultrasonic Consolidation, Jared W. Clements

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has been completed in order to rapidly manufacture spacecraft thermal control technologies embedded in spacecraft structural panels using ultrasonic consolidation. This rapid manufacturing process enables custom thermal control designs in the time frame necessary for responsive space. Successfully embedded components include temperature sensors, heaters, wire harnessing, pre-manufactured heat pipes, and custom integral heat pipes. High conductivity inserts and custom integral pulsating heat pipes were unsuccessfully attempted. This research shows the viability of rapid manufacturing of spacecraft structures with embedded thermal control using ultrasonic consolidation.

An Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-Based Imagery System Development And Remote Sensing Images Classification For Agricultural Applications, Yiding Han

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This work concentrates on the topic of remote sensing using a multispectral imag-ing system for water management and agriculture applications. The platform, which is alight-weight inexpensive runway-free unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), namely, AggieAir, ispresented initially. A major portion of this work focuses on the development of a light-weight multispectral imager payload for the AggieAir platform, called GhostFoto. Theimager is band-recongurable, covering both visual red, green, and blue (RGB) and nearinfrared (NIR) spectrum, and interfaced with UAV on-board computer. The developmentof the image processing techniques, which are based on the collected multispectral aerialimages, is also presented in this work. One application …

Interim Access To The International Space Station, Tyson Karl Smith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis evaluates mission scenarios using the existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles for delivering the Crew Exploration Vehicle to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle is scheduled to retire in the year 2011 and the Ares I is being developed to replace it. With its current schedule, the earliest that the Ares I will become fully operational is 2016. The configurations in this thesis are presented to narrow the gap in which the USA does not have direct access to the International Space Station. They also present "buy down" options for the USA human space operations, if the current …

Project: F.U.N.B.O.E. (Follow-Up Nucleate Boiling On-Flight Experiment), Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Third Grade Lesson Plan: Where Does Heat Come From?, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Fifth Grade Lesson Plan: Solid, Liquid, And Gas, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Sixth Grade Lesson Plan: Heat Moves, Getaway Special Team 2009

Education and Outreach

No abstract provided.

Terrain-Relative And Beacon-Relative Navigation For Lunar Powered Descent And Landing, Daniel Porter Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As NASA prepares to return humans to the moon and establish a long-term presence on the surface, technologies must be developed to access previously unvisited terrain regardless of the condition. Among these technologies is a guidance, navigation and control (GNC) system capable of safely and precisely delivering a spacecraft, whether manned or robotic, to a predetermined landing area. This thesis presents detailed research of both terrain-relative navigation using a terrain-scanning instrument and beacon-relative radiometric navigation using beacons in lunar orbit or on the surface of the moon. The models for these sensors are developed along with a baseline sensor suite …

A Pipeline Analog-To-Digital Converter For A Plasma Impedance Probe, Mohamad A. El Hamoui

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Space instrumentation technology is an essential tool for rocket and satellite research, and is expected to become popular in commercial and military operations in fields such as radar, imaging, and communications. These instruments are traditionally implemented on printed circuit boards using discrete general-purpose Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) devices and other components. A large circuit board is not convenient for use in micro-satellite deployments, where the total payload volume is limited to roughly one cubic foot. Because micro-satellites represent a fast growing trend in satellite research and development, there is motivation to explore miniaturized custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designs to reduce …

Microgravity Experiments For The Iss, Justin Koeln, Jan Sojka

Posters

The Get Away Special (GAS) team is a microgravity research team known for leading Utah State University to the impressive distinction of flying more experiments in space than any other university in the world. The following experiments were designed by the GAS team after receiving the opportunity to develop and experiment to be performed by a Space Flight Participant aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Ipas: International Paper Airplanes In Space, Getaway Special Team 2009

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Funboe Factsheet, Getaway Special Team 2009

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Sides: Space Italian Dressing Experimental Setup, Getaway Special Team 2009

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Gathering Leadership Momentum Across Great Distances: Creating An Online Community Of Practice, Erin Dini-Davis, Danielle Theiss-White

