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AVAILABILITY

To obtain copies of this report or general information about

NASA's program planning, contact Thomas W. Chappelle,

Code LB, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 20546,

telephone (202) 453-8339
NASA

1986 Long-Range Program Plan

Compiled by

Management Support Division

Office of External Relations

August 1985

NASA

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Washington D.C.

20546

CONTENTS

Io

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

X.

Xl.

Introduction

Summary and Perspective

Space Science and Applications

Space Flight

Space Station

Space Tracking and Data Systems

Space Research and Technology

Aeronautical Research and Technology

Institution

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Index

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I. INTRODUCTION

As the Nation's research and development organization for aeronautics and

space, NASA must look continuously to the future. Long before a goal is

reached, new goals must be defined. Each advance toward a program objective

serves as a building block for future programs. That continual evolution of

NASA's research and development is reflected in this report on the NASA

program plan for FY 1986 and later years.

The plan outlines the direction of NASA's future activities. It is

consistent with national policy for both space and aeronautics and with the

FY 1986 budget the President submitted to Congress in February 1985. That

modest, though forward-looking, budget reflects the President's determination

that the United States will continue its leadership in space and advance

toward its goal of developing, with international cooperation, a permanently

manned space station. The budget will allow NASA to make solid progress in

both space and aeronautics. It contains a new initiative, the Orbital

Maneuvering Vehicle; funding to promote the commercial use of space; and in

aeronautics, funding to continue advanced research and technology development

and to develop the Advanced Turboprop Propulsion System for a new generation

of fuel-efficient aircraft.

For the years beyond FY 1986, the plan consists of activities that are

technologically possible and considered to be in the national interest. Its

implementation will ensure logical and continued progress in reaching the

Nation's goals in aeronautics and space, consistent with the responsibilities

assigned NASA by the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended.

Chapter II of this report summarizes the major features of the programs

described in greater detail in Chapters III through IX and projects the nature

of the aeronautics and space programs beyond the year 2000. Chapter X lists

the abbreviations and acronyms that appear in this report; and Chapter XI

contains the report's index. Unless otherwise indicated, dates throughout are

fiscal year dates, October I through September 30.

This report is a working document. It summarizes the status of NASA's

plans at the time of its preparation, approximately the end of February 1985.

Comments and suggestions are welcome and will receivecareful consideration.

Because NASA's plans continually evolve, anyone desiring detailed

information on a program should get in touch with the responsible program

office. If he is working in areas related to NASA's programs and knowledge of

the latest status of NASA's plans is important to his work, up-to-date

information from the appropriate program offices is essential.

To obtain copies of this report or general information about NASA's

program planning, contact Thomas W. Chappelle, Code LB, National Aeronautics

and Space Administration, Washington, DC 20546.
NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology annually updates the

NASASpaceSystems Technology Model, described in section C.I. of chapter VII

of this report. A copy of the executive summary of that report can be

obtained from Stanley R. Sadin, Code RS, National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, Washington, DC 20546. The more detailed report volumes and

the full data base constitute an extensive set of documents available to those

who can demonstrate a need for them.

I-2
ORIGINAL PAGE IS

OF POOR QUALITY

mary and

ive

II. SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVE

CONTENTS

A. Mission, Goals, and Objectives ........................................... 1

B. Space Program Highlights to Year 2000 .................................... 4

1. Space Science and Applications ....................................... 4

a. Study of the Distant Universe .................................... 4

b. Exploration of the Near Universe ................................. 5

c. Earth and Its Environment ........................................ 7

d. Life Sciences .................................................... 8

e. Satellite Communications ......................................... 9

f. Microgravity Science and Applications ........................... 10

2. Space Flight ........................................................ 11

3. Space Station ....................................................... 13

4. Space Tracking and Data Systems ..................................... 15

a. Space Network ................................................... 15

b. Ground Networks ................................................. 15

c. Communications and Data Systems ................................. 16

d. Research and Development for Advanced Systems ................... 16

e. Advanced Studies ................................................ 16

5. Space Research and Technology ....................................... 16

C. A Vision of the Space Era Beyond the Year 2000 .......................... 18

1. Space Infrastructure by the Year 2000 ............................... 18

2. Space Programs of the Early 21st Century ............................ 19

a. Earth Observations and the Near-Space Environment ............... 20

b. Solar System Exploration ........................................ 20

c. Astrophysics and Solar Studies .................................. 21

d. Life Sciences ................................................... 22

e. Materials Processing ............................................ 22

f. Communications .................................................. 23

D. Aeronautics Program Highlights to Year 2000 ............................. 23

E. Aeronautics Beyond the Year 2000 ........................................ 26

i. Supersonic Cruise ................................................... 27

2. High-Speed Rotorcraft ............................................... 28

3. Short-Haul Transports ............................................... 28

4. Hypersonic Flight ................................................... 29

5. Research Opportunities .............................................. 29

F. Institution ............................................................. 30

II. SUMMARYANDPERSPECTIVE

A. Mission, Goals, and Objectives

The Reagan Administration assumed office in January 1981 committed to

maintaining U.S. leadership in aeronautics and space. Toward that objective,

it gave top priority to completing development of NASA's Space Shuttle and,

with the Shuttle as the core element, to achieving full operational status for

the Space Transportation System as an economically profitable and productive

national resource. Advancement of those and other NASA space programs has

benefited the economy and, at the same time, confirmed NASA's status as a

world leader in science and technology. Space exploration has been and

continues to be a catalyst for national progress and achievement.

The direction of NASA's mission and activities in space continues to

reflect national policy and purpose as stated in the National Aeronautics and

Space Act of 1958, as amended. A landmark achievement of the U.S. political

system, that act directs NASA to explore space for peaceful purposes for the

benefit of all mankind and to cooperate with other nations or groups of

nations in pursuit of the Act's objectives. The President reaffirmed that

commitment in his State of the Union address to Congress on January 25, 1984.

He presented "four great goals to keep America free and secure in the

eighties": "to ensure steady economic growth," "to build on America's pioneer

spirit and develop our next frontier--space," "strengthening our community of

shared values," and "a lasting and meaningful peace."

On August 15, 1984, the President approved a National Space Strategy

designed to implement the national policy for space, as amended by Congress

and as supplemented by his State of the Union address. The provisions of that

strategy applicable to the civil space program are to:

o Insure routine, cost-effective access to space with the Space

Transportation System

o Establish a permanently manned presence in space

o Foster increased international cooperation in civil space activities

o Identify major long-range national goals for the civil space program

o Insure a vigorous and balanced program of civil scientific research and

exploration in space

o Encourage commercial Expendable Launch Vehicle activities

o Stimulate private sector commercial space activities.

Development of the space frontier, the President's second goal, will

affect, and contribute to achievement of, his other three goals; and the major

new element in his strategy that will help to ensure meeting that goal is

establishment of a permanently manned presence in space. Permanent manned

presence in space will enable the Nation, he said, "to follow our dreams to
distant stars, living and working in space for peaceful, economic and scientific gain." The NASAprogram initiated to establish that permanentpresence is

the SpaceStation.

As currently perceived by NASAengineers and scientists, the SpaceStation

will be evolutionary in concept and design to accommodateaddition, modification, and in future decades, replication. It is to be a multipurpose facility

in Earth orbit, permanently occupied by humans. A national research laboratory for both government and industry, it will serve, as well, as a repair and

assembly station for satellites and space payloads. As it evolves, it

ultimately will serve as a base for new operations and initiatives in space

and, most important, will be valuable for the creation of newtechnologies and

industries. Sucha facility in full operation, the President pointed out, has

"enormous potential for commerce." Research in space is expected to yield new

products leading to new businesses. In addition, development and production

of the Space Station will be a boost to the economy; and the new skills,

advanced knowledge, and technology that result will be used in other areas of

industry. Each new step in achieving aerospace goals has added newdimensions

of excellence to industrial capabilities; and if past is prologue, this great

enhancement of space capabilities certainly will contribute to economic

growth.

Pioneering in space by building a permanent settlement in that vast

frontier also has meaning with respect to the President's third and fourth

goals: "strengthening our community of shared values" and "a lasting and

meaningful peace." A community in space, with U.S. personnel working and

functioning there, will reflect the shared values of a democracyin action for

freedom and peace. The President intends the U.S. Space Station to be an

instrument for peace. Other nations, he stated, will be invited to join the

United States on the Station "so we can strengthen peace, build prosperity and

expand freedom for all who share our goals."

Estimates are that the SpaceStation can be in orbit by the early 1990s,

around the 500th anniversary year of America's discovery by Columbus. Now,as

then, the discovery of a new frontier is prelude to its development. A new

world emerged then; and mankind now may be on the threshold of building

another new world or, at least, of extending Earth's limits into near space

and beyond.

Support of the Space Station and of other anticipated activities will

require definition, design, and acquisition of a second-generation space

transportation system, including unmannedcargo vehicles and second-generation

orbiters.

In extending Earth's limits, NASAhas set for itself the following goals,

each of which is in keeping with the mandates of the National Aeronautics and

SpaceAct of 1958, as amended:

Provide for our work force a creative environment and the best of

facilities, support services, and managementsupport so that they can

perform with excellence NASA's research, development, mission, and

operational responsibilities. Provide for the development of employees

so as to enhance and sustain an integrated work force of highest

quality at NASA.

11-2
o Makethe Space Transportation System fully operational and cost effective in providing routine access to space for domestic and foreign,

commercial, and Governmentalusers.

o Develop within a decade a permanentymannedSpaceStation.

Conduct an effective and productive aeronautics research and development program which contributes materially to the enduring preeminence

of U.S. civil and military aviation.

Conduct an effective and productive Space and Earth Sciences Program

which expands humanknowledge of the Earth, its environment, the solar

system, and the universe.

o Conduct effective and productive space applications and technology

programs which contribute materially toward U.S. leadership and security.

o Expandopportunities for U.S. private sector investment and involvement

in civil space and space-related activities.

Establish NASAas a leader in the development and application of

advanced technology and management practices which contribute to

significant increases in both Agency and national productivity.

The Administration's proposed budget for NASAfor FY 1986 supports those

goals, including sufficient funding for somenew initiatives. It reflects the

President's commitmentto establishing a permanently mannedspace station and

recognizes the importance of research and development for the well-being of

the national economy. Flight activity will continue to increase to accommodate not only NASApayloads, but also those of paying customers, with plans

calling for lO Shuttle flights in FY 1985, 14 in FY 1986, and continued

increases through the end of the 1980s.

The principal activities provided for are as follows:

Space Transportation--While moving forward on the Space Station program, top priority attention to achieving for the Space Transportation

Systemthe ability to fill space transportation needs through the 1980s

and beyond

o Space Science and Applications--Continued progress on approved

projects, initiation of such programs as Upper Atmosphere Research

Satellite, and further technology development and ground test and

flight test programs for the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

Space Research and Technology--Continued efforts in generic disciplinary base technology programs with modest expansion of system oriented

efforts in platforms and Space Station technology, transportation

systems, and spacecraft

o Aeronautical Research and Technology--Additional work in aeronautical

disciplines such as aerodynamics, structures, materials, propulsion,

II-3
and controls to provide technology for totally new aircraft systems,

including rotorcraft, high performance and subsonic aircraft, and

advanced propulsion systems

The Institution--Maintenance and improvement of NASA's professional

work force of scientists, engineers, and technicians to ensure

efficent, effective, and innovative progress in fulfilling program

objectives.

B. Space Program Highlights to Year 2000

the subsections of this chapter that follow present the highlights of the

programs NASA plans to conduct in the remaining years of the 20th century,

including the programs' goals, objectives, and major new initiatives planned

for the 10-year period beginning in FY 1986. Each program is described in

greater detail in chapters Ill through IX of this report.

I. Space Science and Applications

The Space Science and Applications program is responsible for most of the

Nation's scientific research in space and for exploring ways in which space

can be used in practical applications by industry, in the life sciences, and

in maintaining Earth's natural resources. It includes observations and

studies of the distant universe and of the fundamental physical laws important

to understanding the distant universe, exploration of the near universe, and

efforts to understand more about Earth's planetary features and environment.

Its applications programs include research in the life sciences to enable

humans to function and work in space, experiments in materials processing in

the microgravity of space, and expansion and improvement of such services as

satellite communications.

Summaries of the six major areas of endeavor in space science and applications follow. Each area is described in greater detail in chapter Ill.

a. Study of the Distant Universe

As a result of NASA's program in space astronomy and astrophysics

during the past two decades, a new view of the universe is emerging; and

new discoveries are being made at an astonishing rate. Rocket and

satellite observations at ultraviolet wavelengths reveal the ejection by

many types of stars of enormous amounts of material at high velocities. A

revolution is occurring in knowledge of the chemical composition and

physical state of interstellar gas and dust. Entirely new types of

celestial objects are being discovered. Explosive events of unimaginable

violence that occur routinely in the universe are being observed. Studies

of the sun, fundamental to interpreting the distant universe, may provide

the first look into that star's interior. For assurance that this revolution in understanding of the universe will continue at the same rapid

pace, new observing capabilities are planned.

In the current Astrophysics program, several research missions are

providing diverse information and measurements on the nature of the

universe. While each mission has a particular objective, the data it

acquires may often be augmented substantially by data from one or more

II-4
other missions. For example, the objective of the Solar Maximum Mission

is to observe solar flares, but data from several other missions add to

understanding of flares on the sun and other stars.

The International Ultraviolet Explorer supplements the Solar Maximum

Mission. The Space Telescope, scheduled for launch in 1986, is the first

major astronomical observatory designed and built to be serviced and

upgraded in orbit. It is planned to be in operation for two decades and

will be able to make observations in the ultraviolet, visible, and

infrared regions of the spectrum. The Infrared Astronomy Satellite was

launched in 1983 in cooperation with the Netherlands and the United

Kingdom. Analysis of its data continues to provide new discoveries in

infrared astronomy. Under development and to be launched within this

decade are the Roentgen Satellite, a cooperative program with the Federal

Republic of Germany to investigate many phenomena discovered by the second

High Energy Astronomy Observatory; the Gamma Ray Observatory, to

investigate the highest energy reaches of the electromagnetic spectrum;

the Cosmic Background Explorer, to measure precisely the spectral and

directional distribution of cosmic microwave background radiation; and the

Heavy Nuclei Collector, to detect charged particles such as the rare,

heavy nuclei of uranium. The program also includes extensive theoretical

and laboratory research and investigations to be flown on Spacelab.

The major initiative to be begun through FY 1990 is the Advanced X-Ray

Astrophysics Facility, which will advance x-ray astronomy into the mature

observatory stage. It will be as significant an advance in x-ray astronomy as the Space Telescope will be in optical astronomy. Uther initiatives

planned for the FY 1986 through FY 1990 period are principally investigations of the structure of space and time, the structure of the sun, the

life cycle of stars and galaxies, and interstellar space. They include

Gravity Probe-B, Space Infrared Telescope Facility, Solar Seismology

Mission, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer, X-Ray Timing Explorer, Far

Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer, Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission, and

several Spacelab investigations.

In the period between FY 1991 and FY 1995, two mature observatories

will enter development. The Advanced Solar Observatory will make coordinated observations of all aspects of the surface of the sun to study the

evolution of solar features and observe events that are especially revealing. The Large Deployable Reflector will investigate the processes of

birth of celestial bodies. Other planned initiatives are the High

Throughput Mission, Very Long Baseline Radio Interferometry, and

Starprobe. The Space Station will service those observatories during this

"golden age" of astronomy.

b. Exploration of the Near Universe

The near universe includes all bodies in the solar system except the

sun and Earth. Exploration of the near universe is vital to a full

understanding of the relationship of Earth to the sun and other members of

the solar system. Specific goals of the program are to understand the

origin, evolution, and present state of the solar system; Earth through

comparative planetary studies; and the relationship between the chemical

and physical evolution of the solar system and the appearance of life.

11-5
In the years since the first flyby of Venus, planetary exploration has

experienced a golden age. It has brought new knowledge and established

U.S. leadership in this area of space science. U.S. spacecraft were the

first to visit Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Only U.S. spacecraft have

crossed the asteroid belt into the outer solar system; and only a U.S.

spacecraft, Pioneer 10, has exited the solar system. All told, over two

dozen bodies--planets and their satellites--have been explored at close

range; and the interplanetary medium has been partially characterized.

The current solar system exploration program consists of three parts:

planetary research and analysis, development flight projects, and mission

operations and data analysis. Research and analysis and mission operations and data analysis ensure program continuity toward exploration

goals. Flight projects currently progressing are the Voyager 2 extended

mission, which is headed for encounters with Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in

1989, and continued operation of Pioneer Venus, Pioneers 6 through II,

Voyager l, and the International Cometary Explorer (the retargeted

International Sun Earth Explorer-3), which is on its way to an encounter

with the comet Giacobini-Zinner in 1985. Approved flight projects in the

pre-launch development stage include the ASTRO payload planned for flight

on the Shuttle to observe Halley's Comet during its 1986 flight through

the solar system; Galileo (Jupiter orbiter and probe), which is a

cooperative project with Germany; International Solar Polar Mission, which

is a cooperative project with the European Space Agency; the Venus Radar

Mapper, the first of the moderate-cost missions recommended by the NASA

Advisory Council's Solar System Exploration Committee; and the Mars

Observer, the first of the Planetary Observers, to be launched in 1990 to

investigate that planet's atmosphere, surface geochemistry, interior, and

climate on a global scale.

The Solar System Exploration Committee has recommended a core program

containing 13 exploration missions, including the Venus Radar Mapper and

the Mars Observer, to be undertaken by the year 2000. In support of that

program, four new initiatives are planned for the next five years. They

will establish firmly the exploratory phase of exploration in all regions

of the solar system. The first is the Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid

Flyby, scheduled for launch in 1990. Its purpose will be to investigate

the physical and chemical state of comets. The second is the Lunar

Geoscience Observer scheduled for launch in 1991 to assess lunar resources

and to extend the Apollo program's science investigations to a global

scale. The third is Cassini (Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe), to be

launched in 1993 to investigate Saturn and the largest of its satellites,

Titan, especially Titan's unique, dense atmosphere. The fourth is the

Coma Atmospheric & Elemental Sampling and Return mission, whose objective

will be to obtain both intact and plasmatized samples of comet coma

materials and return them to Earth for detailed analysis.

The Committee also has recommended addition of one or more intensive

study missions during the 1990s as resources then available permit. The

core program was formulated under the constraint that no new enabling

technologies be required for implementation. In contrast, the augmentation initiatives will require significant new enabling or strongly

enhancing technologies.

11-6
c. Earth and Its Environment

The view of Earth from space has engendered a growing realization that

a full understanding of Earth and its environment requires a strong global

research program spanning the scientific disciplines associated with study

of the whole Earth, including atmospheric physics and chemistry, oceanography, geology, geophysics, and the emerging science of the biosphere,

global biology. NASA's program to study Earth is global, interdisciplinary, and integrated, with emphasis on understanding processes that affect

Earth's habitability, particularly its biological productivity and air and

water quality. The program involves coordinated observational, theoretical, and experimental investigations and development of future observing

technologies. Those activities are complementary and together form a

balanced program of system and process studies. The program consists of

elements that range from the most fundamental Earth sciences studies from

space, to experiments demonstrating how data from space concerning Earth's

resources and environment can be used to benefit society.

The Earth resources part of the program uses multispectral (visible

and near-infrared), thermal-infrared, and active-microwave remote sensing

systems to collect data for research and to demonstrate the utility of

remote sensing in agriculture, land-use analysis and planning, hydrology,

and geology. Landsat spacecraft have been the principal vehicles for

Earth resources observation. Landsat 4, launched in July 1982, carried

the Thematic Mapper sensor into orbit for the first time. That sensor has

about twice the spectral resolution, three times the spatial resolution,

and four times the sensitivity of the Multispectral Scanner sensor carried

by earlier Landsat spacecraft. Landsat 4 technical problems curtailed the

sensor's operation; but Landsat D', launched in 1984, carries another

Thematic Mapper. The Shuttle Imaging Radar-A and other experiments on the

Shuttle also have provided much valuable and useful information. The

current program includes experiments with an improved imaging radar

system, SIR-B, which was first flown on the Shuttle in 1984.

