STI BULLETIN ONLINE

A quarterly publication of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program

produced by the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI) for the users of our

information products and services. 

July 2004

Featured Articles Departments 

• Small Team Has Big Impact

• What's New at NTRS

Focus On...Space Exploration Systems

• From the Users

• From The Centers

• From the STI Program Office

Publication News 

• Current Topics

• NASA History

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Featured Articles 

Small Team Has Big Impact 

NASA Technical Monitor Janelle Turner (far right) and Spinoff Team

(from left to right) Jutta Schmidt (project manager), Jamie Janvier and 

Michelle Birdsall (editors), and John Jones (graphic designer) at the 2004 

Agency Honor Awards ceremony. 

The NASA Spinoff Team, based at the Center for 

AeroSpace Information (CASI), takes pride in 

disseminating information about the down-to-Earth

benefits derived from NASA’s aeronautics and space

missions. From helping students access materials about 

the Shuttle engine know-how behind a life-saving heart

pump to explaining how Apollo technology contributed to 

improved thermal insulation, the Spinoff Team stays on

top of daily public outreach activities while producing the 

annual Spinoff magazine. 
Consisting of Project Manager Jutta Schmidt, Editors Michelle Birdsall and Jamie Janvier, Graphic Designer 

John Jones, and Publications Specialist Deborah Drumheller, the small team was recognized for its big 

impact at the 2004 Agency Honor Awards. NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe presented Schmidt with the 

Public Service Group Achievement Award on behalf of the team, which is also supported by CASI’s 

Webmaster David Eminizer and Publications Web Coordinator Bernadette Gilliam. The award commends 

non-Government personnel for an outstanding accomplishment while participating in a significant program 

or project that contributes substantially to the NASA mission. 

The Spinoff Team, nominated by Spinoff Technical Monitor Janelle Turner of NASA Headquarters, was 

selected for the award based upon its outstanding service and production of a quality Spinoff publication. 

As NASA’s premiere publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology, Spinoff profiles 

between 40 to 50 products each year in the categories of health and medicine, transportation, public 

safety, consumer and recreational goods, industrial productivity, environment and resources 

management, and computer technology. 

When asked to describe one of his favorite NASA spinoff technologies, Janvier was quick to respond, 

“Without a doubt, I would have to say that the Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) 

software tool for clearing up dark, jittery video is at the top of my list. The technology’s success rate in 

revealing clues about crimes truly speaks for itself.” Originally developed by NASA to study violent 

explosions on the Sun and examine hazardous weather conditions on Earth, VISAR allowed Federal and 

State law enforcement authorities to enhance video footage to uncover important details about the 1996 

Olympic Summer Games bombing in Atlanta, and identify and subsequently charge the murderer of an 

11-year-old girl who was abducted at a carwash in Sarasota, Florida, earlier this year. 

Producing the magazine requires intense research and strong partnerships with NASA’s field centers to 

identify and confirm successful technology transfer relationships between NASA and private industry. Once 

the story leads are identified, Birdsall and Janvier write articles that explain how rocket science and 

cutting-edge space technologies become a part of our everyday lives. The team then relies on Jones to 

bring the articles to life with a captivating and colorful layout and cover. Drumheller adds her expertise by 

assisting with the detailed proofing process before the magazine goes to print. Once the printing process 

is over, Eminizer and Gilliam assist with putting the publication on the NASA Spinoff Web site, which 

includes online versions of past issues and a searchable database of article abstracts for every product 

featured since the publication’s origin in 1976. 

According to Birdsall, “The award is truly a testament to the strength of our publication team. It’s 

overwhelming to receive such public recognition on the Agency level. Just being in the auditorium with 

Administrator O’Keefe was an honor, not to mention being in the company of the other honorees.” 