Library Faculty & Staff Publications

At the 2007 Mountain Plains Library Association Leadership (MPLA) Institute, held in New Mexico, USA, eight academic librarians formed an online multi-state, multigenerational community of practice. MPLA is a twelve-state library association within the United States. Using Google Groups™, the members formed an online environment called the MPLA Community of Practice for continuing development of the leadership skills presented at the Institute. These early-career librarians represent diverse educational backgrounds and work in libraries serving varied populations with differing disciplinary emphases. The group meets monthly with each member preparing and facilitating online discussions, complete with personal assessments, topical readings, and questions. …

Rembrant: Research On The Effects Of Microgravity On The Brazil Nut Problem, Getaway Special Team 2009

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Development Of Modular Thermal Control Architecture For Modular Satellites, Quinn Eric Young

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research has been completed to determine the most effective thermal control architecture for modular satellites. This research investigated principles of modularity, modular spacecraft examples, thermal control methods, and advanced thermal control technologies. A modular spacecraft was designed as a case study to determine key influences and issues. A number of thermal control architectures were developed. Each was evaluated for compatibility with modularity principles, thermal control performance, and a realizable implementation. Thermal control performance was determined by simulating on-orbit conditions for a number of design reference missions, including traditional thermal control architecture used for comparison. An effective thermal control architecture was …

Modeling, Designing, Fabricating, And Testing Of Channel Panel Flat Plate Heat Pipes, James R. Harris

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Flat plate heat pipes are very efficient passive two-phase heat transport devices. Their high efficiency and low mass are desirable in the aerospace and electronics industries. The highly competitive nature of the thermal management industry results in little awareness of the capabilities of at plate heat pipes, which has resulted in only a few applications of the technology. In the year 2000 a research and development project sponsored by Space Dynamics Laboratory was launched to investigate building carbon-based at heat pipes. The flat configuration is desireable to incorporate many components onto one thermal management system. Development led to the adoption …

Angles-Only Navigation For Autonomous Orbital Rendezvous, David Charles Woffinden

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The proposed thesis of this dissertation has both a practical element and theoretical component which aim to answer key questions related to the use of angles-only navigation for autonomous orbital rendezvous. The first and fundamental principle to this work argues that an angles-only navigation filter can determine the relative position and orientation (pose) between two spacecraft to perform the necessary maneuvers and close proximity operations for autonomous orbital rendezvous. Second, the implementation of angles-only navigation for on-orbit applications is looked upon with skeptical eyes because of its perceived limitation of determining the relative range between two vehicles. This assumed, yet …

Development Of A Low-Cost Fine Steering Mirror, Steven R. Wassom, Morgan Davidson

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The Space Dynamics Laboratory has used internal funds to develop a prototype low-cost two-axis fine steering mirror (FSM) for space-based and airborne applications. The FSM has a lightweight 75 mm-by- 150-mm high-reflectance mirror, high angular deflection capability for along-track ground motion compensation and cross-track pointing, and a 70-Hertz bandwidth for small amplitudes to help cancel unwanted jitter. It makes use of off-the-shelf components as much as possible. Key performance parameters are: Clear aperture, 75 mm; elevation angle, ±15 deg (mechanical); azimuth angle, ±60 deg (mechanical); slew rate, greater than 75 deg/sec; bandwidth, 70 Hz; steady-state average error, about 1 arcsec; …

Photoelectric Charging By Ultraviolet Light Of A Lunar Dust Simulant In A Microgravity Environment, Microgravity Research Team 2008

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Charging By Ultraviolet Light On Granular Lunar Simulant In A Microgravity Environment, Sydney J. Chamberlin, Troy Munro, Sarah Isert, Tracy Garin Savage

Reports and Proposals

No abstract provided.

Steady State Simulations Of A Mars Entry Vehicle, Daniel Guy Schauerhamer

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Using computational fluid dynamics, steady state simulations of a capsule like Mars entry vehicle at certain trajectory points was performed. Trajectory points were chosen incrementally from 90 to 11.5 kilometers altitude. The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method and the Overflow 2 Navier-Stokes solver were used depending on Knudsen number values greater than or less than 0.1, respectively. To compare flow effects of the maximum angle of attack error margin of three degrees, axially symmetric cases were computed and compared to three dimensional cases demonstrating an attack angle (α) of three degrees. Lift and drag coefficients are reported and compared. The …

Women In Aviation, Kari Anne Sparks-Webb

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My goal during my enrollment in the USU Professional Pilot Program is to further the advancement of women in the aviation industry and increase the number of women in the flight program. So, when it came time to choose my senior project there was no better choice for me than to exhibit at the Women in Aviation Convention. It would be a huge step for the school and a great opportunity for me and other students in the program.