The objective of the atmospheric science program is to increase

understanding of atmospheric processes and their effects on weather,

climate, and the global environment. The current program of observations

to further that understanding uses sounding rockets; balloons; aircraft;

free-flying satellites, such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment

launched in 1984; and Shuttle-borne instruments. Programs are in process

to study global biology, Earth's plasma envelope and its interaction with

the sun, geodynamics, trace species in the troposphere, and the oceans.

Earth science programs planned for initiation by FY 1990 include the

following: Shuttle-Spacelab Payloads--to study the basic processes by

which electromagnetic energy and particle beams interact with plasmas in

the universe and to acquire information on the behavior with time of the

solar constant, the solar spectrum, and the upper atmosphere; Ocean Color

Imager--to provide synoptic global measurements of chlorophyll concentration as a primary data base to which complementary ship, airplane, and

buoy data can be added to yield primary productivity estimates of high

accuracy for key oceanic regions; Tethered Satellite System--to develop

with Italy a system to conduct Earth science and applications experiments

in regions remote from the Shuttle; Topography Experiment for Ocean

II-7
Circulation--to improve significantly capabilities for observing the

oceans on a global basis; Magnetic Field Satellite--to test results

derived from Magsat-1 data and provide an updated survey for the 1990

reference field; Geopotential Research Mission--to provide the most accurate models yet available of the global gravity field, geoid, and crustal

magnetic anomalies; and International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program--

to attempt, for the first time, a quantitative study of the complete

sol ar-geospace system.

Studies of Earth in the 1990s will focus on long-term physical,

chemical, and biological trends and changes in the environment. They will

assess the effects of natural and human activities and provide improved

models for estimating the future effects of humans and other species on

Earth's biological productivity and habitability. They will be interdisciplinary and require sophisticated supporting technologies, particularly for long-term data management.

d. Life Sciences

The Life Sciences program has two goals: to understand how life forms

are affected by the environmental conditions they encounter in space and

to find how life originated and evolved in the universe. Life in the

universe is studied by basic research programs in exobiology--which

considers the origin, evolution, and distribution of life and its chemical

precursors, and in biospherics--which studies how biological processes

interact with the global environment. The effects of space flight on

humans are investigated in the biomedical research program, and a complementary gravitational biology program deals with effects on other life

forms. All four of these programs pursue their objectives through

combined ground-based research and experiments in space.

Applied work in the life sciences has the objectives of ensuring the

health of spacecraft crews and of improving technology to support life and

work in space. A medical program has been evolved to test operational

countermeasures to mitigate undesirable effects of space flight and

techniques for treating illness and injury in flight. Projects are

conducted to develop technology for instrumentation, closed life support

systems, spacecraft habitability, and simulation of human capabilities.

The current program includes extensive study of problems associated

with maintaining the health and productivity of spacecraft crews,

emphasizing particularly the Space Adaptation Syndrome that affects some

crew members during the first few days of a mission, but also maintaining

continuing emphasis on questions of cardiovascular deconditioning, bone

demineralization, and other effects of long-term space flight. Also under

study are the origin, evolution, and distribution of life and life-related

molecules on Earth and elsewhere as part of the evolution of the cosmos;

the effects of biological processes on global dynamics, including the

atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems; and the effects of

differing levels of gravitational force on Earth life forms. Both

ground-based research and an extensive flight-experiment program are

employed. These programs will be continued and augmented in the years

ahead to ensure that the Life Sciences program's goals will be met. The

activities associated both with the medical effects of space flight on

11-8
humans and with gravitational biology will be involved closely with the

Space Station program through the next 15 years. The Space Station's

operating plans call for flying a medically diverse population of

government and private individuals routinely for periods as long as the

longest Skylab mission, and also for unprecedented amounts of extravehicular activity. Although the health problems that will occur should

not be serious, it will be necessary to compile data on what does happen

to the individuals and to verify countermeasures and treatment methods.

The Space Station will be a permanent laboratory where medical and

biological studies can last as long as necessary to understand fundamental

questions and resolve uncertainties surrounding longer flights. During

the 1990s, the Life Sciences program will investigate the physiological

and environmental factors that set limits on the ultimate duration of

flights with human crews. Also, basic research will be performed to

identify specific mechanisms of gravity perception in plants and animals

and to show how gravity affects the development of organisms. Technology

programs will develop improved countermeasures, methods for definitive

care of ill and injured patients, and life support systems that regenerate

food as well as air and water for spacecraft crews.

A phased program in biospheric research, planned to begin in the 1980s

and to continue through the 1990s, will use Space Station unmanned

platforms carrying Earth-looking instruments. Its goal will be to acquire

data for a comprehensive model of global biogeochemical processes, which

will constitute a key element in understanding Earth as a system. The

search for life will continue with expansion of data acquisition and

processing capabilities for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

program, and of the use of Space Station payloads to capture extraterrestrial dust and to analyze the organic material content of the dust.

e. Satellite Communications

NASA's role in developing technology for satellites and other

components of space communications has been and continues to be one of

providing leadership in support of the private sector communication

satellite marketplace, flight testing communications satellite advanced

technology involving risk beyond that which private companies are able to

accept, and supporting government use of space in non-military

communications projects.

NASA's Communications program is facing a new challenge in both the

private and public sectors. Within only two decades of the launch of the

commercial communications satellite, SYNCOM II, the orbital arc is

approaching saturation, requiring NASA to develop new technologies involving beam-hopping antennas and on-board switching for new satellites that

will make more efficient use of the orbital arc. In connection with

public sector communications, the Space Station program requires development of technology for satellite-to-satellite links, giant antennas that

can be assembled and tested in space, and geostationary platforms.

NASA's current program, developed with industry's help, consists of

the following major activities:

II-9
Basic research and technology development to provide a technology

base for all of NASA's communications programs, performed cooperatively by NASA, universities, and U.S. industry

Technical consultation and support services to ensure growth of

existing satellite services and their incorporation into new

satellite applications

0 Advanced technology development to provide new and expanded

satellite services and experiment coordination, primarily in the

public sector

0 Satellite-aided search and rescue, a cooperative program in which

Canada, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States are

developing and demonstrating a satellite system for detecting and

locating the position of signals transmitted automatically from

aircraft, ships, and individuals in distress

o Development and flight test of the Advanced Communications

Technology Satellite to investigate electronically-hopped antenna

beam communications, on-board switching, spectrum conservation, and

Ka-band circuits

o Development, in cooperation with U.S. industry and the Federal

Communications Commission, of technology and system architecture

for a satellite system with large antennas to provide a communications capability to mobile users on Earth; and flight testing of

the system in the 1990s

Possible major initiatives for the Communications program include the

following:

Study and advanced development of communications for the Space

Station complex, including tests of 30 GHz, 60 GHz, and optical

frequency high and low data rate links (lhe links also may involve

the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite, the Shuttle, and

a dedicated Spartan free flyer.)

0 Development of an antenna assembly and test range, collocated with

the Space Station, for testing satellites, antennas, and payloads

before their commitment to flight or transfer to geostationary

orbit

Development of giant antennas for use about 1998 by both scientific

and commercial platforms assembled at the Space Station and then

transferred to geostationary orbit.

f. Microgravity Science and Applications

The strong multidisciplinary base NASA has established in space

materials science will be developed further through a vigorous flight

program conducted with the cooperation of industry. The goals sought are

to investigate the behavior of fluids and the effects on that behavior of

II-i0
carrying out processes in the microgravity environment of space, to

provide a better understanding of the effects and limitations imposed by

gravity on processes carried out on Earth, and to evolve processes that

exploit the unique character of the microgravity environment of space to

produce results that cannot be obtained in unit gravity.

The current program consists of ground-based investigations, experiments in space on the Shuttle's mid-deck, and experiments in the Materials

Experiment Assembly. Some of the ground-based investigations that promise

valuable results are studies of the effects of convection in the growth of

crystals, phase separation mechanisms other than gravity, containerless

processing, and bioseparation processes. The two principal Shuttle middeck experiments that have yielded interesting results and are expected to

be developed further are the Monodisperse Latex Reactor and Continuous

Flow Electrophoresis. The Materials Experiment Assembly is a carrier for

materials processing experiments that fills the experiments' support needs

independent of the Shuttle's systems. Experiments that have been conducted in it include isothermal and gradient processing in general purpose

furnaces, processing of monotectic alloys, growth of crystals from vapors,

and processing in an acoustic levitator furnace.

The emphasis of the program during the next several years will be on

crystal growth of electronic materials, solidification of alloys and

composites, containerless melting and solidification, containerless

formation of glass, separation processes, fluid and transport phenomena,

and combustion processes in microgravity. Another important activity is

development of materials research facilities and apparatus. Present

emphasis is on Shuttle mid-deck facilities and apparatus that potentially

can be upgraded to fly in the cargo bay or Spacelab and, later, on the

space station.

Two functions of the Microgravity Science and Applications program

will have a substantial effect on the possibilities for the program's

commercialization: the use of space to obtain knowledge that can be

applied to improve terrestrial processes and the processing of materials

in space to take advantage of the weightless conditions there. For the

near future, materials processing in space will be restricted to small

quantities of high-value, low-volume materials such as pharmaceutical

products, electronic materials, optical fibers, highly specialized alloys,

and possibly precision latex microspheres. NASA will continue to conduct,

with industry participation, a vigorous flight program to foster future

ventures by industry that will be of optimum benefit with regard to both

the materials produced and the economics of production. NASA sponsors,

and encourages others to sponsor, materials processing research, but

leaves to industry the task of deciding whether commercial production is

feasible.

2. Space Flight

The Space Flight program supports NASA's goals for space transportation

and a permanent presence in space. Its early goals are to develop the Space

Transportation System further and achieve routine, economical operations with

it. Planned programs emphasize development of follow-on systems for space

transportation and other large space systems, including the Space Station,

II-ll
orbital platforms and facilities, and the test, transportation, and servicing

systems required to support them.

The program's objectives for the FY 1986 through 1990 period are to:

o Complete development, acquisition, and upgrading to its full capability

of the Space Transportation System, and achieve routine operations with

it by 1988

o Encourage use of the Space Transportation System by domestic and

international commercial customers

o Carry out a total of 30 Shuttle missions in FY 1985 and FY 1986

o Develop by the second quarter of FY 1986 a cost-effective Centaur upper

stage compatible with the Shuttle

o Support and encourage commercial development of upper stages

o Develop a tethered satellite system

o Continue demonstration of the abilities of the Shuttle for servicing

satellites

o Develop by 1990 an Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle for use in conjunction

with the Shuttle and, later, the Space Station.

The program's objectives beyond 1990 are to:

0 Maintain a Shuttle launch schedule with reserve capacity, while

conducting safe, successful Shuttle missions having progressively lower

operational costs and shorter turn-around times

Help in meeting NASA's objective of developing and putting into routine

operation in low Earth orbit by the early 1990s a manned permanent

space station facility

o Develop an orbital transfer vehicle complementary to the Space Shuttle

for transportation of payloads to, between, and beyond Earth orbits

0 Define, design, and provide a second-generation space transportation

system, including unmanned cargo vehicles and second-generation

orbiters

0 Develop and operate on a routine basis, beginning in the mid 1990s,

geosynchronous orbit space platforms that are unmanned, permanent, and

multifunction

Develop and put into routine operation by the year 2000 geosynchronous

orbit facilities that are permanent, multifunction, and able to be

periodically manned

Develop technology and techniques to construct, deploy, or assemble

such facilities in space, and to test and service them in orbit

11-12
o Encourage and support NASAand industry development of technology to

improve concepts for space boosters that significantly reduce launch costs.

The objectives associated with bringing the SpaceTransportation System to

full operation will be achieved through completion of the current base-line

program. Most Earth-to-orbit and all return-to-Earth transportation needs

will be met by the Shuttle, supported by the discrete Shuttle Production and

Capability Development program, lhat program is responsible for Shuttle and

propulsion system production and residual development, launch and mission

support, and system improvements. Current activities are focused on the

Inertial Upper Stage and the Centaur modified for Shuttle use; achieving full

flight status for Spacelab; increasing opportunities for Spacelab-based

science and applications work; operational support services for the Shuttle

and expendable launch vehicles; and procurement of expendable items for both

launch systems.

Proposed new initiatives support both the nearer-term objectives of space

transportation operations and the longer-term objective to establish a

permanent presence in space. During the period of this plan, capabilities for

providing orbital services will be demonstrated. System hardware development

will follow the demonstrations. The results of those demonstrations and the

Tethered Satellite System program will help determine the limits of orbital

activities of both the Shuttle and the SpaceStation.

NASA's inhouse institutional base and system of industrial and other

contractors required to achieve the goals of the Space Flight program will be

maintained and strengthened.

3. Space Station

Establishment of a permanent manned presence in space is one of NASA's

current eight goals and is a priority goal of the Administration as a means of

maintaining U.S. leadership in space and of exploiting the economic and

scientific benefits in that new frontier. Toward that goal, the President has

committed to development of a space station by the early 1990s.

The program's near objectives have centered on identifying and synthesizing mission requirements for a civilian space station and reviewing a set of

functional capabilities--the station's architecture. In addition, technology

and advanced development programs are being initiated. To meet the goal of

initial operation in the early 1990s, current plans include a 3-year

definition phase and initiation, in FY 1987, of a design and development

phase.

Because many aspects of the program will make it unique as compared with

past space programs, the following program and management strategies have been

established:

o

All major potential users of the Space Station, U.S. and foreign, will

be involved from the beginning of planning activities to ensure that

their needs are taken into consideration.

11-13
o Thorough project definition will be conducted before system development

is undertaken.

Involvement in the program will be agency wide and substantive.

Overall direction of the program is the responsibilty of the recently

established Office of Space Station in NASA Headquarters. Johnson

Space Center has been designated "lead center," responsible for

NASA-wide program management of design, system engineering and

integration, advanced development and test, and customer interface.

Johnson and other NASA centers are responsible for project management

of the development (by contractors) of system elements.

o The station will be designed to accommodate evolutionary growth through

incremental addition, modification, and replication.

o The station's elements will be maintainable and restorable in space.

o A rigorous design-to-cost approach will be followed to keep design and

development costs within the $8 billion currently estimated. The

program definition phase will fully explore the necessary tradeoffs.

International participation in the program will be sought. Participation will be on a government-to-govennment basis and be designed to

prevent unwarranted technology transfer.

Although the Department of Defense has not yet identified current

military requirements for a space station, NASA will keep the

Department fully informed of Space Station activities.

0 The Space Station will be designed to operate as autonomously as

possible, except for resupply of materiel and personnel. A major

objective of current planning is to define the optimum mix of human and

machine functions.

During its existence from 1982 through 1984, the Space Station Task Force

focused almost exclusively on mission requirements for the Space Station.

Based on the results of contracted studies and workshops with wide participation of potential users, a preliminary set of phased Space Station missions

for the period 1991 to 2000 was defined. The initial requirements included a

manned element at 28.50 orbital inclination, a platform at low inclination,

and a platform in polar orbit. Although no approved configuration exists, the

present reference configuration calls for functional capabilities corresponding to two habitat modules, a logistics module, two laboratory modules, an

unmanned platform at orbital inclination of 28.50 , an unmanned platform at

orbital inclination of 900 , an Orbital Manuevering Vehicle, and a servicing

system.

The Space Station program currently is concentrating on selecting contractors for program definition and preliminary design (to extend through 1986)

and on advancing critical subsystem technologies; encouraging further international cooperation and planning; completing focused studies on human

productivity, automation and robotics, and data management systems; completing

development of a separate acquisition plan for a technical and management

11-14
information system; and continuing the progressive updating of Space Station

functional requirements.

A Space Station advanced development program has been planned to provide

advanced technologies needed for an evolutionary station. It will be

integrated with system definition activities, with a major milestone and

decision point occurring at the end of the definition phase. Both groundbased and space-based test beds are planned and are expected to have a vital

role in subsequent definition of evolutionary elements. They are expected to

reduce the program's costs and risks.

4. Space Tracking and Data Systems

The Space Tracking and Data Systems program supports the Nation's missions

in aeronautics and space by planning for, developing, and operating the space

and ground network of tracking and data systems for missions of automated and

manned orbital spacecraft, deep space vehicles, sounding rockets, balloons,

and research aircraft. The program has four basic elements: space network,

ground networks, communications and data systems, and development of advanced

systems. Plans for those elements and for supporting mission activities follow.

a. space Network

By 1986, tracking and data acquisition facilities for spacecraft in

near Earth orbit will have evolved from a network of ground tracking

stations around the world into a network of two Tracking and Data Relay

Satellite System (TDRSS) satel|ites in geostationary orbit, an in-orbit

spare, and a single ground terminal at White Sands, New Mexico, all owned

and operated by a contractor. A network control center at Goddard Space

Flight Center will control the system and manage network resources. The

system will increase coverage of near Earth orbits from 15 percent to 85

percent.

b. Ground Networks

NASA will close nine more ground stations while phasing TDRSS into

operation, leaving only six locations fully operational and consolidated

under Jet Propulsion Laboratory management. The consolidated ground

network will support deep-space missions and missions in high Earth and

geostationary orbits. Early improvements planned for the network include

arraying antennas to boost the signal received from the Voyager 2 spacecraft when it is close to the planet Uranus and nearly three billion

kilometers from Earth in 1986; adding an X-band uplink command system to

the ground network about 1987 to reduce the blackout effects of the solar

corona on signals from Galileo and later planetary missions, to improve

signal stability by a factor of five, and to improve ability to search for

gravity waves; developing a capability at Dryden Flight Research Facility

for supporting multiple missions; providing tracking and data acquisition

support to the National Scientific Balloon Facility at Palestine, Texas;

and improving the impact prediction system and fixed radar capabilities at

Wallops Flight Facility.

II-15
c. Communications and Data Systems

To handle the substantial increase in data transfer and processing

that TDRSS services will generate, greater use will be made of electronic

data transfer and other automated features to reduce the need for human

intervention and tape handling. Aged and obsolete computing systems for

mission support will be replaced to increase reliability and reduce

maintenance costs; and more use will be made of microprocessors to control

dish-antenna operations. By 1986 a program-support communications network

will be in operation to provide NASA and its contractors with supplemental

communications service for conducting day-to-day business.

d. Research and Development for Advanced Systems

Though relatively small, the Advanced Systems program is a vital part

of the total program, providing a base for future planning and for

development of cost-effective support capabilities. Its objectives are to

increase abilities for communicating with spacecraft, improve navigation

capabilities, increase the operational capabilities of ground stations and

data handling and processing networks, and develop technology to facilitate TDRSS use.

e. Advanced Studies

The TDRSS is expected to meet needs through most of the 1990s, but

increases in data volume for missions planned after the 1990s will require

new relay capabilities. More links and greater capacity will be needed.

Studies already have examined some support needs and new technology that

may satisfy them. Other studies are in process on technological problems

related to a follow-on system for the TDRSS.

Rapid advances being made in telecommunications technology will have a

profound effect on tracking and data acquisition support of deep space

missions in the coming decades by making possible, for example, a deep

space relay station. The program will continue to look ahead and make

plans to meet such challenges.

5. Space Research and Technology

This program is responsible for conducting space research and technology

to support the Nation's civil and defense space programs and overall economic

growth. It is concerned with technology with broad applicability rather than

that related directly to specific projects; and it concentrates on long-term,

high-risk research and technology development to satisfy national space

objectives. With commercial and military investments in the use of space

growing rapidly, the program is focusing increasingly on national objectives

and missions and addressing the technology needs of those other sectors more

directly. Much of the work constituting the program is planned in consultation with the other NASA program offices, the Department of Defense, and

industry. Much also is conducted jointly with them to facilitate transfer to

them of the technology developed.

lhe following objectives form the basis for the program and related

institutional plans:

11-16
o To ensure timely provision of new concepts and advanced technologies

o To support the development of NASA missions in space and the space

activities of industry and other government agencies

o To utilize the strengths of universities in conducting the NASA Space

Research and Technology program

o To maintain NASA's centers in positions of strength in critical space

technology areas.