During his opening remarks at the awards ceremony, Administrator O’Keefe stressed the importance of 

taking the time to acknowledge the tremendous accomplishments that take place every day throughout 

the organization. The Spinoff Team is proud to be awarded for doing just that, by documenting the 

tremendous technology transfer accomplishments that occur through NASA’s Innovative Technology 

Transfer Partnership program. 
What's New at NTRS 

The Advanced Search page of the NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server.

In the spring of 2003, the NASA STI Program Office (STIPO) 

released a new version of the NTRS: NASA Technical Report 

Server at http://ntrs.nasa.gov. STIPO replaced the distributed 

metadata search functionality (WAIS-based) version with a new

system configuration based upon a relational database, created 

a new search interface, and implemented the Open Archive 

Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH),

http://openarchives.org. 

The new configuration of NTRS enhances the functionality of the

technical report server. Using MySQL as the relationship

database allows for organization and maintenance of metadata

content and links to full-text images. Searching content is 

ith a simple interface and an advanced search interface. The 

simple search interface searches only the NASA repositories by default. The advanced search interface

(which features fielded searching) offers the possibility of including non-NASA repositories and allows

more targeted searching, including limiting the number of repositories to search.

improved in the new version of NTRS w

significant feature of the new NTRS is the implementation of OAI-PMH. Using OAI-PMH turns NTRS into

he transition to the new configuration has not been without challenges and these challenges are currently 

TRS user satisfaction is extremely important to the STI Program Office and changes are under way to

s of January 3, 2005, paid subscriptions to NASA's metadata will be discontinued. In support of the EA

an aggregator of content from sources within NASA and external sources of scientific and technical 

information. OAI-PMH allows sites that are OAI-compliant to share content with one another in an

automated way using Internet protocols and XML. New in the OAI-PMH version of NTRS is the inclusion of

repositories that are not in the nasa.gov domain. At the moment, we include repositories from the Physics 

eprint Server (arXiv), Biomedcentral, Aeronautical Research Council (the UK-equivalent of NASA) and the

U.S. Department of Energy. 

T

being addressed by the STI Program Office. Currently, NTRS searches and displays a limited amount of

data points. NTRS users expressed the need for searching on the accession number and document 

identification number for documents as ways of finding information. They requested that more information 

be displayed in search results. Users commented on the change in the content provided by NTRS stating 

that they liked being able to search on aerospace related citations from other Federal agencies and 

organizations beyond NASA. 

N

respond to user feedback. Many of the enhancements will be completed by November 30, 2004. Also, 

NTRS searches will expand to include accession and document identification numbers; search results will 

display more citation information for NASA records; and several thousand full-text NASA documents will 

be available through the NTRS system. 

A

Gov Act of 2002, NASA's publicly available scientific and technical information metadata will be available

via the NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server at http://ntrs.nasa.gov on November 30, 2004. 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Focus On ... Space Exploration Systems 

Back to Main

NASA’s Project Constellation aims to streamline the process of defining spaceship

designs and issuing contracts to create them. The image to the left shows a

conceptual Exploration Transportation Systems mission profile with all stages of

the mission for the capsule-shaped Crew Exploration Vehicle depicted. For other

system concepts, see http://www.projectconstellation.us/articles/conceptgallery/. 

On January 14, 2004, the President of the United States 

established a new policy and strategic direction for the U.S. 

space program, making human and robotic space exploration the 

primary goal. In response, NASA created a new Office of 

Exploration Systems (OExS, http://exploration.nasa.gov/

index.html) at the Agency's headquarters. OExS is responsible 

for setting priorities and implementing them through three 

divisions: Business Operations, Requirements, and Development

Programs. The Development Programs Division is responsible for 

three primary areas: Human and Robotic Technology, 

Exploration Transportation Systems, and Nuclear Systems 

Technologies. This issue focuses on these areas, providing 

sources of relevant STI. 