The Wright Stuff: A Redesign Of The 1905 Wright Flyer, Adam Richards, Ben Case, Eric Peterson, Nathan Holman, Wayne Goodrich, Amy Hintze, Carson Esplin, David Christensen, Jonathan Holfeltz, Nick Filimoehala, Nicholas Alley

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Cooling Saber With A Miniature Pulse Tube Refrigerator, Scott M. Jensen, J. Clair Batty, William A. Roettker, Matthew J. Felt

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

Utah State University/Space Dynamics Laboratory (USU/SDL), teaming with NASA Langley Research Center, is currently building the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry(SABER) instrument. Stringent mass and power constraints, together with a greater than two year mission life, led to the selection of a TRW miniature pulse tube refrigerator to cool SABER's infrared detectors to the required temperature of 75 K.

This paper provides an overview of the SABER thermal management plan and the challenges encountered in matching the refrigerator characteristics with instrument performance requirements under the broadly variant space environments expected for this mission. Innovative technologies were developed …

Research And Design Of A High L/D Aircraft, Blake Ashby, Gregory Nielson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This senior design team, consisting of Blake Ashby, Shelly Barlow, Greg Nielson, Deryl Snyder, and Chris Wright, designed, built, and flew an airplane that met the requirements of the Cessna/ONR Student Design/Build/Fly Competition sponsored by AIAA. This radio-controlled airplane was designed to fly the most laps around a course in seven minutes using only 2.5 pounds of NiCad batteries. A total of three senior design teams from Utah State University designed separate airplanes. Though all three teams designed, built, and tested complete airplanes, each emphasized a different aspect of a successful entry. This team emphasized theoretical and numerical analysis in …

Hydrogen On-Orbit Storage And Supply: A Spacecraft Bus Design, Roy Gladden

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Spacecraft designers have two options when developing spacecraft for a particular mission. The bus, which is the primary structure and support system for the spacecraft, can be designed from an existing layout or a new design may be developed to meet specific mission needs. In recent years, the trend in small satellite design has been to employ a previously designed spacecraft bus in order to reduce cost and development time. However, these structures sometimes provide greater capability than is required for smaller, simple missions at a higher price. Therefore, it may be preferable to custom design a bus to meet …

Design Of The Guidance, Navigation, And Control Subsystem For The Proposed Firebird Spacecraft, Erin Robinson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Firebird spacecraft is a space mission to gather scientific and physical data on the effects of atmospheric deceleration, commonly called aerobraking. The objective of the Firebird mission is to measure specified aerobraking parameters over a range of reentry velocities to provide a database sufficient to construct and validate mathematical models of such aerobraking mission maneuvers. The Firebird senior design team designed the first spacecraft in the mission series to look at aerobraking at an altitude of 160 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. This paper looks specifically at the design of the subsystem that provides the guidance, navigation, …

Freezing Point Mobile Munitions Assessment Sytem: Thermal Chamber Redesign, Sara Gifford, Preston Harris

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Army is actively investigating non-intrusive methods to identify six chemical weapons agents. The chemical munitions in question are often found scattered across military bases and other facilities. These non-stockpile munitions are specifically targeted for identification using the mobile munitions assessment system. This program is being administered by the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

Optimization Of Torquer Coil Design For Use With The Small Satellite Attitude Control Simulator, David Deloyd Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper presents a procedure used to optimize the performance of a ferromagnetic core magnetic torquer coil design for use on the Space Dynamics Laboratory (Logan, UT) Small Satellite Attitude Control Simulator. The items of optimization include the primary goal of maximizing the coil 's magnetic moment while reducing power consumption and system mass within given power, mass, and dimensional constraints. The optimization process makes use of several simple equations to determine a few starting points for design, after which an iterative approach based on experimentation is used to produce the final design. It is found that optimal magnetic moment …