Those objectives will be realized, as the objectives of the Aeronautics

Research and Technology program are, through a program of disciplinary research combined with a program of systems research and technology development;

enhancement of the staff, facilities, and computational capabilities of the

NASA centers; increased and more productive involvement of the universities;

and greater emphasis on favorable transfer of technology. Also, NASA will use

and make available for use by others its unique resource of space facilities

to conduct research and technology development in the actual space environment.

The disciplinary research and the systems research and technology development both concentrate on maintaining excellence in five priority technical

areas: large, flexible structures and their control; space power systems;

launch vehicle and space propulsion systems; entry technologies; and space

operations. The disciplinary research further concentrates on aerothermodynamics, materials and structures, information sciences, space data and

communications, controls and guidance, human factors, space energy conversion,

and propulsion. The systems research and technology development further

concentrates on space transportation systems, spacecraft systems, and large

space systems. The two programs have common technology objectives that

provide a basis for decisions on funding, personnel, and facilities. Those

objectives are for materials and concepts for thermal protection; longer-life,

reusable engines; propulsion and aerobraking for the Orbital Transfer Vehicle;

high-capacity electrical power generation, storage, and distribution systems;

satellite communications; large antenna systems; space teleoperation, robotics, and autonomous systems; space information management systems; computer

science for aerospace applications; computational aerothermodynamic techniques

for entry bodies and rocket engines; human capabilities in space; concepts for

advanced sensors; and distributed, adaptive controls for large space systems.

Augmentation in FY 1986 is planned for the automation and robotics

program, to provide technology to increase the capabilities of systems and the

productivity of humans in space; the large space structures program, to

provide technology for the control of large flexible structures in space; and

the Orbital Transfer Vehicle program, to develop technologies for a spacebased, reusable Orbital Transfer Vehicle. Augmentation planned for later

years include increases for Orbital Transfer Vehicle technologies, automation

and robotics, in-space experiments, enabling technologies, entry research

vehicles, a liquid oxygen-hydrocarbon research engine, Mars sample return

technologies, and lunar base technologies.

II-17
C. A Vision of the Space Era Beyond the Year 2000

Most of the programs described in this report of NASA planning will reach

fruition by the end of the 20th century. With the beginning of the next

century only 15 years away, it is none too soon to begin preliminary planning

of possible systems, programs, and activities for the early years of the 21st

century. Detailed planning would be premature, but a range of studies of

possible alternative programs must be conducted to help set goals and objectives for that period, to identify programs providing the greatest potential,

and to identify technologies that need to be pursued. The results of many

such preliminary studies conducted in the past 20 years and others now under

way have contributed to the material sketched below.

I. Space Infrastructure by the Year 2000

With the Administration's recent commitment to development of a permanently manned space station to be in orbit in the early 1990s, a significant

orbital infrastructure should be in place by the year 2000 to support programs

in science and exploration, development of technologies and their application

to improve life on Earth, and a wide range of commercial activities. By the

end of the present century, the permanently manned Space Station and associated unmanned platforms will have had some years of operation in low Earth orbit

conducting many of those activities. Other supporting systems will have been

developed, or will be within NASA's capability to provide. They will have the

ability to support large, permanent facilities for science, research and

development, commerce, and other activities in low Earth orbit and geosynchronous Earth orbit; to provide routine, economical, flexible access to other

orbits by manned and robotic systems; to institute routine check-out,

refueling, repairing, and upgrading of space facilities, as well as removal of

Earth-orbital debris; and to devise and implement uses and missions for the

Space Transportation System such as large tethered systems for power generation, nonpropulsive transportation, and satellite constellations.

A cryogenic version of the Orbital Transfer Vehicle evolutionary family,

currently in early stages of preliminary design, is expected to provide by the

year 2000 reusability for manned sortie flights to at least geosynchronous

orbit. It also should be able to provide the basis for transportation for

longer flights to establish a lunar base and for planetary missions such as a

Mars sample return. Supplemented at times by a remotely controlled Orbital

Maneuvering Vehicle with special kits for remote servicing, fueling, and

debris capture, it probably should be able to fly with or without crews with

minimum change. Because it appears that servicing, maintaining, and refueling

those reusable vehicles will be more advantageously accomplished in orbit than

on the ground, the Space Station must be equipped with suitable hangar,

servicing, and refueling facilities.

A potential need exists for routine flights of unmanned, cargo carrying,

Earth to low orbit vehicles that, compared with the Space Shuttle, will have

the ability to accept payloads with larger diameters and to lift greater

weights. Those Shuttle-derived launch vehicles would be available, of course,

for the payloads of other users.

Various advanced systems, tools, and techniques will have to be available

by the year 2000 for routine servicing operations in the space regimes

11-18
occupied by satellites and other spacecraft. Also, substantial augmentations

to crew and life support systems will have to be developed. Those augmentations must provide closed-cycle, regenerative water and air loops for onboard

environment control and life support systems; regenerable, space-maintained,

life support backpack systems for extravehicular activity; high-productivity

mobility systems; Earth-norm food, hygiene, and habitability; and onboard

automation that is able to handle tasks that do not necessarily require

continuous manned attendance and that is flexible enough to allow easy

upgrading as technologies advance rapidly.

2. Space Programs of the Early 21st Century

For the United States to exercise leadership in space and to improve the

well-being of humankind on Earth and in space beyond the year 2000, long-range

goals will be required for advancing scientific knowledge, space exploration,

Earth applications, and commercial uses. Those goals will be set by the

Administration and Congress after consideration by many individuals and

organizations, the National Commission on Space, NASA, and other groups

involved in the U.S. space program. Sustained space research and development

also will be necessary to conceive and develop even more advanced innovative

systems and techniques than those that have been developed or will be

developed by the end of this century. Concepts exist for major manned and

automated space missions for achieving those goals and for providing unprecedented scientific and technical benefits. Those missions will use all regimes

of space accessible in the early 21st century: low Earth orbit; higher energy

Earth orbits, including geostationary orbit; lunar orbit; the lunar surface.

and the environs of the inner planets.

Achievements in the early 21st century in science, exploration, Earth

applications, and commercial uses will depend on two trends: first, the

increasing capabilities of space systems with regard to accessibility,

payloads, stay times, and variety and sophistication of operations and,

second, the increasing capabilities of instruments with regard to detection,

resolution, pointing accuracy, and data collection and management made

possible partly by improvement of their power supplies and cooling mechanisms.

Those trends and the space infrastructure they produce, such as the Space

Station, will support scientific, technical, and commercial activities and

systems not now possible, including:

o Large facility-class observatory instruments in both low Earth orbit

and geosynchronous Earth orbit

Orbital platforms, both equatorial and polar and both automated and

human-tended, carrying instrument payloads that are modular, variable,

serviceable, and interchangeable

o Large facilities such as telescope mirrors and radio antennas assembled

in space by humans for both scientific and communications purposes

o Routine use of the lunar surface for planetary geoscience studies,

solar monitoring, astronomical surveys and possibly extraction of

resources

II-19
o Routine materials processing in microgravity, at bench-test through

pilot-plant levels, probably with extensive commercial involvement and

continual increases in the variety and quantities of materials produced

profitably on a commercial basis

o Significant increases in the number of humans present in space, in

various Earth orbits and possibly on the lunar surface

o Large-payload, high-performance planetary exploration missions made

possible by clustering launch stages or by using Orbital Iransfer

Vehicle derivatives

o Planetary science networks and other long-term activities on other

celestial bodies such as the moon, Mars, and asteroids.

a. Earth Observations and the Near-Space Environment

NASA's activities in the 21st century will use the Space Station and

its platforms to emphasize synoptic, continuous, and long-term observations of Earth and its immediate surroundings from both polar and

equatorial low Earth orbits. A wide variety of multispectral, microwave,

and other forms of sensors will provide critical global information about

Earth's land surfaces, atmosphere, and ocean systems. A complementary

system of sensors will collect data on the near-Earth space environment

and its dynamic behavior by monitoring the sun, sampling and analyzing the

solar wind, detecting solar flare particles, and studying Earth's magnetosphere and its interactions with solar activity.

As space transportation capabilities increase, similar platforms in

geostationary orbit will provide continuous monitoring of larger areas of

Earth. Also, automated or human-tended instruments located on the lunar

surface will begin complementary observations. That location will permit

observation of Earth's entire face, with simultaneous investigation of

Earth's space environment and magnetotail.

The complexity of the scientific problems involved in studying Earth

and its space environment, the variety of observations possible, and the

potentially high rates of data collection will require major advances in

ground-based data collection, management, and analysis and in modeling and

prediction techniques. Also, mechanisms will have been developed for the

creation and management of large, integrated, interdisciplinary projects

like the current Global Habitability study.

b. Solar System Exploration

Exploration of the solar system will be carried out in several ways,

using a variety of space capabilities. Even by the beginning of the 21st

century, many relatively small, cost-effective missions contained in the

Solar System Exploration Committee's recommended core program will remain

to be conducted. They can be carried out with the Shuttle-Centaur

combination, an equivalent transportation system as a straightforward

continuation of NASA's 1980s and 1990s program, or new transportation

systems utilizing the Space Station's facilities. Some more demanding

11-20
missions, such as the return to Earth of samples from Mars or a comet can be carried out in a similar fashion.

Instruments, chiefly telescopes, for planetary studies will be mounted

on and supported by the Space Station and its associated platforms. Even

more significant, perhaps, the Space Station's fueling and launching

capabilities and the availability of launch stages with higher performance

will permit automated missions to planetary systems that now are not

easily accessible. Examples of those missions are a Mercury orbiter, a

Neptune orbiter and probe, intensive study of the Jupiter and Saturn

systems, and sample return missions of greater sophistication.

Routine access to the lunar surface will make possible the first

intensive, systematic study of another major celestial body. Extensive

sample collection and scientific traverses conducted by humans and

long-term instrument networks installed and managed by humans will help

determine the details of the moon's structure, composition, and history.

They also will make accessible the record of solar and cosmic ray particle

fluxes preserved in the lunar soil. Similar scientific activities can be

carried out on Mars, either by large, automated spacecraft or by a manned

mission. Other scientific achievements will include orbital remote

sensing of that planet and a rendezvous mission to its moons Phobos and

Deimos to emplace instruments on and return samples from them.

c. Astrophysics and Solar Studies

Studies of the universe beyond the solar system will continue to

depend on the Shuttle or its equivalent to place into low Earth orbit a

mixture of small specialized missions and large observatory-class

facilities similar to those studied for the 1990s by the National Research

Council's Astronomy Survey Committee. Those missions and facilities will

be structured to attack specific problems that remain as the new century begins.

Automated and human-tended platforms in the Space Station system will

use a variety of astronomical instruments to conduct a wide assortment of

complementary activities. The ability of humans to assemble large structures in space will make possible space-based astronomical instruments not

limited by the size and weight constraints of a Shuttle payload; for

example, large optical and infrared mirrors and large antennas for radio

astronomy. The Space Station also will make possible an exciting program

of studies combining observations and spacecraft missions to investigate

the sun as a star. The Space Station will support the larger and more

sophisticated instruments needed for observing and monitoring the sun; and

high-performance launch stages such as clustered Centaurs or Orbital

Transfer Vehicle derivatives will make possible solar probes grazers and orbiters. , ,

The lunar surface will become available as a platform for astronomical

observations. Initial studies will be made with small, prototype, humantended instruments and will emphasize sky surveys and the detection of

unpredictable events like supernovas and gamma-ray bursts.

II-21
d. Life Sciences

The first quarter of the 21st century will see a major effort to

develop protective systems and physiological countermeasures to qualify

humans for space flight missions years in duration. A group of dedicated

Space Station modules will provide space laboratory capabilities for this

work. Among the most serious problems to be solved are bone demineralization, loss of muscle mass, and radiation protection. Concurrently,

operations and life sciences studies in a lunar surface base can develop

the information required to plan for human residence on other planets.

Around the turn of the century, practical controlled ecological life

support systems will enable human habitations to operate with little or no

requirement for external supplies of crew support consumables. Therefore,

the essential medical and biological requirements for manned missions to

destinations far from Earth should be in hand by 2025.

Basic research on gravity effects in living organisms will become an

established specialty within medical and biological science, building on

the results of the 1990s.

lhe search for extraterrestrial life will be pursued through the use

of large radio telescopes installed in space that will have improved

signal analysis capabilities.

e. Materials Processing

Even before the end of this century, materials production in the

microgravity of space should have become routine, probably with extensive

commercial involvement, for such diverse items as pharmaceuticals,

crystals, alloys, and special glasses. Evolution of the Space Station

will allow that activity to expand, possibly to the pilot-plant level or

beyond, into separate laboratory modules and human-tended laboratories in

low Earth orbit.

A variety of space-based power systems, including solar photovoltaic,

nuclear, and solar thermal systems, will be essential. They will supply

power to the growing industrial complex associated with the Space Station

and, perhaps, to facilities in geosynchronous orbit. The program for

developing and testing solar power systems also can explore the feasibility of transmitting power to, for example, Earth's surface or the moon.

Access to the lunar surface will make possible the first routine use

of extraterrestrial resources. Techniques could be developed to enable a

lunar base, even before its permanent occupancy, to mine, extract, and

fabricate products from lunar materials. The objectives will be to make

the lunar base able to support itself as much as possible from lunar feedstocks and to foster the economic use of lunar resources elsewhere in

space (for example, the use of lunar oxygen by space systems in low Earth

orbit). Extraterrestrial resources also will be investigated by means of

missions, manned or unmanned, to near-Earth asteroids to obtain information on and assess the availability of resources, especially the essential

volatile elements carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, that are lacking on the

moon.

11-22
f. Communications

Drastically expanded communications capabilities will be needed in the

early 21st century to support both scientific and commercial activities in

space. That need will be satisfied mainly by large (lO- to lO0-meter

diameter) antennas--assembled and tended in space by humans at the Space

Station and located at geosynchronous orbit. Initiation of long-term

human activities on the moon will generate a high demand for communications that will require lunar communications systems consisting both of

networks based on the moon's surface and of lunar satellites acting as

relays. Satisfying those communications needs will require not only

extensive research, but also development of new systems--such as large,

space-based antenna arrays--and of space-based storage and assembly techniques. New techniques also will be needed for handling the voluminous

communications traffic generated by both scientific and commercial

activities.

The space capabilities available after the turn of the century will create

a revolution in space research, exploration, and exploitation. The resulting

research and operations environment will have a potential that can be imagined

only dimly at this time because of the many factors affecting that

environment: large payloads; long instrument lifetimes; human-supported space

operations; and routine access to low and geosynchronous Earth orbits, the

lunar surface, and possibly the Martian surface and, for unmanned missions,

the entire solar system. The inevitability of human exploration--and

eventually habitation--of the solar system will begin to be apparent, and

possibilities for tapping the resources of the moon and the asteroids will

become evident. Means developed before the turn of the century for effectively monitoring Earth's environment will help humankind manage that environment

wisely for the benefit of all. Use of space for industrial processes and

other commercial purposes should be commonplace. Consequently, the early 21st

century should be an era of unparalleled achievement for humanity.

D. Aeronautics Program Highlights to Year 2000

Upon completion of the Aeronautics Policy Study in 1982 by the Office of

Science and Technology Policy, the Administration declared as a national

policy objective the "provision of a proven technology base to support the

future development of superior U.S. aircraft." lhat policy is sustained and,

indeed, reinforced by NASA's goal for its Aeronautics program for FY 1986 and

beyond: to conduct research and technology development that ensures the

enduring preeminence of U.S. aviation. That goal is supported by the

following program objectives:

Maintain the excellence of the NASA research centers in facilities,

computational capability, and technical and professional staff. This

objective requires repairing and replacing aging facilities as well as

developing additions and improvements, advancing scientific and engineering computational instruments and programs, and enhancing staff

competence by selecting personnel with highest abilities and providing

them with career incentives.

o Conduct disciplinary and systems research critical to the continued

superiority of U.S. aircraft. Systems integration requires that

II-23
technical disciplines, usually treated in isolation at the basic level,

be interrelated through systems research.

o Ensure the timely transition of research results to the U.S. aerospace

community. For efficient, timely transfer of technologies to industry,

increased attention must be given to active participation of industry

in NASA's research and technology development through contractual and

joint programs; timely dissemination of results through workshops,

conferences, and reports; and dissemination to industry of information

on technology advances made outside the United States.

o Ensure the involvement of universities and industry in NASA's Aeronautics program. NASA grants and contracts are an incentive to academic

expertise in the university community and encourage technology

development by industry for incorporation into new vehicle designs.

o Provide development support to the aeronautics activities of other

government agencies and U.S. industry. While furnishing that service,

NASA gains data and experience of benefit to its primary mission of

aeronautical research and technology development.

Decisions on funding, personnel, and facilities for the program must be

consistent with the program's long-term technology development objectives,

which would:

o Bring external and internal computational fluid dynamics to a state of

practical application for aircraft and engine design

o Significantly reduce aircraft viscous drag over the full speed range

and improve understanding of Reynolds number effects at transonic

speeds

o Through the use of advanced materials, minimize the structural weight

of civil and military aircraft engines and airframes

o Provide advanced control, guidance, and flight management systems to

improve performance and operation of future aircraft

o Increase by i00 percent the productivity and reliability of rotorcraft

for military and civil application

o Ensure the availability of technology for superior military aircraft

and missile systems

o Enhance flight crew effectiveness in advanced cockpit and air traffic

environments that include advanced automation, display, and control

techniques

o Exploit modern computers in solving computationally intensive aeronautical problems

o Exploit the full potential of techniques for enhanced performance

through highly integrated propulsion-airframe systems

11-24
o Advance the technology for small gas turbine engines to a level

comparable with that for large turbine engines

o Establish the technical feasibility of high-speed turboprop propulsion

o Advance enabling technologies for subsonic transport engines to improve

their fuel efficiency and durability

o Increase aviation safety by improving crash and fire worthiness,

protection from weather hazards, and aircraft systems.

The program will continue efforts both in basic aeronautical disciplines

and in systems research and technology development. The principal areas of

technology currently being pursued include: fluid and t_ermal physics--high

Reynolds number cryogenic testing, viscous drag reduction, vortex flows, and

computation of the aerodynamics of complex aircraft configurations; materials

and structures--light alloy metals, new composite materials, and the crash

dynamics of composite structures; controls, guidance, and human factors--

aircraft with highly augmented controls, fault-tolerant systems, advanced

automation of crew stations, and improved simulation; computer science--

concurrent processing architectures, algorithms, and techniques for computational physics research; propulsion--advanced turboprop, small turbine engine,

and general aviation and commuter aircraft engine technology; rotorcraft--

noise and vibration reduction and unsteady rotor aerodynamics; highperformance aircraft--high angle-of-attack flight, vectored-thrust and

short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing aircraft, maneuverable supersonic cruise

aircraft, propulsion-airframe integration, increased engine performance and

durability through the turbine engine hot section technology program, and

hypersonic propulsion, structures, and configuration aerodynamics; and

subsonic aircraft--icing and lightning research, natural and controlled

laminar flow, and, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration,

air safety, operations problems, and interfacing with the Air Traffic Control

System.

Technical progress during the past year has permitted acceleration of work

on advanced turboprops and oblique wings. In an effort to initiate a

full-scale flight test of the Advanced Turboprop propulsion concept by 1987,

NASA has augmented the Advanced Turboprop work dedicated to the flight test.

Work in the oblique wing program now is directed toward flight demonstration

and validation tests of the use of oblique wings at transonic and supersonic

speeds.