Human and Robotic Technology 

NASA's future exploration missions into the solar system and beyond will coordinate the unique 

capabilities of humans and robots to maximize safety, affordability, and effectiveness. To learn more,

see the July 2003 issue of the STI Bulletin (Focus on Robotics). 
Exploration Transportation Systems 

NASA’s goal is to develop and test a new spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV, see 

http://exploration.nasa.gov/constellation.html), by 2008 and to conduct the first manned mission no 

later than 2014. The Crew Exploration Vehicle will be capable of transporting astronauts and scientists to

the Space Station after the Space Shuttle is retired. The main purpose of this spacecraft, however, will

be to carry astronauts beyond Earth orbit to other worlds. This will be the first spacecraft of its kind 

since the Apollo Command Module. To capture the advances since Apollo, the STI Program generated 

the bibliography “Next Generation Spacecraft, Crew Exploration Vehicle” (CASI Document ID

20040045215) in January 2004. Contact the STI Help Desk if you would like to obtain this bibliography. 

Nuclear Systems Technologies 

The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, part of the Project Prometheus Program, is

examining the use of Nuclear Electric Propulsion to carry scientific payloads to

three Jovian moons. A potential power system concept includes dual 100 kWe

Brayton converters, a deployable pumped loop heat rejection subsystem, and a

400 Vac Power Management and Distribution bus.

NASA is conducting research on and development of nuclear

systems that could provide power for a wide range of

exploration systems such as scientific instrument, robotic,

electrical propulsion, and high-speed communications systems

to support human explorers as they travel through space and 

explore other worlds. 

Investment is focused on making such power sources available 

this decade for proposed missions to Pluto and Mars and an 

unprecedented mission to Jupiter in the next decade. The

Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) mission would have 

capabilities far beyond those possible with current power and 

propulsion systems. Powered by a nuclear reactor and propelled

by electric engines, the spacecraft would make up-close, longterm visits to three of the solar system’s most intriguing 

moons, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. These moons may

contain oceans of water that could have provided an environment in which life evolved in the past, or 

perhaps they are supporting life in the present. 

The following citations provide a sample of recently published nuclear propulsion material found in the 

NTRS: NASA Technical Report Server. Some documents are available in full-text Portable Document

Format (PDF) that you can download, while others can be purchased through the STI Help Desk at 301-

621-0390 or help@sti.nasa.gov or available elsewhere. Please use the document identification numbers 

listed below when contacting the Help Desk. You can also keep up to date on this topic by checking the 

Spacecraft Power and Propulsion topic in Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR), a biweekly 

abstract journal. 

Benford, Andrew. Comparison of Structural Optimization Techniques for a Nuclear Electric Space 

Vehicle. 20040034016 

Borowski, Stanley; Dudzinski, Leonard A. 2001: A Space Odyssey Revisited: The Feasibility of 24 

Hour Commuter Flights to the Moon Using NTR Propulsion with LUNOX Afterburners. 20030067859 

Borowski, Stanley K.; McGuire, Melissa L.; Mason, Lee M.; Gilland, James H.; Packard, Thomas W.

"Bimodal" Nuclear Thermal Rocket (BNTR) Propulsion for an Artificial Gravity HOPE Mission to

Callisto. 20030006859 
Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.; Holloway, James Paul. Reactor Start-up and Control Methodologies: 

Consideration of the Space Radiation Environment. 20040020203 

Bragg-Sitton, S. M.; Kapernick, R.; Godfroy, T. J. Single Channel Testing for Characterization of 

the Direct Gas Cooled Reactor and the SAFE-100 Heat Exchanger. 20040020218 

El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Tournier, Jean-Michel. Performance Analysis of Potassium Heat Pipes 

Radiator for HP-STMCs Space Reactor Power System. 20040020224 

Falck, Robert D.; Borowski, Stanley K. High Power Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) for Cargo and 

Propellant Transfer Missions in Cislunar Space. 20030006861 

Gavert, Raymond B. Market Driven Space Exploration. 20040020153 

Houts, Mike; Schmidt, Glen L.; Van Dyke, Melissa; Godfroy, Tom; Martin, James; Bragg-Sitton, 

Shannon; Dickens, Ricky; Salvail, Pat; Harper, Roger. Space Fission System Test Effectiveness. 

20040020209 

Joyner, Claude Russell, II; Fowler, Bruce; Matthews, John. A Closed Brayton Power Conversion 

Unit Concept for Nuclear Electric Propulsion for Deep Space Missions. 20030006840 

Klein, Milton. Nuclear Thermal Rocket —An Established Space Propulsion Technology. 

20040020180 

McGuire, Melissa L.; Borowski, Stanley K.; Mason, Lee M.; Gilland, James. High Power MPD 

Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) for Artificial Gravity HOPE Missions to Callisto. 20030006860 

Powell, James; Maise, George; Paniagua, John; Borowski, Stanley. MITEE-B: A Compact Ultra 

Lightweight Bi-Modal Nuclear Propulsion Engine for Robotic Planetary Science Missions. 

20030006809 

Soltis, James V. Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion Systems Technology: Enabling Future 

Planetary Exploration. Segment 7: Power Management and Distribution. 20030027869 

Tournier, Jean-Michel; El-Genk, Mohamed S. Reactor Lithium Heat Pipes for HP-STMCs Space 

Reactor Power System. 20040020223 

Van Dyke, Melissa. Early Flight Fission Test Facilities (EFF-TF) To Support Near-Term Space Fission 

Systems. 20040020214 

Wright, Mike. Marshall Space Flight Center and the Reactor-in-Flight Stage: A Look Back at Using 

Nuclear Propulsion to Power Space Vehicles in the 1960's. 20030066010 

Wright, S. A.; Lipinski, R. J.; Godfroy, T. J.; Bragg-Sitton, S. M.; Van Dyke, M. K. Direct-Drive 

Gas-Cooled Reactor Power System: Concept and Preliminary Testing. 20030006811 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Departments

• From the Users

o NASA Images and Videos

o NASA Thesaurus

o NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Back to Main

From the Users 

NASA Images and Videos 

Q. I am a graphic designer for the United States General Accounting Office. I am currently working on an

audit report on NASA. I am looking for a decent picture of the Checkout and Launch Control System. A

picture of the building would be fine. Any help would be great. 

A. We recommend that you try searching the NASA Image eXchange (NIX) at http://nix.nasa.gov/. If you

type “checkout launch control system” in the search box labeled 'With all of these words,” you will get

some results that may be useful to you. 

December 6, 2000. The ribbon is cut and the new Checkout 

and Launch Control System (CLCS) is declared operational.

Those taking part in the ceremony are (from left) Joseph

Rothenberg, NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight; 

Pam Gillespie, from Rep. Dave Weldon's office; Roy Bridges, 

Kennedy Space Center Director; Dave King, Director of 

Shuttle Processing; Retha Hart, Deputy Associate Director,

Spaceport Technology Management Office; and Ron

Dittemore, Manager, Space Shuttle Program. The new control 

room will be used to process the Orbital Maneuvering System 

pods and Forward Reaction Control System modules at the 

Hypergolic Maintenance Facility (HMF). This hardware is

removed from Space Shuttle orbiters and routinely taken to

the HMF for checkout and servicing. 

Q. Is there a searchable database to view video 

clips? And what is the cost to purchase clips and 

use them? 

A. There is no single database for video clips.

The STI Program sponsors the NASA Image eXchange (NIX, http://nix.nasa.gov/), where you can search

for video clips as well as images. For a more comprehensive look at what is available, we recommend you

go to the NASA Web site (http://www.nasa.gov) and either select the Multimedia tab or use the Find 
It@NASA search box (upper right hand of pages throughout the Web site) and type in some appropriate 

keywords (e.g., “video clips”). Most publicly available video clips are free.