Planned initiatives include development of technology in the following

areas to respond to technical opportunities and needs and to satisfy the

long-term technology development objectives listed previously:

o High-speed (hypersonic) flight--to provide a proven technology base for

future options in aeronautics and space in the critical areas of

air-breathing propulsion, aerothermodynamics, materials, structures,

and system analysis, including the development of a recoverable

hypersonic research aircraft

o Supersonic cruise--to obtain long-distance efficiency for future

military and civil aircraft

II-25
o Computational fluid dynamics--to facilitate development of focused

applications of computational fluid dynamics for important

3-dimensional viscous-dominated flows and development of pathfinding

simulations of the fundamental physics of unsteady flows; to initiate

development of techniques for performing integrated multidisciplinary

analyses; and to apply expert systems to automating development of

computational fluid dynamics analyses

o Rotorcraft systems noise and vibration--to develop design methodology

for future helicopters that will be acceptable to the community, have

low vibration, and without sacrificing vehicle performance, have low

acoustic detectability (for military applications)

o Advanced fighter aircraft--to accelerate and integrate key enabling

technologies, such as those for high thrust-to-weight propulsion,

thrust vectoring for control, and high-angle-of-attack flight dynamics,

for revolutionary advances in fighter capabilities

o Transport aircraft laminar flow--to provide flight verification of a

hybrid wing concept employing active laminar flow control in leading

edges for a new generation of fuel efficient civil and military

transports

o Small-engine components--to provide major improvements in the fuel

consumption, weight, reliability, and durability of small turbine

engines for a broad range of future military and civil applications

o Superaugmented rotorcraft--to achieve an all-weather operational

capability for a single-pilot helicopter and for operations at remote

sites or in emergency medical services

o Convertible engine propulsion--to provide integrated flight and

propulsion control modes for convertible powered rotorcraft and to

evaluate advanced convertible engine concepts

o Composite structures--to achieve effective use of advanced composites

in highly loaded airframe structures

o Advanced transmission systems--to produce more reliable, more efficient, and lighter weight transmissions for advancd turboprop, geared

turbofan, and rotorcraft

o Supersonic STOL/STOVL aircraft--to provide technology for advanced,

supersonic, STOL/STOVL fighters able to operate from a variety of

surfaces

o STOVL experimental aircraft--to conduct flight tests of advanced STOVL

aircraft concepts.

E. Aeronautics Beyond the Year 2000

At the end of the 20th century, a substantial potential will still exist

for major advances in each of the aeronautical disciplines--aerodynamics,

structures and materials, propulsion, and controls--and, perhaps of even more

11-26
significance, in abilities to combine individual advances into integrated

technology for totally new aircraft systems. In addition, continued progress

in related areas such as electronics, computer science, artificial intelligence, fiber optics, laser technology, and quite probably some fields not yet

identifiable, will increase further the potential for progress in aeronautics

over the next century.

Technologies for conventional subsonic transports, general aviation, and

helicopters, all of which are major integral components of today's aviation,

will continue to be important for many years into the next century. NASA will

continue to develop technology for necessary improvements in the safety,

productivity, and operational effectiveness of subsonic transports and in the

efficiency, safety, and automation of the tasks performed by general aviation

pi|ots. Increases in the a11-weather capability and productivity of conventional helicopters and reduction of their noise and vibration will greatly

expand their use in civil transportation, as well as in the special-purpose,

utility, and military missions they perform today.

But probably of even more significance will be new opportunities and

challenges connected with supersonic cruise, high-speed rotorcraft, short-haul

subsonic transportation, and hypersonic flight.

I. Supersonic Cruise

Advances in supersonic cruise technology will provide important options

for civil transportation, as well as for military aircraft. The next century

will be characterized by several trends that are almost certain to alter the

outlook for long-range transportation. World population will continue to

grow, and the largest component of that growth--over 75 percent--will be in

the developing nations. The growth of population and industry in the Pacific

Basin, South America, Asia, and Africa--and the resulting increase in trade

and multinational business--will create a market for over-ocean transportation

with stage lengths considerably greater than those over the North Atlantic.

Those long stages and the large fraction of travel that will be business

oriented, rather than tourist oriented, will increase the value of reducing

trip time and increasing productivity, and will precipitate renewed interest

in supersonic transportation.

The Concorde already has proven the technical feasibility of supersonic

air transportation, but also has proven that a system based on technology of

the 1960s cannot be economically viable. Research conducted since termination

of the U.S. supersonic transport program has resulted in considerable optimism

that a supersonic transport can be economically viable and environmentally

acceptable. Design studies conducted by the major aircraft manufacturers

indicate that an advanced technology supersonic transport could carry 300 to

400 passengers over intercontinental ranges at more than three times the speed

and productivity of today's subsonic transports. Operating cost estimates

suggest that little if any surcharges over tourist fares would be required,

and some configuration approaches appear to promise sonic boom overpressures

that would be sufficiently low that flight over land would be practical.

Supersonic-cruise technology also is important for development of combat

aircraft. Recent studies and combat experience indicate that sustained

supersonic cruise, coupled with high maneuver capability, would provide a

II-27
considerable increase in combat effectiveness and survivability. In addition,

the higher engine installed thrust-to-weight ratios associated with supersonic

cruise capabilities increase the feasibility of short takeoff and vertical

landing capabilities for future fighters.

2. High-Speed Rotorcraft

Although an order of magnitude slower than supersonic aircraft, new

rotary-wing vehicles will be much faster than present-day helicopters and,

therefore, able to assume a much broader role in both civil and military

operations. Tilt-rotor technology developed jointly by NASA and the U.S. Army

makes it possible for an aircraft to retain the vertical flight and hover

advantages of a helicopter while being capable of efficient, smooth, quiet,

forward flight at speeds approaching those of current propeller-driven

airplanes. That capability is a first, but important, step toward entirely

new generations of high-speed rotary wing aircraft for a variety of military

applications and for civil missions including rescue, emergency medical

service, and police work.

The tilt-rotor aircraft's increased speed, range, economy, payload, and

comfort will provide the basis for large-scale inter-city and inter-region

civil transportation. Also, its capability for combined vertical and forward

flight will be important in satisfying worldwide needs created by conditions

as disparate as urban congestion in highly developed areas and primitive

terrain in developing areas. Problems encountered in construction activities

at remote sites may focus future attention on another feature of rotary-wing

technology--the heavy lift capability of very large helicopters, particularly

in the higher-efficiency, reduced-weight versions that current rotorcraft

research will make possible.

3. Short-Haul Transports

Although supersonic transports will provide much of future long-range air

travel, a large fraction of air transportation in the United States and, even

more, in Europe and elsewhere will consist of trips with stage lengths of 160

to 800 kilometers. In the next century, as population grows and shifts away

from the older metropolitan areas and as new urban areas and industrial

centers develop, the need for efficient, comfortable, short-haul air transportation will increase rapidly. Small commuter aircraft mostly will be

replaced by aircraft that have capacities of 50 to I00 passengers or more,

that are designed to large-transport standards of air worthiness, operation,

safety, and dependability, and that also are designed for maximum efficiency

during climb, descent, and short-stage-length flight. The new aircraft also

will be able to operate safely and quietly at relatively small airports and on

short runways at hub terminals.

Advanced turboprop technology now under development will be an important

contributor to that future generation of commuter aircraft by providing

important improvements in fuel economy. The new short-haul transports also

will benefit from research now under way for long-haul transports in areas

such as drag reduction, lightweight structures, active controls, and safety.

They also may employ propulsive lift for takeoffs from short runways.

11-28
4. Hypersonic Flight

The X-15 research airplane allowed some exploration of the hypersonic

regime in the early 1960s and, in fact, helped set the stage for the Shuttle

and other space vehicles that must pass through the hypersonic regime on the

way to and from orbit. Development of capabilities for sustained hypersonic

flight entails technical problems in propulsion and aerodynamic heating that

will be more difficult to solve. However, research has indicated that they

can be solved, making hypersonic flight operations in the next century

practical and perhaps even routine. Long-range cruise missiles with

supersonic-combustion ramjet (scramjet) propulsion systems burning highdensity hydrocarbon fuels may be the first generation of operational

hypersonic vehicles, followed by strategic reconnaissance aircraft able to

cruise at Mach 5 to Mach 7 at very high altitudes. There also is renewed

interest in a hypersonic maneuvering airplane capable of sustained operation

both in the atmosphere and in low orbit. Equipped with a combination of

scramjet and rocket propulsion to match the transatmospheric envelope, it

probably would be able to take off, as well as land, horizontally. Technology

development involving highly coordinated systems research in the propulsion,

aerodynamics, materials, structures, and controls disciplines will be required

and will have to be conducted on the basis of postulated future vehicle

requirements until actual military spaceflight needs can be defined.

5. Research Opportunities

The Aeronautics Research and Technology Base effort, the primary source of

the seeds for long-range future growth, well may lead to additional and

perhaps even more important next-century developments that now cannot be

identified. Two areas of extreme importance to developments in all the types

of aeronautical vehicles are the growing dependence of aircraft and engine

design on numerical simulation and the use of microelectronics in aircraft

controls.

An ability to compute fluid dynamics is essential for enhancing understanding of aeronautical phenomena and for facilitating the aeronautical

design process. By the year 2000, solutions to the full Navier-Stokes

equations should be possible, providing exact solutions for the real flow of

gases, allowing accurate modeling of turbulence and separated flow, and

opening the way to a broad range of control mechanisms for improving

aerodynamic flows.

Technology advances that should be incorporated into aircraft of the next

century will require that systems integration capabilities be developed to a

degree more advanced than those reflected in the Space Shuttle, the best

current example of a highly integrated aerospace vehicle. Highly reliable

flight controls, electric power systems, and electromechanical actuators will

allow replacement of mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems with

all-electric systems having higher reliability and lower weight. Fiber optics

will make possible fly-by-light systems providing still greater flexibility,

weight reduction, and protection from lightning effects. Technology will be

available for active controls to alleviate structural loads and suppress

flutter, thereby significantly improving ride qualities and reducing pilot

workloads and structural fatigue.

II-29
Many of the tools and facilities that will be required to support research

and technology and vehicle development into the 21st century either already

exist or are under development. NASA's impressive capability in low-speed and

high-speed wind tunnels recently has been augmented with the National

Transonic Facility and will be enhanced further when the 40X80X120-foot wind

tunnel at Ames Research Center becomes operational. However, additional

capabilities will be needed for large-scale, real-gas, hypersonic engine

testing, for icing research, and for large-scale, integrated airframepropulsion systems research in which altitude, temperature, and speed effects

can be studied concurrently.

In addition to those types of ground-based facilities, technology development will continue to require flight research as an essential element. Thus,

new experimental vehicles probably will be required in the areas of hypersonics, supersonic hort-takeoff and vertical landing, advanced supersonic

cruise aircraft, ana very high speed rotorcraft.

The future of aeronautics in the next century is replete with technology

opportunities for growth and advancement even more impressive and exciting

than those witnessed in the present century, but successful realization will

require continued effort and commitment. NASA's research is providing, and

will continue to provide, a solid foundation from which NASA will proceed

effectively in directions it selects on the basis of national needs and

priorities.

F. Institution

Two of the eight NASA goals listed in Section A of this chapter, the first

and the last, are fundamental to institutional management. As an important

step toward meeting the first, creation of a work environment that will enable

the Agency to achieve and maintain a work force of highest excellence, NASA

has undertaken as a priority activity recruitment of recent graduates of

distinction in science and engineering. The current scientist and engineering

complement of 10,900 is expected to grow to approximately 11,500 by the end of

FY 1989. Of particular significance is that the buildup is occurring within a

stable ceiling of about 21,000 for NASA's total permanent work force.

The last of the eight goals calls for developing and applying advanced

technology and management techniques and procedures to obtain optimum productivity. Two major activities are being conducted toward meeting that goal.

The first is preservation, enhancement, and construction of aeronautical and

space facilities, especially facilities essential to support the growing

number of Space Shuttle flights and the payloads they carry. The second,

computer systems management, has the objectives of ensuring that the best

computer tools are available at the right time and at the lowest cost,

fostering the use of computer systems to increase management productivity, and

advancing computer and computer-related technology for the benefit of NASA and

the Nation.

II-30
icc]

oe_Q_ PAaEIs

OF POOR QUALITY

and

tions

CONTENTS

Ill. SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS

A. Program Strategy ......................................................... i

B. Study of the Distant Universe ............................................ 3

1. Strategy ............................................................. 4

2. Current Program ...................................................... 4

a. Solar Maximum Mission ............................................ 5

b. International Ultraviolet Explorer ............................... 5

c. Hubble Space Telescope ........................................... 5

d. Roentgen Satellite ............................................... 6

e. Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer ..................................... 6

f. Gamma Ray Observatory ............................................ 6

g. Infrared Astronomical Satellite .................................. 6

h. Cosmic Background Explorer ....................................... 7

i. Heavy Nuclei Collector ........................................... 7

j. Spacelab Investigations .......................................... 7

(I) Solar Optical Telescope ...................................... 7

(2) Principal Investigator Class Instruments ..................... 8

(a) Spacelab 2............................................... 8

(b) Astro-1

3 Potential New Initi .................................................. 8

• atives FY 1986 through 1990 oomemooooolooomoeeooeo 8

a. Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility ............................. 8

b. Space Infrared Telescope Facility ................................ 9

c. Other Planned Initiatives ........................................ 9

(1) Gravity Probe-B .............................................. 9

(2) Solar Seismology Mission .................................... 10

ming Expl

I_I _a_l_aviolet orer ....................................... 10

Spectroscopy Explorer ....................... 10

(5) Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission

(6) Spacelab and Space Station ............................ 10 "'""-'-.........................Ii

(a) Pinhole Occulter Facility ............................... 11

(b) Shuttle High-Energy Astrophysics Laboratory ............. 11

(c) Cosmic Ray Experiments ......................

4. Possible Initiatives, FY 1991-1995 .................. "........... 11

................ 11

a. Advanced Solar Observatory ...................................... 12

b. Large Deployable Reflector ...................................... 12

c. High Throughput Mission ......................................... 13

d. Very Long Baseline Radio Interferometry ......................... 13

e. Starprobe ........ . ...... 13

5. Summary of Technology'Needs___._.._.__...13

C. Exploration of the Near Universe ........................................ 14

Strategy

_" Current ............................................................ 18

• Program ..................................................... 19

a. Pioneers. 21

b. Voyagers I"and'2_Z]_Z_____Z_ZZ21

c. International Cometary Explorer ................................. 21

d. Comet Halley Activities ......................................... 22

e. Galileo ......................................................... 22

f. Ulysses (International Solar Polar Mission) ..................... 23

g. Venus Radar Mapper .............................................. 23

h. Mars Observer ................................................... 24
Do

Eo

o

J

5.

Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-1990 ............................. 25

a. Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby ............................. 25

b. Lunar Geoscience Observer ....................................... 27

c. Cassini (Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe) ........................ 27

d. Coma Atmospheric & Elemental Sampling and Return ............. _..29

Program Status, F¥ 1990 ............................................. 29

Possible Initiatives After 1990 ..................................... 31

a. Inner Planets ................................................... 31

b. Small Bodies .................................................... 32

c. Outer Planets ................................................... 33

6. New Technologies and Space Station Capabilities ..................... 33

Earth and Its Environment ............................................... 35

i. Strategy ............................................................ 36

2. Current Program ..................................................... 36

a. Landsat ......................................................... 36

b. Shuttle Imaging Radar ........................................... 37

c. Multispectral Linear Array Sensor ............................... 37

d. The Oceans ...................................................... 38

e. The Atmosphere .................................................. 3_

f. Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes ................................. 39

g. Earth's Radiation Budget ........................................ 39

h. Trace Species ................................................... 40

i. Geodynamics ..................................................... 40

j. Space Plasma Physics ............................................ 4U

k. Global Biology .................................................. 41

I. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite ............................. 41

m. Scatterometer ................................................... 42

3. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-199U ............................. 42

a. Shuttle-Spacelab Payloads ....................................... 42

b. Ocean Color Imager .............................................. 43

c. Tethered Satellite System ....................................... 43

d. lopography Experiment for Ocean Circulation ..................... 43

e. Magnetic Field Explorer ......................................... 44

f. Geopotential Research Mission ................................... 44

g. International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program ................. 45

4. Future Thrusts, F¥ 1991-1995 ........................................ 46

Life Sciences ........................................................... 46

i. Objectives .......................................................... 46

2. Strategy ............................................................ 47

3. Current Program ..................................................... 49

a. Medical Sciences ................................................ 49

b. Biological Sciences ............................................. 51

(i) Exobiology .................................................. 51

(2) Biospheric Research ......................................... 51

(3) Gravitatioinal Biology ...................................... 52

c. Life Sciences Flight Experiment Program ......................... 52

4. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-1990 ............................. 53

a. Medical Care and Health Maintenance in Space .................... 53

b. Advanced Crew Support ........................................... 53

c. Human Performance in Space ...................................... 53

d. Mid-Deck Flight Experiments ..................................... 54

e. Space Station Experiment Module, Phase I ........................ 54

f. Biospheric Research, Phase I .................................... 54

g. Biospheric Research, Phase II ................................... 54
F •

Go

•

•

7.

h. Exobiology Payloads ............................................. 55

i. Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence ........................ 55

5. Possible Initiatives, FY 1991-1995 .................................. 55

a. Regenerative Life Support Systems ............................... 55

b. Space Station Experiment Module, Phase IT....................... 55

c. Biospheric Research, Phase Ill .................................. 55

d. Vestibular and Variable Gravity Research Facility ............... 56

Satellite Communications ................................................ 56

i. Objectives .......................................................... 57

2. Past and Current Program ............................................ 58

a. NASA Communications Support and Service Activity ................ 58

b. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite Flight Program ..... 60

c. Mobile Satellite ................................................ 61

3. FY 1986-1990 Program ................................................ 62

4. Possible Initiatives, FY 1991-1995 .................................. 62

a. Direct Satellite Sound Broadcasting ............................. 62

b. Space Station Communications .................................... 63

c. Communications Experiments in Low Earth Orbit: Testing

Antennas ........................................................ 63

d. Large Geostationary Communications Platforms .................... 65

e. Low Earth Orbit Communication Satellite ......................... 65

5. Planned Activities for 1995 and Later Years ......................... 66

Microgravity Science and Applications ................................... 66

1. Goals ............................................................... 67

2. Program Scope ....................................................... 67

3. Strategy ............................................................ 68

4. Current Program ..................................................... 69

a. Ground-Based Investigations ..................................... 69

(1) Convection in Crystal Growth ................................ 69

(2) Nongravitational Phase Separation Mechanisms ................ 69

(3) Containerless Processing .................................... 70

(4) Bioseparation Processes ..................................... 70

(5) Combustion Science .......................................... 70

b. Space Shuttle Mid-Deck Experiments .............................. 71

(1) Monodisperse Latex Reactor .................................. 71

(2) Continuous Flow Electrophoresis ............................. 71

c. Materials Experiment Assembly Experiments ....................... 71

(1) Furnace Experiments ......................................... 72

(a) Monotectic Alloys ....................................... 72

(b) Crystal Growth from Vapor ............................... 72

(2) Levitator Experiments ....................................... 72

Future Focus ........................................................ 72

a. Crystal Growth of Electronic Materials .......................... 73

b. Crystal Growth of Organic Materials ............................. 73

c. Solidification of Alloys and Composites ......................... 73

d. Containerless Melting and Solidification ........................ 74

e. Containerless Formation of Glass ................................ 74

f. Separation Processes ............................................ 74

g. Fluid and Transport Phenomena ................................... 74

h. Cloud Microphysics and Aerosol Science .......................... 75

i. Combustion Science .............................................. 75

Facilities and Apparatus ............................................ 75

Prospects for Commercialization ..................................... 79
No Institution ............................................................. 80

i. Goddard Space Flight Center ......................................... 80

2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory ........................................... 81

3. Other NASA Centers .................................................. 81

TABLES

Table 111-1

Table 111-2

Table 111-3

fable 111-4

Table 111-5

lechnology Needs for Astrophysics Programs ..................... 15

Initial Core Missions and Candidate Subsequent Missions ........ 20

U.S. Low-Gravity Research Facilities ........................... 76

Availability of U.S. Materials Processing Systems .............. 77

U.S. Materials Processing Instruments .......................... 78

FIGURES

Figure 111-1 Planetary Exploration Status: 1984 ............................ 17

Figure 111-2 Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) Spacecraft ............. 26

Figure 111-3 Planetary Exploration Status: 1989 ............................ 30

Figure 111-4 Communications Program Outlook ................................ 59
III. SPACESCIENCEANDAPPLICATIONS

The Space Science and Applications program is responsible for scientific

research into the nature and origin of the universe and for applying space

systems and techniques to solve everyday problems on Earth. The research includes observation of the distant universe, exploration of the near universe,

and characterization of Earth and its environment. The applications work

advances the life sciences, improves satellite communications, investigates

the behavior of materials during processing in microgravity, and expands knowledge of Earth and its environment.