If you are interested in video tapes rather than video clips, you can search the STI Program’s NTRS: NASA

Technical Reports Server (http://ntrs.nasa.gov) or, if you are a NASA employee, contractor, or grantee,

the NASA Aeronautics and Space Database (http://www.sti.nasa.gov). The STI Web site also gives you 

access to the STI Video Catalog (http://www.sti.nasa.gov/Pubs/Videocat/videocat.pdf), which is 

searchable and gives you descriptions of more than 2,000 vides. The videos are available in VHS, VHSPAL, BETA-SP NTSC, and upon request, in BETA-PAL formats. Prices vary (e.g., domestic prices range 

from $85 to $145 for a Beta-SP NTSC tape). 

NASA Thesaurus 

Q. I'm trying to decide between the NASA Thesaurus, Volumes 1 and 2 and the NASA Thesaurus 

Hierarchical Listing Data File for Site Usage, or whether we should simply get both. The hierarchical listing 

looks as if it would certainly be very useful to us, so my questions are: 

1. What format is the Thesaurus in? Is it just PDF, like the free samples available on the Web 

site? 

2. The Thesaurus seems to contain definitions, which the hierarchical listing does not: is this 

correct? Is there any other information in the Thesaurus that doesn't appear in the 

hierarchical listing, and vice versa? 

A. The NASA Thesaurus Hierarchical Listing for Site Usage is a data file formatted for machine 

manipulation. This is the product you will need if you want a machine readable format. The file is

conveyed to you via FTP. Prior to purchasing the Thesaurus Hierarchical Listing, we require you to read

and sign a copy of the Agreement for the Terms and Conditions of Use for NASA Thesaurus Data-File 

Products (available at http://www.sti.nasa.gov). Note that this product and the data contained therein are 

intended for the sole use of the customer or site-specific use by the customer’s organization. 

To answer your second question, the NASA Thesaurus Volume 1 (PDF version on CD-ROM) does contain 

definitions, however since some of these definitions appear with permission from the originating

organization, their use is limited to this CD-ROM product as is; the definitions are not available for 

machine extraction or presentation outside of this product. 

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) 

Q. Is there any description of NASA's plans and priorities for digitizing older NASA documents? 

A. It is the intent of the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program Office to make all NASA 

formal series reports available online through the NTRS: NASA Technical Reports Server at 

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/. Reports that are coming in are being added in PDF format as resources permit. We 

are working backwards daily to add in the older material. 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Departments 

• From the Centers

o Visionary Library Leader Retires

o NASA UNILIB Meeting

Back to Main

From the Centers 

Visionary Library Leader Retires 

Janet Ormes has provided outstanding leadership and vision to the Goddard 

Library for the last 17 years. Ormes joined the Goddard Space Flight Center in 

1987, following a 10-year career supervising and managing contractor

operations in Federal Libraries and Information Centers. In addition to her

position as the Branch Head, Ormes became the Assistant Chief Information

Officer (CIO) for Library and Information Services at Goddard in 2001. 

Ormes was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She received her Bachelors of 

Arts degree in Philosophy and Master of Library Science degrees from the

University of Minnesota, where she worked in the university library before

relocating to the Washington, D.C. area. 

Early in her career, Ormes visualized a world where computers would bring 

researchers easy access to the information they need. Indeed, her life’s 

ambition was to see libraries bringing together all the information researchers need to do their work 

through a single computer interface. 

Ormes’ commitment to the advancement of library and information sciences extends beyond Goddard. Her 

expertise in library science is far reaching; librarians from around the world, including recent visitors from 

universities in Kenya and Ireland, have sought her advice and knowledge. She co-authored a chapter for a

NASA publication on Knowledge Management, Knowledge Ontologies and Knowledge Codification: NASA’s 

History and Future. She has presented at the Library of Congress and the American Library Association on

the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model for managing and preserving electronic 

resources. Ormes is a member of the American Library Association and the Federal Library and

Information Center Committee (FLICC) Content Management Working Group, and has served as an

elected representative to FLICC. She served as Secretary of the Federal Armed Forces Librarians Round

Table (FAFLRT) of the American Library Association (ALA). She has been an invited speaker or discussion 

panel member at ALA Conferences, the American Institute of Physics Assembly of National Officers, the
National Academy of Science Librarian Advisory Group, FLICC programs, and the Special Interest Group

on CD-ROM Applications and Technology (SIGCAT).

Without sacrificing traditional library services, and despite continually more restrictive budget constraints,

Ormes had the vision and perseverance to take the Goddard Library fully into the 21st century. Dedicated 

to utilizing information science and technologies to support the research initiatives of the Center, Ormes 

was a trailblazer in developing the ability to share electronic information from Library resources directly to

users’ desktops. All the services available from the Goddard Library are now accessible in electronic

format through the Web. Today, Ormes can see the fruition of her life’s work in the Goddard Library,

which is recognized as a first-class organization. Her library team was recently selected as Federal Library

of the Year and has received two Goddard Honor Awards, a NASA Honor Award, and several outstanding

Web site awards. 

Recently, Ormes has turned her attention to knowledge management initiatives for the Center and 

leveraged several pilot projects into a fledgling Digital Archive System for Center knowledge assets. Digital 

video, images, Web sites and documents are among the content types currently reflected in the system.

She pioneered a collaboration with the Center's Knowledge Architect, Dr. Ed Rogers, to bring the 

information management skills of the Library staff to bear on management of the Center's internal 

knowledge assets. Indeed, the citation for the Federal Library of the Year credited the Goddard Library 

with, "Bridging the gap between traditional library services and knowledge management." 

Ormes has been recognized both at Goddard and within the library world as an expert in her field. Under 

her leadership, the Goddard Library has become a state-of-the-art library and information center. Ormes 

has received the NASA/Goddard Excellence in Information Science and Technology Award, Goddard’s 

Exceptional Achievement Award, ALA’s Federal Librarian Outstanding Achievement Award, the Federal 

Executive Board’s Excellence in Federal Career Award, and a lifetime career Award of Merit from Goddard

Space Flight Center. 

Janet’s retirement plan includes moving to Colorado, spending countless hours with her grandchildren,

bird watching, reading, square dancing, traveling, and snorkeling. We only hope she’ll have the time to

reflect on a worklife well spent. 

NASA UNILIB Meeting 

Librarians from across NASA met at Goddard on April 27-29 to discuss Agency-related library issues and 

to identify opportunities for partnering. Librarians from Ames, Dryden, Glenn, JPL, Langley, and Goddard 

reported on activities and projects underway within their organizations, and Goddard, Glenn, and JPL

identified future partnership opportunities in the area of metadata projects. Additionally, librarians from 

Goddard and JPL shared results from their strategic assessments. Cooperative agreements to share

resources were discussed and opportunities identified. Metadata projects were explored in the light of the

Open Archives Initiative and Metadata harvesting. 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Departments 

• From the STI Program Office

o President’s Commission Report and STI

Back to Main

From the STI Program Office 

President’s Commission Report and STI 

The NASA STI Program is currently highlighting existing NASA STI and drafting a plan to acquire or link to

external STI from areas that are highlighted in the Report of the President’s Commission on

Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy – June 2004; these areas are as follows: 

Enabling Technologies 

• Affordable heavy lift capability

• Advanced structures 

• High acceleration, high life cycle, reusable in-space main engine

• Advanced power and propulsion 

• Cryogenic fluid management 

• Large aperture systems 

• Formation flying 

• High bandwidth communications 

• Entry, descent, and landing 

• Closed-loop life support and habitability 

• Extravehicular activity systems 

• Autonomous systems and robotics

• Scientific data collection/analysis 

• Biomedical risk mitigation 

• Transformational spaceport and range technologies 

• Automated rendezvous and docking

• Planetary in situ resource utilization

Management Areas 

• System of systems approaches 

• Spiral, evolution development

• Lead system integration 

• Independent technical and cost assessments 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Publication News 