Observation of the distant universe includes measurement of the radiation

and particles reaching Earth from beyond the solar system and study of the sun

as the only star that can be observed in detail. Questions under study deal

with the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe and the fundamental

laws of physics that govern it. Space flight's principal contribution is to

provide a view of the universe unobscured by the haze of Earth's atmosphere.

Exploration of the near universe includes visiting and studying objects

and environments in or near the solar system to investigate the origin and

evolution of the solar system and to compare Earth with the other planets and

their satellites. Measurements focus on internal structures, surface features, atmospheres, and plasma environments and, therefore, require remote and

in situ observations and sample returns.

Characterizing Earth and its environment involves remote sensing from

space and measurement of the particles and electric and magnetic fields of

Earth and its surroundings to determine how the solid planet, land surfaces,

oceans, atmosphere, and plasmasphere function and interact. Also involved are

investigations of how life originated, has evolved, and is maintained on

Earth, as well as research on fundamental laws of physics and chemistry and

their application. The view from space gives mankind its first truly global

perspective on its home in the universe.

The Life Sciences program seeks to ensure the health, safety, well-being,

and effective performance of humans in space and to prepare the way for

humankind to take a place in the larger environment of the universe. It also

uses the space environment to further knowledge in medicine and biology by

exposing living organisms to space and noting the effects. If deleterious

effects are detected, countermeasures are sought.

The Communications program is designed to develop high-risk electronics

technology useful in multiple frequency bands to satisfy the communications

needs of NASA, other government agencies, and U.S. industry.

The aim of the Materials Processing program is to improve basic understanding of materials and their behavior in microgravity. Research in the

space environment clarifies materials processes and explores feasible and

advantageous processing that one day may lead to an industry in space.

A. Program Strategy

Space science and applications programs concentrate on problems whose

solution requires placing instruments in space and the upper atmosphere to
provide observations at wavelengths to which Earth's atmosphere is opaque; in

situ studies; higher spatial resolutions than can be obtained from Earth's

surface; global views of Earth; or the environment of space, especially low

gravity. They makeuse of theoretical studies, data analyses, laboratory

measurements and simulations, instrument development, and field measurements.

The theoretical studies relate observations to fundamental laws and quantify

the understandings gained, while the laboratory investigations provide

additional information on observed processes. Field measurements are made

from rockets, balloons, aircraft, and ground bases to complementand verify

measurementsmadefrom space. The ground-based observations provide data

needed to interpret the space observations fully. Both the Shuttle and

expendable launch vehicles are used to launch the program's payloads. The

large amountsof data generated by the programs require constant improvements

in data managementechniques for efficient data access, storage, and use.

The SpaceScience and Applications program is conducted in close cooperation with the scientific, engineering, and industrial communities. The Space

Science Board and SpaceApplications Board of the National Research Council

provide advice at the program level, while advice at the project level comes

both from committees established by those boards and from committees of the

NASAAdvisory Council. Discipline areas receive outside views in a similar

fashion, and the selection of mission payloads and basic research proposals

rests in part on evaluations by the outside community.

International cooperation continues to be important. International projects reduce the cost to each of the countries involved and permit more

expansive efforts than a single country could afford alone. Each partner

gains access to other countries' science and develops technology relevant to

its own programs. In addition, international space collaboration serves

broader foreign policy goals aimed at retaining positive, productive relationships with the many countries that are benefiting from space activities. The

International Ultraviolet Explorer is a good example. Developedjointly by

NASA,the EuropeanSpaceAgency, and the Science Research Council of the

United Kingdom, it has been operated very effectively by the three partners

for the past seven years, lhe Hubble Space Telescope, Ulysses (formerly the

International Solar Polar Mission), and Upper AtmosphereResearch Satellite

are additional examples. International cooperation is expected to remain a

key factor in conducting the Space Science and Applications program, and

various opportunities for international cooperation in future programs are

being explored.

Continuity is also an important aspect of the program. While answering

somequestions, scientific research often raises new ones that require

capabilities or extensive data not available from current or past projects;

the logical outgrowth is a newproject. An example of that outgrowth is the

proposal for the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility, which will address

questions arising from discoveries made by the High Energy Astronomy

Observatories. That new facility will makemuchmore comprehensiveinvestigations of x-ray objects than its predecessors could. Another facet of

continuity is the role of enabling technologies; for example, the development

of radar altimetry provided the ability to observe the circulation of the

oceans. First employedfrom orbit by Skylab, radar altimetry was improved for

use on the third Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and further

improved for Seasat, which was able to observe regional circulation patterns

111-2
in the ocean. Additional improvements will allow the Ocean Topography

Experiment to make the first global measurement of the circulation of the

oceans. The third element of continuity is sustained commitment to scientific

endeavors that require many years of planning and execution. Correspondingly,

an appropriate base of research in space sciences and applications contributes

to NASA's preparedness for new activities.

B. Study of the Distant Universe

Study of the universe involves questions at the core of human concern.

What are the size, scope, and structure of the universe? What is mankind's

place in it? How did it begin? Is it unchanging or does it evolve, and will

it have an end? What are the laws that govern celestial phenomena?

Answers to such questions are sought by investigating the sun, stars,

galaxies, gas, and dust, and the laws of physics governing them. Matter in

the universe varies in size, shape, density (by at least 40 orders of

magnitude), and temperature (by billions of degrees). Electromagnetic radiation emitted by matter in the universe ranges from highly energetic gamma

rays, through x-rays and ultraviolet radiation, further through less energetic

infrared and microwave radiations, to the radio regions of the spectrum.

Objects in the the universe also radiate particles in the form of stellar

winds and cosmic rays, and it is presumed that other objects give off as yet

undetected neutrinos and gravitational radiation.

Until the space age, the universe could be observed only through "the

dirty basement windows of the atmosphere." Water vapor in the atmosphere

blocks much of the infrared spectrum; and radiation in the ultraviolet, x-ray,

and gamma ray frequencies does not penetrate the atmosphere at all. Even at

the wavelengths of visible light, atmospheric turbulence and scintillation

limit the performance of the best ground-based telescopes. However, as a

result of the U.S. program in space astronomy and astrophysics during the past

two decades, a new view of the universe is emerging. Rocket and satellite

observations at ultraviolet wavelengths have shown that many stars eject

enormous amounts of material at high velocities. A revolution is occurring in

knowledge of the chemical composition and physical state of interstellar gas

and dust. Both ultraviolet and x-ray observations have shown that many types

of stars possess high-temperature, tenuous outer layers and exhibit solar-like

activity. However, the behavior of those stars is not consistent with current

understanding of the solar chromosphere and corona. Discovery of celestial

x-ray and gamma ray sources has revealed the existence of new types of

celestial objects and has shown that explosive events of unimaginable violence

occur routinely in the universe.

Evidence accumulated from x-ray measurements suggests that a significant

fraction of the matter in the universe may exist as very high temperature gas

located between the galaxies. Objects ranging in distance from nearby cool

stars to the most distant quasars emit x-rays, and recent observations have

shown that some astronomical bodies emit most of their energy as gamma rays.

The first survey at infrared wavelengths discovered stars with debris systems

that could imply the formation of planets around the stars. Future projects

are being designed to sustain the rapid pace of development of observing

abilities that will continue this revolution in understanding of the universe.

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lhe sun is the only star that can be studied in detail, and study of it is

essential to interpreting the distant universe. Magnetic fields control the

solar atmosphere, and the structure of the sun's corona is dominated by

magnetic arches and loops. In addition, the corona contains regions called

coronal holes from which the magnetic fields extend into interplanetary space,

creating the solar wind.

Techniques have been developed recently for measuring the motions of the

visible surface of the sun, the photosphere. Observation and analysis of the

motions resulting from waves occurring in the sun's convective interior have

led to the conclusion that the convective region of the sun extends deeper

than previously believed. Observations that are directly related to the sun's

interior structure and processes now can be made. The oscillatory motions

also may contain information about the change in angular velocity of the

convective layer with distance from the sun's center.

1. Strateg_

Studies of the universe progress through five stages:

o Suborbital probes for a "first cut"

o All-sky surveys

o Detailed studies of individual sources

o Flight of full-scale observatories

o Flight of specialized follow-up and observatory support missions.

The stages of development of the disciplines within astrophysics vary

significantly. For example, the first extreme ultraviolet sources have been

detected only recently, placing this discipline in the first of the five

stages. In contrast, the Hubble Space lelescope will advance ultraviolet and

optical astronomy into the fourth stage. Each wavelength and particle-energy

range provides specific information about celestial objects and processes.

However, full understanding of some objects, such as quasars, requires

observations at all wavelengths. In addition, apparently unrelated objects

often involve similar phenomena, but on different scales. To obtain a

complete picture of the physical universe, all the astrophysics disciplines

will have to be advanced.

2. Current Program

The Astrophysics program currently contains ten research projects. Each

project is aimed at a particular set of problems but also generally overlaps

others to provide a variety of viewpoints and, therefore, a more comprehensive

understanding of particular phenomena. An example of a phenomenon subjected

to that treatment is flaring of stars. Although only the Solar Maximum

Mission is aimed specifically at investigation of flares on the sun, five of

the ten projects will contribute to an understanding of how the sun's energy

is stored, what triggers its release, and how the sun and its atmosphere

respond to the flaring.

III-4
a. Solar Maximum Mission

Activity in stars, including the sun, is most easily studied by

observing the ultraviolet light and x-rays they emit. However, because of

the sun's proximity to Earth, its flares also can be imaged with hard

x-rays and the products of nuclear collisions in its atmosphere can be

observed. The Solar Maximum Mission has obtained the most comprehensive

observations to date on solar flares. Its simultaneous observations over

a broad band of the electromagnetic spectrum have yielded a reliable model

of flare phenomena. Since its in-orbit repair in 1984, it has resumed

observations with the goal of discovering how flares are triggered.

Observation of activity on stars thought to be like the sun can tell

much about the range of the sun's activity and what it is likely to be in

the future. Consequently, in addition to other problems relating to stars

and galaxies, the four missions whose descriptions follow will study

flares on other stars--hot stars, cool stars, rapidly rotating stars,

stars with strong magnetic fields, and stars near the end of their lives.

b. International Ultraviolet Explorer

The International Ultraviolet Explorer is a joint undertaking by NASA,

the United Kingdom's Science Research Council, and the European Space

Agency. Since its launch in 1978, it has provided ultraviolet spectra for

studies of comets, the outer planets and their satellites, the atmospheres

of stars, the interstellar medium, and extragalactic objects. It has

expanded understanding of stellar winds, gaseous halos around galaxies,

and solar-like activity on other stars. It is an important precursor to

the Hubble Space Telescope, not only scientifically but also as a facility

operated for the benefit of guest investigators.

c. Hubble Space Telescope

The principal element in the astronomy program is the 2.4-meter

diameter Hubble Space Telescope to be launched in 1986 by the Space

Shuttle. It will be a long-duration orbital facility serviced by the

Shuttle and the Space Station, whose crews will replace, as needed or

appropriate, science instruments as technological advances and scientific

priorities evolve. The Space Station, with its ability to perform

extensive and comprehensive servicing, is planned to be able to maintain

and update the Telescope entirely in orbit, eliminating the need to return

the Telescope to Earth for refurbishment. The solar arrays and one of the

science instruments for the Telescope are being provided by the European

Space Agency. An international team will staff the Space Telescope

Science Institute, which will be responsible for operations and data

analysis. The Hubble Space Telescope's ability to cover a wide range of

wavelengths from the infrared to the ultraviolet, to provide fine angular

resolution, and to detect faint sources will make it the most powerful

astronomical telescope ever built. It will be used in extragalactic

astronomy and observational cosmology for tasks such as investigation of

stars in other galaxies to determine their rotation, age, mass, and

chemical composition. It also will be used for observations of our own

solar system to aid in understanding the solar system's origin and evolution.

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d. Roentgen Satellite

The Roentgen Satellite is a cooperative undertaking with the Federal

Republic of Germany. Germany is responsible for developing the spacecraft

and telescope, and the United States is responsible for launching the

satellite and providing one focal plane instrument. Observation time will

be divided equally between the United States and Germany. In addition,

the United Kingdom is providing an instrument to observe in the extreme

ultraviolet wavelengths and will share in the German observation time.

The program's objective is to orbit an x-ray telescope similar to the

second High Energy Astronomy Observatory to investigate many phenomena

discovered by that observatory, including the high x-ray luminosity of

stars that otherwise appear to be identical to the sun.

e. Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

When stars eventually consume all the nuclear fuel available to them,

gravity collapses them and they radiate away their heat. Depending on

their mass, their collapse is stopped by the incompressibility of electrons to form white dwarf stars, or of neutrons to form neutron stars, or

of nothing at all to form black holes. This program will conduct an

initial survey of the sky to detect objects emitting primarily at

wavelengths from 10 to 90 nanometers, thereby opening one of the last

remaining unexplored spectral regions. Most extreme-ultraviolet objects

discovered to date have been stars at advanced stages of evolution,

including white dwarf stars. Discovery and study of many such objects are

expected to provide new insight into the later stages of stellar evolution

and the energetics of the interstellar medium.

f. Gamma Ray Observator_

The Gamma Ray Observatory will observe the universe in the highest

energy reaches of the electromagnetic spectrum. It will look at the

nuclear processes occurring near neutron stars and black holes and permit

investigation of the formation of elements in supernovae, the origin of

ga_na ray bursts, and details of the gamma ray sources recently discovered

in our galaxy. Gamma rays produced by interaction of cosmic rays with the

interstellar medium provide direct information about both the interstellar

medium and the cosmic rays. Observation of gamma rays from objects such

as pulsars--which also emit radio, visible, and x-ray radiation--is

essential to understanding those objects.

While the events occurring at the end of a star's life are best

observed at wavelengths shorter than visible, such as gamma rays, the

events occurring during star formation are best observed at wavelengths

longer than visible. The longer wavelengths also are best for observing

the radiation from the earliest moments of the Big Bang. Consequently,

the two programs described next are investigating longer wavelength

regions of the spectrum.

g. Infrared Astronomical Satellite

Launched January 25, 1983, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite has

completed the first comprehensive all-sky survey in the 8- to 120-micron

III-6
region of the spectrum. The Netherlands provided its spacecraft, the

United States provided its telescope, and the United Kingdom provided its

ground operations facility. It has located many infrared sources for

future investigation and has provided information on the formation of

stars in our galaxy, the presence of dust in galaxies, and the number and

characteristics of asteroids in the solar system. It has made several

notable discoveries, including a debris system around the star Vega, arcs

of dust above and below the eclipticplane, and cirrus-like dust clouds in

our galaxy. Cryogen for its telescope has been depleted, but an international team continues to analyze the data it collected. The data will

be complemented by an extended-source survey to be carried out with a

small telescope on Spacelab 2.

h. Cosmic Background Explorer

The Cosmic Background Explorer will measure precisely the spectral and

directional distribution of cosmic microwave background radiation believed

to be a remnant of the Big Bang. Measurements from balloons and aircraft

have introduced uncertainties and questions that it will be able to

resolve, thereby providing definitive fundamental observations in cosmology. Any deviations from uniformity detected will be significant, allowing

a look back toward the instant of creation.

i. Heavy Nuclei Collector

Recent developments make it possible to construct a passive cosmic ray

telescope with a very large area to detect among the cosmic rays the heavy

and extremely rare radioactive nuclei that occupy the top of the periodic

table. Those nuclei are especially important because of their origin outside the solar system and because their radioactivity will make possible

their direct dating. Acid etches some plastics at a rate proportional to

the square of the charge of particles that pass through them. Therefore,

by exposing one of those plastics to space, recovering and etching it, and

analyzing the etched tracks, scientists can determine the composition of

the cosmic rays that have passed through it. Because the plastic is light

in weight and no telemetry is involved, the plastic can be placed in trays

that will cover almost all of the Long Duration Exposure Facility,

providing a total area an order of magnitude larger than that of any other

planned investigation of this sort. It therefore will be very valuable

for measuring the abundances of rare, heavy nuclei like those of uranium

not observed by the cosmic ray telescopes on the third High Energy

Astronomy Observatory.

j. Spacelab Investigations

The Shuttle-Spacelab will carry telescopes into space to observe the

sun, stars, high-energy sources, and sources of infrared radiation. For

Spacelab investigations, NASA is developing instruments of both the facility class and the principal investigator class.

(I) Solar Optical Telescope

The only facility class instrument in the current program is the Solar

Optical Telescope, a one-meter Gregorian telescope that will provide

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ultra-high resolution observations of the sun in the wavelength band from

infrared to ultraviolet. It will have an assortment of focal plane and

auxiliary instruments that will be added, refurbished, or replaced between

flights. It will study time-related phenomena associated with small solar

features such as the fine structures of the chromosphere, magnetic flux

ropes, spicules, and flare sites--each of which is believed to measure

less than i00 kilometers in any dimension.

(2) Principal Investigator Class Instruments

Spacelab missions will continue to carry principal investigator class

instruments. Spacelab 2, like Spacelab I before it, will carry U.S. and

European instruments that will investigate the sun and the universe.

(a) Spacelab 2

The Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor will observe the

highly variable ultraviolet output of the sun, and the Solar Magnetic and

Velocity Field Measurement System will be able to make measurements

undisturbed by the blurring that affects observations made through Earth's

atmosphere. The Elemental Composition of Cosmic Ray Nuclei mission will

observe cosmic rays with energies greater than those the telescopes on the

third High Energy Astronomy Observatory could observe. The composition of

those higher energy cosmic rays should be less contaminated by secondary

products resulting from the rays' passage through the interstellar medium.

The Small Helium-Cooled Infrared Telescope will complement the survey made

by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, whose sensitivity is greatest to

point sources, by surveying the sky for extended infrared sources having

low surface brightness.

(b) Astro-1

Astro-1 will be a Space Shuttle payload using the Spacelab igloo, the

Instrument Pointing System, and two pallets. Its three ultraviolet telescopes will complement the Space Telescope, and each of them will have

unique capabilities: Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope--wide field of view;

Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope--short wavelength ultraviolet; and Wisconsin

Ultraviolet Spectropolarimeter--polarization. The first flight of Astro-I

will be a special mission in March 1986 to make astronomical observations

and observe Comet Halley.

3. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986 through 1990

a. Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility

The Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility is a potential development

start for 1987. It received the highest endorsement from the Astronomy

Survey Committee of the National Academy of Sciences. With 4 times the

spatial resolution and at least I00 times the sensitivity of the second

High Energy Astronomy Observatory, from which it is evolving, it will

advance x-ray astronomy into the mature observatory stage and be as

significant an advance in x-ray astronomy as the Hubble Space Telescope

will be in optical astronomy. It will be launched by the Shuttle and

serviced by the Shuttle and the Space Station. The focal plane of its

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1.2-meter, grazing-incidence, x-ray telescope will accommodate instruments

to collect high-spatial-resolution and spectral data on quasars, galaxies,

clusters of galaxies, and the intergalactic medium. An important objective is to image x-rays from iron, since the amount of iron that galaxies

produce and expel into the space between themselves tells much about the

early history of star formation and destruction in the galaxies. That

objective will require that the mirrors on the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics

Facility have the ability to reflect x-rays with energies twice as high as

those that the second High Energy Astronomy Observatory reflected.

Technology for the mirrors is being developed in the Physics and Astronomy

Research and Analysis activity. Technology for x-ray sensors has been

developed in part by the Research and Analysis program and in part by the

Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology.

b. Space Infrared Telescope Facility

This facility will be a long-lived, meter-class, cryogenically cooled,

infrared observatory to study the very cold regions of space. It will be

launched by the Shuttle and serviced by the Shuttle and the Space Station.

Regions and objects it will study are locations where the cosmic gas and

dust condense into stars; cool objects in the solar system--planetary

systems, asteroids, and comets; and infrared-emitting extra-galactic

objects. It will be 1,000 times more sensitive than the Infrared

Astronomical Satellite. One of its major applications will be to obtain

detailed infrared spectrometry of the faint infrared sources that the

Infrared Astronomical Satellite discovered but could not observe in

detail. The Astronomy Survey Committee of the National Academy of

Sciences has recommended that the Space Infrared Telescope Facility be the

first major infrared telescope in space. The Infrared Astronomical

Satellite demonstrated technology for long-lived, cryogenic telescopes,

and cryogenic servicing by the Shuttle and the Space Station is under

study. The Space Infrared Telescope Facility is a candidate for development initiation in the late 1980s.

c. Other Planned Initiatives

Other initiatives planned for the FY 1986 through FY 1990 period are

principally investigations into dynamical structures--the structure of

space and time and the structure of the sun, collapsed stars and

interstellar space.

(1) Gravity Probe-B

The structure of space and time is investigated through the theory of

general relativity. Gravity Probe-B is an orbiting, cryogenic gyroscope

experiment to test a fundamental concept of general relativity by

measuring the precession of orbiting gyroscopes as they move through a

gravitational field twisted by Earth's rotation (relativistic spin-spin

coupling). That twisting of space acts as a force that is to simple

gravity what magnetism is to electricity. The effect is very small and

the experiment can be carried out only in space. The required technology

has been under development since 1965. Systems analysis and technology

development now under way will integrate the resulting component technologies to provide a functioning prototype that will be tested on a Shuttle

111-9
flight planned for 1989. Gravity Probe-B's science mission is planned to

follow that test.

(2) Solar Seismology Mission

The objective of the Solar Seismology Mission is to observe the bulk

motions of gas at the surface of the sun. Observations lasting several

weeks have shown that waves generated in the sun's interior by convection

and differential rotation produce global oscillations that are visible at

the sun's surface. The internal structure and motions of the sun can be

determined by observing those oscillations. However, the observations

must be made continuously for months; and that is impossible from Earth,

even at the South Pole.

(3) X-RaX Timin 9 Explorer

The X-Ray Timing Explorer will conduct intensive studies of the changing luminosity of x-ray sources over time ranging from milliseconds to

years. The time behavior is the source of important information about

processes and structures in white-dwarf stars, x-ray binaries, neutron

stars, pulsars, and black holes. For studying known sources and detecting

transient events, observations are required over an extended period with

instruments sensitive to x-ray energies from 2,000 to 100,000 electron

volts. Technology is nearly ready, with developments in detector technology under way as part of the mission definition studies.

(4) Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer

The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer will be a 1-meter class

telescope equipped for very high resolution spectroscopy in the spectral

region from 90 to 120 nanometers. Its objectives are to expand the preliminary studies initiated by the third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory

and to act as a scientific complement to the Hubble Space lelescope and

the planned x-ray missions. Information on many spectral features that

lie in the 90- to 120-nanometer band is essential to an understanding of

the interstellar gas, extended stellar atmospheres, supernova remnants,

galactic nuclei, and processes in the upper atmospheres of planets. For

example, the interstellar medium's structure depends on the medium's

temperature, velocity, and location in space. The Far Ultraviolet

Spectroscopy Explorer will be sensitive to all phases of the interstellar

medium. As all spectrometers, those for this program will rely on

gratings to disperse the spectrum. Development of the technology for

making gratings and spectrometers for such short wavelengths will be

undertaken during mission definition. Also, some mirror coating technology is being investigated.

(5) Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission

Technology is available for this mission, whose objective will be to

infer the origins of the inner corona and the solar wind by use of

recently developed diagnostic techniques that allow observations from

Earth orbit to determine the plasma state.

III-I0
(6) Spacelab and Space Station

Investigations on Spacelab will become lengthier and will be modified

so that they can be conducted on or near the Space Station. They will

depend on the Space Station for servicing, assembly, and manned interaction. Current plans include a major facility, two principal investigator

class instruments, and an experiment program. The possibility is being

studied of making Space Station platforms of the Advanced X-Ray

Astrophysics Facility and the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility.

(a) Pinhole Occulter Facility

The Pinhole Occulter Facility will be a system for imaging hard x-rays

to provide high-resolution studies of x-ray bright points, active regions,

solar flares, and the structure and nature of the sun's corona. It will

consist of a large, Shuttle-borne, occulting disc with thousands of

pinholes and a detector package located 30 meters or more from the disc.

Hard x-rays are produced by processes that are in thermodynamic

disequilibrium, and the emission regions are expected to carry part of the

signature of particle acceleration in their structures. In its occulter

mode, the facility will make it possible for optical instruments to look

near the base of the corona to obtain diagnostic information on heating

and cooling. Technology for deploying and controlling long, weighted

booms in space must be developed.

(b) Shuttle High-Energy Astrophysics Laboratory

The Shuttle High-Energy Astrophysics Laboratory program will consist

of a series of Shuttle flights of a developing complement of x-ray

instruments that will use specialized techniques for investigations in

high-energy astrophysics. Its payloads are to be attached to the Shuttle

via the Shuttle Payload of Opportunity Carrier.

(c) Cosmic Ray Experiments

The Cosmic Ray Experiments program will use massive instruments,

perhaps initially tested and used on Spacelab flights, to make cosmic ray

measurements that require observation times longer than those the Shuttle

will provide. The measurements can be made as a series of experiments on

the Space Station. Emphasis will be on measuring particles of very high

energy and low flux; investigating the charge compositions, energy spectra, arrival directions, and isotopic compositions of cosmic ray nuclei;

and searching for exotic particles such as super-heavy nuclei, magnetic

monopoles, and antinuclei. The technology required is being developed in

the Astrophysics Research and Technology program.

4. Possible Initiatives, FY 1991-1995

Two observatories are potential development starts in the FY 1991 through

FY 1995 period: the Advanced Solar Observatory for solar physics and the

Large Deployable Reflector for submillimeter and far infrared astronomy. The

thrust in astronomy following the Hubble Space Telescope and the Advanced

X-Ray Astrophysics Facility will be to develop arrays of telescopes for either

111-11
very high angular resolution or high sensitivity. Also planned is a mission

into the upper atmosphere of the sun.

a. Advanced Solar Observatory

The Advanced Solar Observatory will begin operation when the Solar

Optical Telescope and the Pinhole Occulter Facility are put together on

the Space Station or another long-duration orbiting platform. It will use

high-resolution instruments to study the temporal evolution of solar

features and to observe events that are especially revealing. Its

coordinated observations of all aspects of the surface of the sun will

advance solar physics from an observational science to one capable of

prediction. It eventually will include:

A high-resolution telescope cluster containing the Solar Optical

Telescope, a soft x-ray telescope facility, and an extreme ultraviolet telescope facility

Instruments behind the Pinhole Occulter Facility to observe, with

very high spatial resolution, the corona close to the sun's surface

and energetic phenomena like flares

o A high-resolution gamma ray spectrometer

o A low-frequency radio facility.

The technologies for many of those instruments are ready, and others

will be developed in the Astrophysics Research and Technology program.

b. Large Deployable Reflector

The processes of birth of celestial bodies are largely unexplored by

astonomers. They occur in cold clouds of dust so thick that the light

from the bodies as they are forming cannot escape. The light therefore

heats the dust, creating infrared radiation that can escape. That

radiation is low in temperature and long in wavelength, constituting a

weak signal that only a very sensitive telescope will be able to detect.

Technology should be sufficiently advanced by the late 1980s to permit

development of a telescope as large as 20 meters in diameter for in-orbit

spectroscopic and imaging observations at far infrared and submillimeter

wavelengths that cannot be observed from Earth. That telescope should be

able to collect the weak signals and achieve sufficient resolutions to

investigate the formation, transport, and destruction of molecules in the

atmospheres of the outer planets, in regions where stars are forming or

are shedding their outer layers, and in regions where there are cold

clouds of gas and dust but, as yet, no stars. Before the Large Deployable

Reflector can be developed, major technological advances must be made in

mirror technology, structures, submillimeter and infrared sensors, mirror

controls, and assembly in orbit. To provide those advances, the Office of

Space Science and Applications and the Office of Aeronautics and Space

lechnology have in process a system-level study that should lead to

initiation of a technology development program in FY 1987. Space Station

capabilities could make possible new approaches to implementing and

conducting this mission.

III-12
c. High Throughput Mission

The High Throughput Mission will have capabilities that complement

those of the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility. It will make a

deep-space survey to determine whether active galaxies, quasars, or the

million-degree gas filling intergalactic space is the origin of x-rays

that appear to come uniformly from all directions in space. It wil| be an

x-ray telescope consisting of many small modules--each with its own

mirrors and detector--assembled to form a collector with a very large

area. It will have high sensitivity, but its angular resolution will be

only about one arc minute. Thus, it will be able to perform studies that

do not require precise angular resolution but do require great sensitivity

because the x-ray sources either are intrinsically faint or vary rapidly

in intensity. Telescope technology will be developed as part of Spacelab

activities, and mirror concepts are being investigated as part of the

Astrophysics Research and Technology program.

d. Very Lon_ Baseline Radio Interferometr_

Very large arrays of telescopes can provide high angular resolution if

the radiation they receive can be added coherently, preserving the relative phases of the electromagnetic waves constituting the radiation. That

coherent combining of signals is the basis of interferometry currently in

use in ground-based radio astronomy networks. Because of the size of

those arrays, the technique is called very long baseline interferometry

(VLBI). The resolution of a VLBI network can be increased greatly by

adding one or more space-based radio telescopes to the network. The

addition of a single orbiting antenna 10 to 30 meters in diameter to an

existing ground-based network can provide unprecedented angular resolutions of 10- to 10- arc seconds. The resulting celestial maps will

explain much about the physics of quasars, galactic cores, interstellar

masers, and dynamics of star formation. Technology for the space-based

antenna is being developed by the Office of Aeronautics and Space

Technology, and development of VLBI technolgy is being supported by that

office and the Astrophysics program. The Astrophysics Division and the

Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems are studying the possibility of

using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to demonstrate two key

technical approaches to this mission.

e. Starprobe

This spacecraft will fly to within four radii of the sun's surface to

observe the sun's surface, gravitational figure, and upper atmosphere.

The Astrophysics program and the Office of Aeronautics and Space

Technology have developed radio ranging, thermal protection, and drag-free

navigation technology for this mission over the last four years.

5. Summary of Technology Needs

With regard to major observatories, technology will be ready in the next

year for the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility and is ready now for the

Advanced Solar Observatory. However, the Large Deployable Reflector needs

development of technology for structures, submillimeter and infrared sensors,

mirrors, mirror controls, and in-orbit assembly techniques. A systems study

III-13
is in process to define a program to develop that technology. Technology for

Spacelab and most Explorer missions is sufficiently developed that the last

steps can be madeready during mission definition phases, lhat is true for

the X-RayTiming Explorer, Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission, and Shuttle

High-Energy Laboratory; but the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer and the

Pinhole Occulter Facility need technological developments in far-ultraviolet

spectrometers and long, weighted booms, respectively. For the other

astrophysics programs, the status of technology is as follows: Gravity

Probe-B--further development is being carried out by the Astrophysics program;

Very Long Baseline Interferometry--further development is being carried out by

the Astrophysics program and the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology;

Solar Seismology Mission--the technology is ready; Space Infrared Telescope

Facility--the Astrophysics program and the Office of Aeronautics and Space

_echnology are developing technology for infrared sensors. Ihe Astrophysics

program and the offices of Aeronautics and Space Technology, Space Flight, and

Space Station are planning for development of in-orbit cryogenic servicing, a

capability that will benefit the Space Infrared Telescope Facility's mission.

Table III-I summarizes technology needs. An X in a cell of that table

indicates that the program shown on the line the cell occupies needs

technology of the category shown in the column the cell occupies.

C. Exploration of the Near Universe

1o our ancestors, the solar system consisted of a few worlds wandering

through a limited region of empty space. To us, it has become a huge sphere

containing uncountable bits of solid matter, magnetic fields, and streams of

electrically charged atomic particles from the sun. lhe space program's

exploration of that collection of matter and energy is one of the most important scientific activities of this era. The objective of that exploration is

to determine the origin, evolution, and present state of the solar system and

to compare Earth with the other planets.

United States leadership in the exploration of the solar system has

brought new knowledge, prestige, and sense of achievement to the Nation. U.S.

spacecraft were the first to visit Mercury, Venus, and Mars; and the highly

sophisticated Viking spacecraft landed on Mars. Only U.S. spacecraft have

crossed the asteroid belt into the outer solar system, four having encountered

Jupiter and three having encountered Saturn. Historic discoveries came from

each of those seven encounters. One of the spacecraft, Voyager 2, is on

course to an encounter with Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. Another,

Pioneer 10, passed the orbit of Neptune in 1983 on a trajectory to intersteller space. More than two dozen planets and satellites have been explored at

close range, and the interplanetary medium has been partially characterized.

The exploration progresses in systematic stages, later stages building on

the results of earlier ones and all stages proceeding from a broad overview to

increasingly detailed investigations and problem-oriented studies in the

following sequence:

o Reconnaissance--Initial encounter with and

usually by a flyby spacecraft

o Exploration--Characterization of the body

combination with entry probes and landers

observation of a body,

by orbiting spacecraft in

III-14
TABLE 111-1. TECHNOLOGY NEEDS FOR ASTROPHYSICS PROGRAMS

Major Missions

Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility

Large Deployable Reflector

Advanced Solar Observatory

Starprobe

Moderate Missions

Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility

Solar Seismology Mission

Very Long Baseline Radio Interferometry

Gravity Probe-B

High Throughput Mission

Expl orers

X-Ray Timing Explorer

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer

Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission

Spacelab and Space Station

Shuttle High-Energy Laboratory

Cosmic Ray Experiments

Pinhole Occulter Facility

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o Intensive Study--Investigation of

stemming from the preceding stage.

specific scientific questions

Figure 111-1 summarizes the status of solar system exploration by the

United States. The columns represent the three stages in the exploration

sequence, while the rows represent bodies in the solar system. Past and

present flight projects occupy cells of that matrix according to the stages

and bodies with which they are associated, lhe figure indicates the emphasis

of exploration within each group of bodies and the degree of overall balance

in achievements to date.

The National Research Council's Space Science Board has recommended a

balanced approach to exploration--specifically that exploration "should move

forward on a broad front to all the accessible planetary bodies beginning with

reconnaissance, into exploration of selected planets, and lastly to intensive

study of a limited number of cases." The Board pointed out that "as the

reconnaissance phase is nearing completion...for the next decade there should

be a shift in emphasis toward systematic exploration with emphasis on selected

planets but with some continuing level of reconnaissance to parts of the solar

system where ignorance is greatest and the opportunity for new discovery is

large."

Since 1974, the Space Science Board's Committee on Planetary and Lunar

Exploration has been evolving object and mission priorities for the exploration program and has found it convenient to assign the bodies in the solar

system to three groups: the inner planets; the small (primitive) bodies--

asteroids, comets, and meteorites; and the outer planets and their satellites.

The Committee recommended that the focus for the inner planets for the decade

of the 1980s be Venus, Earth, and Mars. Simultaneous and detailed comparative

studies in the form of global characterization of and sample returns from

those planets, combined with identification of reasons for their differences

and similarities, will provide a basis for follow-on scientific investigations. The Committee judged that the moon and Mercury, although also

important targets for investigation, are of lower priority and, therefore,

should be in a later phase of inner planet exploration.

The motivation for investigating the small bodies is their primitive

character. Since detailed study of them will require extended viewing at

close range, rendezvous missions have highest priority. However, it is

expected that fly-by missions through the comas of comets to study plasmas and

gaseous and dusty ejecta will play an important complementary role, as will a

combination of fly-by and rendezvous encounters with the main belt asteroids

by simple spacecraft. Because samples from both comets and asteroids eventually will be required for answering scientific questions about those kinds of

bodies, sample return missions also are an integral part of the exploration

strategy.

The outer planets differ significantly from the inner planets, and study

of them is fundamental to adequate understanding of the formation and

evolution of the solar system. The two Voyager spacecraft have completed

reconnaissance of the Jovian and Saturnian systems, and Voyager 2 is en route

to fly-bys of Uranus and Neptune. Those fly-bys will complete the initial

study of those systems. Jupiter and Saturn have highest priority for follow111-16
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III-17
on exploration. Galileo, which will consist of a probe and an orbiter, will

explore the Jovian system in the late 1980s. Further exploration of Saturn,

its satellites and rings, and the system's magnetosphere will require additional orbiters and probes. The remaining systems--those of Uranus, Neptune,

and Pluto--also are of interest but are difficult exploration targets because

of the long transit times to them.

Although the United States has dominated the field of solar system

exploration, the Soviet Union has begun to increase its studies of the inner

solar system and comets. In addition, Europe and Japan recently have joined

this endeavor with the Giotto and Planet-A missions, respectively; and foreign

scientists have been included on the science teams for U.S. missions such as

Pioneer Venus, Viking, and Voyager.

1. Strateg_

As planetary flight projects such as Viking and Voyager became more

capable and complex during the 1970s, their cost rose. The increase in cost,

combined with the fact that innumerable objectives remained to be addressed in

solar system exploration, serious concern developed among scientists and

program planners over the program's long-term feasibility. To help in

reconciling the many continuing challenges of the program with the limited

resources foreseeable for it, the NASA Advisory Council formed in 1980 the

Solar System Exploration Committee. With the cooperation of the scientific

community, that committee took a fresh look at the program, reviewing its

goals, identifying the essential attributes that would maintain its viability,

and defining new ways to reduce its costs. The Committee's report provided

the following guidance:

o The goals of the solar system exploration program are to:

- Determine the origin, evolution, and present state of the solar system

- Understand Earth through comparative planetary studies

- Understand the relationship between the chemical and physical evolution

of the solar system and the appearance of life

planets, small bodies, and outer planets.

- Survey potential resources in near-Earth space.

o Mission costs must be reduced without decrement in program performance.

o A core program of missions must be established to provide a long-term

stable base for the planetary sciences.

o Core program missions must have important scientific objectives, be low

in cost, be clearly defined, and employ new technologies only when the

technologies' potential for reducing costs can be demonstrated.

o The core program must be augmented with technologically challenging

missions as soon as national priorities permit.

+

The Committee recommended a core program containing missions to the inner

Based on current assessments of

III-18
technological readiness, launch opportunities, rapidity of data return,

balance of disciplines, and other programmatic factors, it identified the

sequence of initial core missions and the candidate subsequent missions shown

in Table 111-2. It concluded that core missions should be designed to use:

o Spacecraft inheritance--existing hardware spares and duplicates from

previous projects such as Viking, Voyager, and Galileo

o Planetary Observer Class spacecraft--spacecraft derived from

"production-line" Earth-orbital systems

o Mariner Mark II Class spacecraft--spacecraft embodying a new modular

design capable of simple reconfiguration.

Planetary Observer Class spacecraft are to be used for flights to the

inner planets and for rendezvous missions with Earth-approaching asteroids.

Their power and communications limitations will prevent their use beyond the

asteroid belt. Mariner Mark II Class spacecraft are to be used for flights to

the outer planets and for the remaining small body missions. The Mariner Mark

II is a new design using new technology to achieve increased performance

within size, mass, and power constraints. It will make possible the use of

available launch systems, such as the Shuttle-Centaur combination, for higher energy missions.

The Committee also concluded that at least one augmentation mission should

be recommended at this time for each of the three classes of solar system

bodies. For the inner planets, it recommended a combined mission, Mars

Surface Mobility and Sample Return, that ultimately might become more than one

mission. For the small bodies, it selected a Comet Nucleus Sample Return,

including the option of a nucleus surface station. It is expected that

priorities among the missions in the series will be established as the core program evolves.