• Current Topics

o Human and Robotic Technology

o Exploration Transportation Systems

o Nuclear Systems Technologies

Back to Main

Current Topics 

Human and Robotic Technology 

For each of NASA's cutting-edge projects and tasks, there are frequently many possible technological 

approaches competing to be funded and developed. Selecting those that offer the best chances of success 

within the constraints of budget and schedule is a challenging task in itself. START (STrategic Assessment

of Risk and Technology, http://start1.jpl.nasa.gov) offers systems for quantifying the features of each 

technology, assessing its risk, calculating the probable return-on-investment, and using the results to

compare candidates for development. These systems can be invaluable tools for selecting technologies,

monitoring and guiding their development, and optimizing mission success. The following two publications 

evaluate human-robotic performance. 

G. Rodriguez and C.R. Weisbin, "A New Method to Evaluate Human-Robot System Performance,"

Special Issue of Journal on Autonomous Robotics, Kluwer-Publishers, Vol. 14, pages 165-178, 

March 2003. 

G. Rodriguez, C. Weisbin, and R. Easter, "A New Method for Human-Robot System Resiliency 

Evaluation," JPL Publication 02-26, November 2002. 

Exploration Transportation Systems 

IEEE Xplore (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org) provides access to IEEE transactions, journals, magazines, and

conference proceedings published since 1988 plus select content back to 1950, and all current IEEE

Standards. Take a look at the following citation and abstract from the IEEE Region 5 Conference: Annual

Technical and Leadership Workshop, 2004: 

Frye, M.T.; Ji Li; Chunjiang Qian. Finite-time stabilization of the NASA CEV reaction control system 

with actuator saturation and by position measurements 

[Abstract] 
Nuclear Systems Technologies 

AIAA, ASME, SAE, and ASEE will hold the 40th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit in Fort Lauderdale, 

Florida, July 11-14, 2004, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the first manned lunar landing by working to

develop a common vision of future propulsion requirements and potential (see http://www.aiaa.org/). 

Sessions of interest include: 

Session 24- EP-5: Project Prometheus I, chaired by S. Oleson, NASA Glenn Research Center,

Cleveland, OH, and J. Fisher, Aerojet, Redmond, WA 

Session 36- NFF-1, Fusion Propulsion, chaired by T. Kammash, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 

MI. 

Authors are encouraged to submit their papers for publication in the American Institute of Aeronautics and 

Astronautics archival journals (e.g., the Journal of Propulsion and Power). 
STI BULLETIN ONLINE

Publication News 

• NASA History

o Human and Robotic Technology

o Exploration Transportation Systems

o Nuclear Systems Technologies

o Drawing of a NERVA Engine

Back to Main

NASA History 

GReat Images in NASA (GRIN) is a collection of over a thousand images of significant historical interest

scanned at high-resolution in several sizes. The following is a sample of great images in NASA history with 

radiation research. 

Human and Robotic Technology 

Puma Robotic Arm 

April 2, 1990. The Puma Robotic Sensor Arm for use in virtual reality

development and studies at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain 

View, California.

NASA Robot Brain Surgeon 

June 6, 1997. Mechanical engineer Michael Guerrero works on the Robot 

Brain Surgeon test bed in the NeuroEngineering Group at the Ames 

Research Center, Moffett Field, California. Principal investigator Dr. Robert

W. Mah states that potentially the simple robot will be able to feel brain
structures better than any human surgeon, making slow, very precise movements during an operation. 