2. Current Program

The solar system exploration program is managed in three parts: planetary

research and analysis, mission operations and data analysis, and flight

project development. The first and second of those parts ensure continuity in

the program's pursuit of its goals, while the third part provides the means

for making the discoveries and building the information base that permit

progress toward the program's goals. Research, analysis, operations, and data

analysis have lower visibility than that of flight project development; but

they are just as crucial to the continued progress of the program. Research

and analysis activities generate ideas for new missions (through advanced

planning studies), provide resources for analysis of collected data, and

support basic research in the planetary sciences. Mission operations and data

analysis activities provide for communications and control during flight, for

collection of raw data, and for the processing and distribution of data to

investigators for incorporation into their research.

Planetary missions currently in flight include the Voyager 2 extended

mission to Uranus and Neptune and the continuing operations of Pioneer Venus,

Pioneers 6 through II, Voyager i, and International Cometary Explorer en route

to a 1985 flyby of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. Approved flight projects in the

III-19
TABLE 111-2. INITIAL CORE MISSIONS AND CANDIDATE SUBSEQUENT MISSIONS

Initial Core Missions

Mission

Venus Radar Mapper

Mars Observer

Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby

Titan Probe and Radar Mapper

Launch Data Return

19_8 1988-1989

1990 1991-1993

1991 1994-1997

1994 1998

Candidate Subsequent Missions

(Order Arbitrary)

Inner Planets

Mars Aeronomy Observer

Venus Atmospheric

Probe Observer

Mars Surface

Network Observer

Lunar Geoscience

Observer

Small Bodies

Comet Atomized Sample

Return Observer

Multiple Mainbelt

Asteroid Orbiter-Flyby

Near-Earth-Approaching

Asteroid Rendezvous

Observer

Outer Planets

Saturn Orbiter

Saturn Flyby and Probe

Uranus Flyby and Probe

[TI-20
pre-launch development stage include the Astro-1Spacelab pallet (to provide

observations of Comet Halley from the Shuttle), Galileo, Ulysses (formerly

International Solar Polar Mission), and two missions from the core program

recommended by the Solar System Exploration Committee--the Venus Radar Mapper

and the Mars Observer.

a. Pioneers

Pioneer Venus Orbiter and Pioneers 10 and 11 are on extended missions.

Pioneer Venus Orbiter has completed a low-resolution (I00 kilometers

horizontally and i00 meters vertically) map of Venus' surface except for

the polar regions. It continues to measure Venus' ultraviolet cloud

patterns, from which climate changes can be inferred over a solar cycle,

and to acquire data on the interaction of Venus' ionosphere with the solar

wind and magnetic field. When the periapse of its orbit precesses farther

into Venus' southern hemisphere, it may be able to make altimetry measurements of that planet's south pole. Pioneers I0 and Ii are on escape

trajectories, probing the outer limits of the solar system. Pioneer I0,

having passed the orbits of Pluto and Neptune, now is seeking the

interstellar boundary. Its distance from the sun is greater than that of

any of the known planets. Proceeding in the opposite escape direction,

Pioneer II is beyond the orbit of Uranus and moving toward the expected

position of the solar wind's apex. Measurements of the trajectories of

Pioneers i0 and ii are being analyzed for perturbations to determine

whether the irregular motions of the outermost planets, Neptune and Pluto,

can be accounted for by the existence of another body at the boundary of

the solar system.

b. Voyagers 1 and 2

The encounters of Voyagers 1 and 2 with Jupiter and Saturn provided a

wealth of data about those planets, their satellites, and the heliospheric

environment in the regions they occupy. Since its encounter with Jupiter

in March 1979 and Saturn in November 1980, Voyager I has followed a

trajectory that eventually will allow it to escape from the sun's

influence. Voyager 2, after encountering Jupiter in July 1979 and Saturn

in August 1981, has been on a trajectory to encounter Uranus in January

1986. It then will continue on to an encounter with Neptune in 1989 and,

like Voyager I, escape the solar system.

c. International Cometary Explorer

In the early summer of 1982, the third International Sun-Earth

Explorer spacecraft was diverted from its "halo" orbit around the

sun-Earth co-linear libration point to begin a long journey to a September

1985 encounter with the short-period comet Giacobini-Zinner. En route, it

made the first ever measurements in Earth's deep geotail region and then

was maneuvered to a close swing-by of the moon, on December 22, 1983.

Following the lunar swingby, it departed from Earth orbit and was renamed

International Cometary Explorer. Its encounter with Giacobini-Zinner will

be the first ever of a spacecraft with a comet. Its aim point is behind

the comet's nucleus and within the comet's tail, which is expected to be

20 to 5U thousand kilometers wide. As the spacecraft passes through the

tail, instruments aboard it will return information on plasma densities,

111-21
flow speeds, and the temperatures and character of heavy ions in the

plasma. For several months following that encounter, the spacecraft will

provide important data on the solar wind for use in studies of Comet

Halley. It is expected to be between Halley and the sun, on the same

solar radius, on October 31, 1985, and March 28, 1986, and therefore to

provide a characterization of the solar wind before the the solar wind

reaches Halley's coma. This retargeting of a spacecraft is an example of

innovative, low-cost approaches to maintaining an active program of solar

system exploration.

d. Comet Halley Activities

After a 76-year absence, Comet Halley again will visit sun-Earth

space, during 1985 and 1986. The Soviet Union and Japan have launched

spacecraft and the European Space Agency is preparing a spacecraft for

post-perihelion intercepts with the comet in March 1986. The United

States will participate in the European Space Agency and Soviet Union

missions, and also in conducting the program of Earth-based observations,

the International Halley Watch. For the European Space Agency mission, 32

UoS. scientists have participated in the definition and implementation of

9 of the I0 experiments on the spacecraft and are serving as

co-investigators. In addition, a critical component for one of the

instruments, the lon Mass Spectrometer, has been designed and fabricated

in the United States. The Soviet Union's Vega missions are dependent on

the United States' tracking the comet and determining its orbit to provide

information for targeting the two spacecraft, and several U.S. scientists

are co-investigators on non-Soviet instruments on the mission.

The International Halley Watch was organized because of strong scientific interest in the comet worldwide. The International Astronomical

Union has endorsed the Watch as "the international coordinating agency for

Comet Halley observations." Worldwide networks of ground-based observers

in seven disciplines will provide daily coverage of the comet with wideangle imaging, spectroscopy, photometry, and other observations. Each of

the seven networks consists of 20 to 40 observatories and is managed by an

American specialist and a European counterpart. A steering group has been

established, with half its members from other countries, including the

Soviet Union and Japan.

To complement the encounters of spacecraft with Halley and the groundbased observations that are planned, Astro-l, an array of ultraviolet

telescopes and visible spectrum wide-angle cameras, will be flown on the

Shuttle in March 1986 to make post-perihelion observations of Halley near

the time the foreign spacecraft encounter the comet.

e. Galileo

The objectives of the Galileo mission are to investigate the chemical

composition and structure of Jupiter's atmosphere; the physical state and

surface composition of the Galilean satellites; and the structure, composition, and dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere. Those investigations

will fulfill some of the highest priority objectives the Space Science

Board established for the 1980s.

111-22
Galileo will investigate questions and theories raised by the

Voyagers' observations at Jupiter. Features triggering those questions

and theories are as follows: the complex Jovian atmosphere, which

consists of eastward- and westward-moving belts and zones speeding along

at varying rates, somecontaining convective disturbances such as white

ovals and the Great RedSpot; a system of satellites with morphologies

determined by volcanism, ice flows, and meteoroid bombardment; an

unexpected thin ring, still mostly unexplored; and a magnetosphere that

changed greatly in size and pressure betweenthe encounters by Voyagers i

and 2.

lhe Galileo spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter and an atmospheric

probe, is scheduled for launch in 1986 by the Space Shuttle and a Centaur

upper stage on a direct trajectory to Jupiter. It will arrive at Jupiter

in the fall of 1988. About 150 days before that arrival, the probe will

separate from the orbiter, subsequently entering Jupiter's atmosphere near

the equatorial zone to measure the chemical and physical properties of the

atmosphere down to a pressure level of at least I0 bars. The orbiter will

fly looping orbits around Jupiter and will make multiple encounters with

the Galilean satellites during its l]-orbit, 20-month tour. During at

least one orbit, Galileo will fly through and map Jupiter's magnetic

tail--that portion of Jupiter's magnetic region directly opposite the sun,

a region the Pioneers and Voyagers did not visit.

A mission option currently under consideration would add a fly-by, in

December 1986, of the asteroid 29 Amphitrite. Inclusion of the option

would delay the orbiter's arrival at Jupiter four months. The decision to

add the fly-by will be based on an assessment of the health of the orbiter

and, therefore, can be made only after launch. However, because of

trajectory considerations, the delay in arrival at Jupiter would occur

with or without the fly-by.

f. Ulysses (International Solar Polar Mission)

Ulysses, formerly International Solar Polar Mission, is a cooperative

undertaking by the European Space Agency and NASA to reconnoiter the solar

wind and other interplanetary phenomena perpendicular to the sun's

equatorial plane. It will consist of a single spacecraft provided by the

European Space Agency and instruments supplied by both participants. U.S.

scientists are principal investigators for five of the nine experiments to

be conducted and are serving as co-investigators for some of the European

Space Agency experiments. The United States will provide the radioisotope

thermoelectric generator, launch services, and tracking and data acquisition services. Launch will be in 1986 by the Shuttle and a Centaur upper

stage on a trajectory that will use Jupiter's gravity to swing the

spacecraft over the sun's polar regions. The spacecraft will be operating

through 1989 and 1990.

g. Venus Radar Mapper

Venus Radar Mapper, the first mission in the Solar System Exploration

Committee's core program, became an approved flight project in FY 1984.

Its only science instrument will be a synthetic aperture radar capable of

performing both surface imaging and altitude measurement, lhe radar will

111-23
be able to resolve surface features measuring less than one kilometer in

size through the thick cloud layer that always covers Venus. Its altitude

measurementswill have errors of less than 50 meters. During the mission,

Venus' gravity field also will be measured, by tracking the spacecraft's

orbit, to provide information about the planet's interior structure.

Launchby the Shuttle and a Centaur-G upper stage is scheduled for April

1988, with insertion into orbit around Venusto occur in July 1988. The

primary mission of mapping the entire planet will be completed in April

1989.

To help in meeting the mission's low-cost goals, the spacecraft will

be based on existing hardware designs and incorporate a considerable

amount of spare hardware from earlier projects. Its elliptical orbit

around Venus will allow use of a spare 3.7-meter Voyager antenna for both

radar mapping and data communications. The primary structure and the

small thrusters also will be Voyager spares. Its command data system,

attitude control computer, and power-generating units will be spare

Galileo components. Its medium-gain antenna will be a Mariner-9 spare,

and it will use X-band travelling wave tube assemblies available from the

cancelled U.S. International Solar Polar Mission spacecraft. Finally, it

will take advantage of existing data systems for processing radar images.

Information that Mariner 9 provided about Mars completely altered

understanding of that planet's evolution. Venus Radar Mapper is expected

to make an equivalent contribution to an understanding of Venus with

regard to the age, history, and characteristics of its surface; the

geological processes operating to form and modify the surface; the age of

its atmosphere and whether water and oceans were ever present; the

presence or absence of plate tectonics; the origin of its highlands; the

reasons for the positive correlation between its topography and its

gravitational fields; how it dissipates its internally generated heat; and

how its evolution relates to Earth's history.

Preliminary review of the radar data acquired by the Soviet Venera 15

and 16 missions has shown the value of radar imaging. It also has shown

that the higher resolution imaging Venus Radar Mapper will provide will be

very important. Hence, the scientific objectives of the Mapper's mission

are, perhaps, even more relevant today than they were when the Mapper

first was proposed.

h. Mars Observer

Mars Observer, approved in FY 1985, will seek answers to questions

regarding the atmosphere, surface geochemistry, interior, and climate of

Mars on a global scale. Geological matters to be investigated include the

elemental and mineralogical composition of the surface; the global distribution of different elements and minerals; major minerals present and what

they tell about surface processes; nature of major gravity anomalies and

how they relate to variations in near-surface composition, topography,

internal structure, and magnetic field characteristics; distribution of

condensed volatiles (H_O and COp) and their diurnal and seasonal variation; figure of the pl_net and Tts internal density distribution; tectonic

stresses in the crust, particularly in the lharsis region; and composition

of the volcanoes and the nature of their evolution. Climatology studies

111-24
to be performed will lead to an understanding of the global nature of the

Martian atmosphere and its seasonal variation; distribution of H_O, CO2,

and dust in the atmosphere and their seasonal variation; composition of

Martian clouds and hazes; history of the Martian atmosphere; nature of the

water cycle and the interaction between atmospheric water and the surface

regolith; and nature of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere and how they

interact with solar radiation and the solar wind. Science instruments

needed include a gamma ray spectrometer, a multispectral radiometer,

ultraviolet spectrometer-photometer, and spacecraft tracking.

Mars Observer is the first Planetary Observer Class spacecraft. A

modified "production-line" Earth-orbital spacecraft will serve as the

basic vehicle, and an upper stage will boost the spacecraft from the

Shuttle onto its planetary trajectory. Six months after launch in 1990,

the spacecraft will be inserted into a non-sun-synchronous polar orbit

around Mars. That orbit will be permitted to drift to the desired sun

angle and then, to attain solar synchronization, will be lowered to a

circular orbit with an altitude of 360 kilometers. The duration planned

for the mission is more than two years, with the spacecraft in the sunsynchronous orbit at least one Martian year.

3. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-1990

The four new initiatives described below are planned for the next five

years in support of the recommended core program.

a. Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby

The Space Science Board has designated comet rendezvous as one of the

highest priority initiatives for exploration of the small bodies. A

rendezvous with Comet Wild 2 in 1994 will serve the purpose of investigating the physical and chemical state of comets. It will determine whether

a nucleus exists and, if it does, investigate its physical state; analyze

in situ the solid grains released from the nucleus during perihelion

passage; determine plasma interactions with the solar wind; and make

extended observations for more than two and a half years of all the

dynamic processes of the comet as it moves from the point of rendezvous

approximately 850 days before perihelion (at about four astronomical

units) through its closest approach to the sun (about one and a half

astronomical units). Typical science activities will include extensive

imaging, gamma ray spectroscopy, infrared reflectance spectral mapping,

neutral and ion mass spectroscopy, and dust detection, collection, and

compositional analysis.

The spacecraft for the Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby mission

will be a Mariner Mark II, which will be launched in 1991 by the ShuttleCentaur combination. It will use a hybrid Earth-storable propulsion

system to provide a direct multi-impulse transfer to the comet and

post-rendezvous station keeping with it. Figure 111-2 illustrates the

first version of the Mariner Mark II core program spacecraft. Since the

Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby spacecraft will traverse the asteroid

belt during the cruise phase of its flight, it will be programmed for a

flyby encounter with an asteroid. It will rendezvous with the comet

before the onset of the well developed coma and ion tail that the comet

111-25
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characteristically has exhibited near its perihelion. The viewing geometry from Earth also will be favorable through much of the encounter.

After rendezvous, the spacecraft will orbit the comet's nucleus at a

distance of 30 kilometers to conduct detailed studies of its surface and

will deploy a penetrator that will make physical measurements and conduct

gamma ray spectroscopy on the nucleus. About 100 days before perihelion,

when the comet becomes increasingly active, the spacecraft will retreat to

a safe distance (about 5,000 kilometers). Then, after the dust hazard has

subsided, the spacecraft will explore the comet's atmosphere and make

passes on the nucleus, progressively closing to a distance of 10 kilometers. Discussions are under way with the Federal Republic of Germany

concerning a joint project to meet those objectives.

b. Lunar Geoscience Observer

Like Mars Observer, Lunar Geoscience Observer will use a Planetary

Observer Class spacecraft. Its instrument complement also will be

similar. Its objectives will involve lunar resources as well as extension

to a global scale of the Apollo program's science investigations. The

objectives will include global mapping of the elemental and mineralogical

composition, surveying for volatile resources in the polar regions, global

determination of figure and topography, and refinement of data on the

lunar gravity field. Also under investigation will be the compositional

heterogeneity of the moon and the time sequence of the differentiation

that produced the heterogeneity; relationships between gravity variations,

surface composition, and magnetic variations; origin and history of

localized magnetization in the surface; nature of the processes that have

shaped the surface; nature of volatile materials trapped in the polar

regions; and internal density distribution.

Instruments needed for those investigations include a multispectral

mapper, a gamma ray and x-ray fluorescence spectrometer, and a radar

altimeter. Data also will be derived from tracking the spacecraft's

orbit. Other instruments that might be added include a magnetometer, an

electron reflectometer, gravity gradiometers, and a charge coupled device

camera.

Launch could occur as early as 1992. The orbital portion of the

mission will begin in an elliptical orbit, where instrument calibration

and orbital tracking will take place. So that the geochemical mapping

measurements can be made, the spacecraft then will establish and maintain

for at least one year a circular polar orbit with an altitude of 50 to 100

kilometers.

c. Cassini (Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe)

The Solar System Exploration Committee gave highest priority among new

outer planet initiatives to a mission that would provide a preliminary map

of Titan's surface and send a probe into its atmosphere. Second priority

went to a Saturn orbiter, as a separate mission. However, with the

expression of interest by a group of European scientists in a possible

joint U.S.-European mission to the Saturn system, the two missions have

been combined, with costs to be shared by NASA and the European Space

Agency. The joint mission has been named Cassini in commemoration of

111-27
Titan's 17th century discoverer. It is being studied by a group of U.S.

and European scientists and engineers for possible initiation in FY 1990.

The planned 1994 launch and 7.2-year transit time would lead to arrival at

Saturn in the year 2002.

Titan, the largest satellite in the Saturnian system, is unique in the

solar system in that it has a dense atmosphere. Its atmosphereis

predominantly nitrogen, but it contains a few percent of methane and

possibly some primordial argon. Of particular interest is the current

chemistry. What is the composition of Titan's atmospheric aerosol? Are

important biological precursor molecules abundant? Are there hydrocarbon

oceans, lakes, or clouds? Do islands or continents exist and, if they do,

are they water ice or something else? What is the source of the

atmospheric nitrogen? Did meteoroids produce the trace gaseous carbon

monoxide or is it primordial?

The other components of the Saturn system are equally interesting.

The planet itself has a meteorology, internal structure, and composition

that resemble but are distinctly different from those of Jupiter. The

system contains more that 17 other known satellites, including lapetus,

which has an inky-black leading hemisphere that presumably is covered with

a mixture of organic compounds, and Enceladus, which is the most reflective object in the solar system, has a surface that contains large areas

that appear recently melted, and seems to be the source of the particles

in the E ring. The magnificent system of rings contains many puzzles

still to be sorted out. And all of those components are immersed in a

giant magnetosphere that also is similar to, yet different from, that of

Jupiter.

Consequently, there is no shortage of tasks for a properly equipped

spacecraft. The program's principal objectives include determination of

the structure and chemical composition of Titan's atmosphere,

investigation of energy exchange and deposition within the atmosphere, and

at least local characterization of Titan's surface morphology. Examples

of other objectives are to analyze the dark material on lapetus, search

for manifestations on Enceladus of contemporary internal activity, record

the F ring with moving pictures for use in watching the configurations of

its various strands evolve with time, search for embedded satellites

elsewhere in the rings, define the source of the system's kilometer-wave

radio emission, and further map Saturn's unusual magnetic field,

particularly at high latitudes.

The Cassini mission will fulfill many of those objectives. Its

orbiter will be a Mariner Mark II with a scan platform and a spin table.

The orbiter will have short- and long-focus cameras with charge coupled

device detectors having much greater sensitivity and wavelength range than

Voyagers' cameras possessed. It will have a near-infrared spectrometer to

measure surface composition, a far-infrared instrument to study the

composition and structure of the atmospheres of both Saturn and Titan, a

synthetic-aperture radar to pierce Titan's haze layer and map Titan's

surface, and a full complement of fields and particles instruments to map

the properties of the magnetosphere in space and time.

111-28
The EuropeanSpaceAgency will build the probe, following a newdesign

adapted to the characteristics of Titan's atmosphere and gravity field.