The brain surgery robot that may give surgeons finer control of surgical instruments during delicate brain

perations is still under development.

xploration Transportation Systems 

hn C. Houbolt 

as the person most responsible for pushing it

t NASA. 

dyssey On Deck 

2:07:44 p.m., April 17, 1970 in the South Pacific Ocean. 

o

E

Jo

July 24, 1962, John C. Houbolt at blackboard, showing 

his space rendezvous concept for lunar landings. Lunar 

Orbital Rendezvous (LOR) would be used in the Apollo 

program. Although Houbolt did not invent the idea of

LOR, he w

a

O

April 17, 1970, Crewmen aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima, 

prime recovery ship for the Apollo 13 mission, hoist the

Command Module aboard ship. The Apollo 13 crewmen

were already aboard the Iwo Jima when this photograph 

was taken. The Apollo 13 spacecraft splashed down at

1
Nuclear Systems Technologies 

NACA Physicist Studying Alpha Rays 

September 12, 1957. A cloud chamber is used by 

Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center scientists to 

obtain information aimed at minimizing undesirable

effects of radiation on nuclear-powered aircraft 

components. Here, alpha particles from a polonium

source emit in a flower-like pattern at the cloud

chamber's center. The particles are made visible by 

means of alcohol vapor diffusing from an area at 

room temperature to an area at minus -78 deg. 

Centigrade. Nuclear-powered aircraft were never 

developed and aircraft nuclear propulsion systems 

were canceled in the early 1960s. 

Nuclear Rocket Engine Being Transported to Test Stand 

December 1, 1967. The first ground experimental 

nuclear rocket engine (XE) assembly, (left), is 

shown here in "cold flow" configuration, as it

makes a late evening arrival at Engine Test Stand

No. 1 at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station,

in Jackass Flats, Nevada. Cold flow experiments 

are conducted using an assembly identical to the 

design used in power tests except that the cold

assembly does not contain any fissionable material 

nor produce a nuclear reaction. Therefore, no 

fission power is generated. The large object at the 

right is one-half of an aluminum cylindrical closure 

that can be sealed about the engine, forming an

airtight compartment, thereby permitting testing in

a simulated space environment. The "cold flow"

experimental engine underwent a series of tests 

designed to verify that the initial test stand was

ready for "hot" engine testing, as well as to

investigate engine start-up under simulated altitude conditions, and to check operation procedures not

previously demonstrated. The XECF (Experimental Engine Cold Flow) experimental nuclear rocket engine

was a part of project Rover/NERVA. 
Drawing of a NERVA Engine 

January 29, 1970. An explanatory drawing of the NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) 

thermodynamic nuclear rocket engine. The main objective of project Rover/NERVA was to develop a flight 

rated engine with 75,000 pounds of thrust. The Rover portion of the program began in 1955 when the

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the Air Force initially wanted the 

engine for missile applications. However, in 1958, the newly created NASA inherited the Air Force 

responsibilities, with an engine slated for use in advanced, long-term space missions. The NERVA portion 

did not originate until 1960 and the industrial team of Aerojet General Corporation and Westinghouse

Electric had the responsibility to develop it. In 1960, NASA and the AEC created the Space Nuclear

Propulsion Office to manage project Rover/NERVA. In the following decade, it oversaw a series of reactor 

tests: KIWI-A, KIWI-B, Phoebus, Pewee, and the Nuclear Furnace, all conducted by Los Alamos to prove 

concepts and test advanced ideas. Aerojet and Westinghouse tested their own series: NRX-A2 (NERVA

Reactor Experiment), A3, EST (Engine System Test), A5, A6, and XE-Prime (Experimental Engine). All

were tested at the Nuclear Rocket Development Station at the AEC's Nevada Test Site, in Jackass Flats, 

Nevada, about 100 miles west of Las Vegas. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Nixon Administration 

cut NASA and NERVA funding dramatically. The cutbacks were made in response to a lack of public 

interest in human spaceflight, the end of the space race after the Apollo Moon landing, and the growing

use of low-cost unmanned, robotic space probes. Eventually NERVA lost its funding, and the project ended

in 1973. 
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