The probe will be released after orbit insertion at Saturn so that the

probe's entry into Titan's atmospherewill be at low velocity, yielding a

descent time to Titan's surface of about four hours and providing repeated

measurementsof atmospheric composition and structure. An instrument to

image Titan's surface and a near-infrared spectrometer are possible

additions to provide measurementscomplementing the radar determination of

surface characteristics.

d. Coma Atmospheric & Elemental Sampling and Return

The Coma Atmospheric & Elemental Sampling and Return mission will be a

Planetary Observer mission to acquire and return to Earth a sample of a

comet's coma. Its principal objective is to return to Earth samples both

of intact coma material and of coma material in plasma form collected

during its fast fly-by. The concept currently under review for the

mission adheres closely to the Solar System Exploration Committee's

guidance for core missions, namely that spacecraft inheritance should be

relied on heavily for controlling costs. The mission currently is being

studied as a potential joint undertaking by NASA and the European Space

Agency. The European Space Agency would provide a second Giotto spacecraft and fly-by instruments, while NASA would develop sample-collection

devices and provide a reentry vehicle for return of the samples to Earth.

With sufficient time for development of devices for collecting and stowing

samples, launch could be as early as 1990. A comprehensive analysis of

possible trajectories for launches during the period 1988 through 1995 has

identified five comets whose comas could be sampled. An encounter with

the first, Schwassman-Wachman, could occur in December 1989, with return

of samples to Earth one year later, in December 1990. The mission is

expected to be the least expensive Planetary Observer mission because of

extensive use of existing hardware, minimal requirement for launch energy,

short mission time, and joint participation. In contrast, the potential

value of returning primordial cometary material to Earth laboratories in

the early 1990s is high, making the mission a compelling addition to the

Committee's core program.

4. Program Status, FY 1990

The four new initiatives just described will advance solar system exploration as depicted on Figure III-3, which shows how the core program initiatives

will reinvigorate the program through exploration missions to all regions of

the solar system. Activities related to the inner planets are at the exploration level for both Mars and the moon and are directed at global mapping of

both of those bodies. For the outer planets, there is an approved initiative

to explore the Saturn system, including to probe Titan's atmosphere. Also,

successful continuation of the Voyager 2 mission will provide a fly-by

reconnaissance of Neptune. The high-priority comet rendezvous mission will

initiate exploration of the small bodies. The coma sample return mission will

supplement that mission by providing an opportunity to analyze cometary material in Earth laboratories. Asteroid fly-by reconnaissance also is included

as a benefit of the comet rendezvous mission's traversal of the asteroid belt.

111-29
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III-30
5. Possible Initiatives After 1990

The Solar System Exploration Committee recommended initiation of its core

program missions by the end of this century. That would require initiation of

seven missions in the 1991 to 2000 period. One of those projects, Mars

Aeronomy Observer, is similar to the European Space Agency's Kepler mission.

The feasibility of its being undertaken as an international contribution to

solar system exploration is being discussed with the European Space Agency and

its member countries. The remaining six missions and how they might be

incorporated into the recommended core program are described below under the

three classes of solar system bodies. Also described are augmentations to the

core program recommended by the Solar System Exploration Committee. The

Committee also recommends that, if resources can be made available, one or

more intensive study missions be added to the core program during the decade

of the 1990s.

a. Inner Planets

Two additional inner planet missions in the recommended core program

are to be undertaken as future initiatives, Venus Atmospheric Probe

Observer and Mars Surface Network Observer. The Venus Atmospheric Probe

Observer will address questions about the planet's atmosphere raised by

previous Pioneer Venus and Venera probe missions. Verification is needed

of Pioneer Venus findings of abundant neon and argon and large ratios of

argon to krypton, argon to xenon, and deuterium to hydrogen. Also,

precise values for the ratios of noble gas isotopes are required so that

constraints can be placed on theories of the origin of planetary

atmospheres. The oxidation state of Venus' lower atmosphere, hydrogen and

water abundances, and density profiles for several sulfur compounds also

have been identified as major questions for resolution as a result of

Pioneer Venus and Venera measurements. A probe based on the Pioneer Venus

design carrying a limited set of instruments and transported to Venus by a

modified Earth orbiter could satisfy the mission's objectives at a modest

cost. Launch requirements will be comparable to those for inserting

communications satellites into geosynchronous orbit.

Mars Surface Network Observer will have two objectives: to measure

the bulk chemical composition of the planet's surface material, including

key trace elements, and to establish a network of seismic-meteorological

stations around the planet. Both objectives can be met by emplacing four

to eight penetrators (missile-like projectiles that strike the surface at

high velocity and become buried, leaving a small afterbody at the surface

to transmit data to Earth). Data transmission will be via the spacecraft,

which will be in an elliptical orbit. The geochemical measurements will

be made in the first few weeks after probe delivery, while the seismic and

meteorological observations will continue for a Mars year. This mission

could be a precursor to a global network of perhaps 50 stations if

measured seismic and meteorological activity appear to warrant detailed

study. Each penetrator will have to be equipped with a small radioisotope

thermoelectric generator.

Several Viking-class missions could augment the proposed core program

missions to move the strategy for inner planet exploration into the

intensive-study phase. Additional Mars exploration is a particularly good

111-31
candidate for initiation in the 1990s. Indeed, the Solar System

Exploration Committee recently proposed that the primary augmentation

candidate be the high-priority Mars SampleReturn mission combinedwith an

extensive capability for surface mobility. A rover with a range of about

1,000 kilometers would collect samples and, at the sametime, study Mars'

surface. After dispatching its load of samples to Earth, it would

continue exploring and collecting samples while a second rover and sample

return mission was being launched from Earth at the next opportunity. The

second rover would embark on a different surface traverse, while the

sample return vehicle could take from the first rover the additional

samples it had collected and return them to Earth. To keep payload

requirements within the capability of a Shuttle-Centaur, each mission

would use aerocapture and orbit rendezvous at Mars. If Shuttle payload

limitations are reached, the Centaur could be fueled fully in orbit for

additional performance. The SpaceStation, serving as a transportation

node, could provide that service. The Space Station also would be a

useful first point of delivery for the returning samples. This and other

concepts for Mars sample return missions will continue to be assessed in

the coming year for feasibility, exploration value, and technology

requirements in preparation for possible augmentation to the core program.

b. Small Bodies

Two additional missions, Near-Earth-Approaching Asteroid Rendezvous

Observer and Multiple Mainbelt Asteroid Orbiter-Flyby, are to be undertaken as future initiatives to complete the core program for small bodies.

The Near-Earth-Approaching Asteroid Rendezvous Observer mission will

share many measurement techniques with the Multiple Mainbelt Asteroid

Orbiter-Flyby and the Lunar Geoscience Observer missions. However, the

motivation for undertaking this mission is as much an interest in

accessible near-Earth resources as in asteroid exploration. There are

believed to be approximately 1,000 near-Earth asteroids greater than a

kilometer in size, of which fewer than I0 percent have been discovered.

The spacecraft for this mission will be a modified Earth-orbiter of the

Planetary Observer Class--perhaps a follow-on to the Lunar Geoscience

Observer spacecraft. The propulsion energy required to launch such a

spacecraft on rendezvous missions to some near-Earth asteroids will be

extremely low, indeed lower than that for a lunar orbiter mission. Thus,

the Shuttle and a Transfer Orbit Stage class of upper stage will be able

to satisfy launch requirements.

The Multiple Mainbelt Asteroid Orbiter-Flyby mission is a key element

of the small body science strategy developed by the Space Science Board's

Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration. Its objectives are

characterization (determining asteroid size, shape, rotation, albedo,

mass, and density) and detailed study of asteroid properties, including

surface morphology, surface composition, elemental and mineralogical

abundances, mass distribution, magnetic field, and solar wind interaction.

A Mariner Mark II will be able to satisfy those objectives, but the

objectives will press the capabilities of the Shuttle-Centaur combination.

Performance in terms of number of accessible asteroids per mission could

be improved by using Mars to provide gravity-assisted trajectories, but

that improvement would be at the expense of launch opportunity

111-32
flexibility. Solar-electric propulsion is needed for the mission to

realize its potential of four to six rendezvous targets with four to six

additional asteroid fly-bys. NASA is considering international participation for this mission as a means of obtaining the beneficial solarelectric propulsion module.

For augmentation of its small bodies core program, the Solar System

Exploration Committee proposed the high-priority Comet Nucleus Sample

Return. Because comets are believed to be remnants of the solar system

formation process, great importance is assigned to the return of unaltered

samples of their nuclei for laboratory analysis of their physical

structure, composition, and chemistry. Mission requirements will be

comparable to those for the Mars Viking mission. The spacecraft could

include an interplanetary, remote-sensing spacecraft bus; one or two

lander-samplers, with an option for continued post-sampling surface

measurements; and a sample return capsule. Solar-electric propulsion

would be an enabling capability to overcome the constraints imposed by a

single Shuttle-Centaur launch. Aerocapture at Earth return would increase

the mission's attractiveness by reducing the amount of power the solarelectric propulsion system would have to provide.

c. Outer Planets

Two core program missions to the outer planets are to be initiated in

the 1991 to 2000 period: the Saturn Flyby and Probe mission and the

Uranus Flyby and Probe mission. The probes on those missions will have

objectives very similar to those for the Galileo mission's probe; and

their design could be the same except for reduction in aeroshell mass,

leading to decreased flight time. In addition, those missions would use

instruments similar to those used on the Galileo mission. Comparison of

the findings of the three missions is one of the important science goals

for outer planet exploration. The spacecraft for both missions will be

the Mariner Mark II if the total launch mass can be kept within the launch

capabilities of the Shuttle-Centaur-Payload Assist Module launching

system. Annual launch opportunities exist, with expected trip times of

3.5 and 5.5 years to Saturn and Uranus, respectively.

The Solar System Exploration Committee did not include Neptune and

Pluto missions in its core program because it assumed that funding would

not be available for them before the year 2000. However, those missions

are important to outer planet exploration, and it is expected that they

will be started in time for the next series of Jupiter gravity-assisted

opportunities around 2005.

6. New Technologies and Space Station Capabilities

The proposed core program for solar system exploration was formulated

under the constraint that no new enabling technologies be required. The

program does require extensive use of the Shuttle-compatible Centaur upper

stage, but development of technology for that stage already is under way. New

enhancing technology for spacecraft systems--particularly for telecommunication, data, and power systems--will be incorporated into Mariner Mark II and

Planetary Observer spacecraft as they become available and cost effective.

Since solar-electric propulsion would provide a significant performance

III-33
advantage to the multiple encounter mission to main-belt asteroids, its

development will be encouraged, preferably with foreign participation in the

development. It also would be an enabling capability for small body and outer

planet augmentation initiatives.

In contrast, requirements for new technology for the proposed augmentation

initiatives are significant. Every mission will need new enabling or enhancing technologies for delivery and recovery operations, encounter operations,

or in situ exploration. Need for new delivery technology arises from a

requirement for greater performance. Three enabling capabilities under consideration are electric propulsion, in-orbit fueling of the Shuttle-compatible

Centaur, and in-orbit assembly of two or more Centaur-class upper stages.

Each offers advantages to different augmentation missions. For example,

nuclear electric propulsion would be particular beneficial to advanced outer

planet missions such as a Neptune orbiter or a Saturn ring probe. Since the

augmentation initiatives focus on sample return missions, new recovery

technologies also would be needed and consideration would have to be given to

particular areas such as quarantine and thermal and physical protection of

samples during entry or Earth orbit in the recovery process.

Establishment of the permanently manned Space Station will be beneficial

to both the launch and recovery phases of the augmentation missions. Modular

launch systems could be assembled easily at the station to obtain escape

performance substantially greater than that of the Shuttle-Centaur. Space

Station recovery of returned samples would provide a means for zero-gravity

laboratory studies and would contribute importantly to issues relating to

sample quarantine.

Technology needs for encounter operations relate to performance and

control. To increase performance and payload, lifting-body aerocapture techniques constitute an attractive alternative to the advances in capabilities of

Shuttle upper stages mentioned in the preceding paragraph. In addition to

providing performance benefits, aerocapture techniques can compensate for

navigation and atmospheric uncertainties that otherwise would prevent landing

the heavier payloads in the augmentation missions.

An enhancing technology, especially for the Mars Sample Return mission,

would be in situ propellant production. At Mars, for example, it would

involve extraction of oxygen from the carbon monoxide atmosphere to produce

oxidizer. Other needed technologies for encounter operations include automated rendezvous, docking, and terminal navigation and guidance. Automated

rendezvous and docking are under consideration for the Mars Sample Return

mission and could become a base-line requirement for the Comet Nucleus Sample

Return mission. Automated terminal navigation and guidance would be particularly beneficial to the Mars Sample Return mission because a precise landing

ability would directly affect the designs of the lander and the rover.

Technology needs for in situ exploration center on automation and sample

control. Expected robotic activities and mobility require advances in

automation and artificial intelligence, as do site characterization for, and

acquisition of, samples. Control of samples requires technology to allay

concerns regarding a priori sterilization, site contamination, and sample

protection, lherefore, technology assessment is needed in biology, chemistry,

and physics, especially structural and thermal physics. Sampling techniques

III-34
also need to be improved because they now lag capabilities for other phases of

sample return missions.

D. Earth and Its Environment

Earth's physical characteristics are the result of interactions among many

processes. The absorption of solar radiation and subsequent transfer of

energy and momentum between Earth's land surface, atmosphere, and oceans

produce the terrestrial climate. Convective flow in its interior, manifested

by slow but unrelenting motions of large blocks of its surface, reshape it

continually. The same fluid motions produce a magnetic field in its metallic

core that shields its surface from the solar wind. A delicate balance between

the physical and chemical processes on its surface and in the near-space

environment provides the conditions on which living organisms on land and in

the oceans and the air depend for their continued survival.

The study of Earth sciences began when humans first recorded phenomena

they observed around them. Scientific interest in those phenomena arose both

from intellectual curiosity and from the effects on daily life of many of the

processes studied. Division of Earth sciences into disciplinary areas such as

meteorology, atmospheric physics, oceanography, geology, and biology came

about because of the necessity to delineate problems that are tractable.

However, as the boundaries of each discipline have grown, so has the overlap

between disciplines. In recent years, the view of Earth from space has

engendered a growing realization that a full understanding of Earth requires

global, interdisciplinary research. Study of the processes governing the

so|id Earth and its oceans, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and life forms requires

coordinated global observations and theories to integrate the observations.

NASA's program already has accomplished much, both in basic understanding

and in developing techniques that have practical application. Space-acquired

data are in regular use and have demonstrated their utility for research in

agriculture, land use, hydrology, and geology. Observations from space are

used in inventorying land cover; locating, classifying, and measuring major

types of forests; identifying shoreline changes, salinity zones, and flood

plain boundaries; and identifying water impoundments larger than two acres in

area. Knowledge gained has been used in forecasting wheat production and in

identifying areas in which crops are under stress. It also can assist in

determining global changes in biomass and, in conjunction with a global

biology program, can begin to determine the processes involved in those

changes.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of the use of space-acquired data has

been in the atmospheric sciences. Research instruments and techniques

developed by NASA have made global measurements of tropospheric parameters

such as temperature, humidity, and winds and therefore have improved knowledge

of the troposphere substantially. The National Weather Service has incorporated those techniques into its models to improve the quality of all its

forecasts. Also, data from recent NASA satellites are being used to update

forecasting techniques so that the goal of a reliable 7-day forecast can be

approached. Earth's wobble about its polar axis and its change in rotational

rate have been discovered to be caused by the interaction of its atmosphere

with the solid Earth. By measuring the distribution of ozone and other

important species in the stratosphere, NASA satellites have improved under

111-35
standing of the stratosphere and the role that human-madepollutants might

have on its ozone content. An experiment carried on the second Shuttle

flight, Measurement of Air Pollution from Shuttle, demonstrated a capability

for measuring a tropospheric trace species, carbon monoxide, from space.

Equally dramatic prospects are in sight for studying the oceans from

space. Seasat measuredwinds over the oceans and sea-surface height changes,

demonstrating that circulation patterns in the oceans can be determined using

instrumented satellites. Measurements of the chlorophyll content of the

oceans can be maderoutinely and have been used to determine the probability

of fish harvests off the west coast of the United States. lechniques derived

from space technology have been used to acquire initial data on the largescale motion of Earth's crust. Those data eventually will contribute to

alleviation of the adverse economic and social effects of crustal hazards and

to better understanding of the processes that led to the deposit of mineral

and energy resources.

Understanding also has been significantly increased regarding the

processes by which energy in diverse forms is generated by the sun, is

transported to Earth, and ultimately influences the terrestrial environment.

Discovery of Earth's radiation belts in 1958 and of the solar wind in 1960was

but the beginning. Investigation of near-Earth space by several satellites

has provided data on Earth's magnetosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere,

leading to better understanding of radio communication, the spacecraft

environment, and the possible influence of the sun on Earth's weather.

Observations of the output from the sun have shown changes in the solar

constant measuredin only days. The existence of such rapid change was a major

surprise.

i. Strategy

NASA's program to study Earth is global, integrated, and interdisciplinary, with emphasis on understanding processes that affect Earth's habitability,

particularly its biological productivity and biogeochemical and hydrologic

cycles. The program involves coordinated observational, theoretical, experimental, and modeling investigations, and development of future observing

technologies. Those activities are complementary and together form a balanced

program of system and process studies. The program emphasizes the physical

processes that produce observed phenomena and seeks to determine the underlying cause and effect relationships, thereby making it possible to develop

realistic predictive models. The observational investigations usually require

use of a variety of instruments making both remote and in situ measurements

simultaneously from several locations in the solar-terrestrial system. Some

investigations make controlled perturbations of the magnetosphere and the

atmosphere, thereby using space as a laboratory. The program uses a broad

spectrum of computational resources for modeling and analyses, for archiving

data, and for access to multidisciplinary data sets.

2. Current Program

a. Landsat

Landsat-4, launched in July 1982, carried the Thematic Mapper sensor

into space for the first time. That sensor's measurement capabilities are

111-36
vastly superior to those of the Multispectral Scanner carried by earlier

Landsat spacecraft. The Thematic Mapperpossesses approximately twice the

spectral resolution, three times the spatial resolution, and four times

the sensitivity that the Multispectral Scanner possesses. Landsat-4

collected more than 6,000 images before developing technical problems

during the spring and summerof 1983 that have seriously curtailed its

ability to collect data. Consequently, research now is focused on analysis and interpretation of those images, evaluation of the quality of the

imagery, and determination of the types of Earth information that can be

extracted from the images. Another spacecraft, Landsat-D', was launched

in March 1984. Routine collection of Earth imagery with its Thematic

Mapperstarted in 1984.

b. Shuttle Ima_in_ Radar

A series of radar imaging experiments called Shuttle Imaging Radar A

and 8 (SIR-A and SIR-B) that have been flown on the Space Shuttle will add

another major dimension to NASA's program in Earth observations. SIR-A,

conducted in November 1981, collected data that provided the first

demonstration that radar sensors can penetrate deep into windblown sand

deposits in hyper-arid environments. SIR-A imagery of portions of the

eastern Sahara Desert revealed the presence of buried drainage channels

that provide important clues to the archaeological and geological history

of southern Egypt. SIR-A data collected over other areas are still being

analyzed using advanced computational facilities developed for radar data.

In December 1982, NASA issued an Announcement of Opportunity soliciting proposals for scientific investigations that SIR-B potentially could

conduct. From the more than 180 proposals submitted, 47 investigations

tentatively were selected. They will seek to extend the radar penetration

studies SIR-A initiated and to conduct studies in geology, oceanography,

botany, hydrology, and cartography. Specific investigations are planned

of tropical deforestation, ocean waves and currents, forest biomass, crop

yields, sea ice, earthquake hazards, and coastal geomorphology. SIR-B,

launched in October 1984, is the first spaceborne radar able to image

Earth's surface at multiple angles of incidence measured from the local

vertical.

Plans are in process for a third experiment, SIR-C, which would be

able to obtain radar imagery of Earth's surface at multiple frequencies

and polarizations. SIR-C tentatively is scheduled to enter development in

1987.

c. Multispectral Linear Array Sensor

The objective of the Multispectral Linear Array program is to develop

an advanced, high-performance, solid-state sensor. Near-term emphasis is

on development of a sensor incorporating a new generation of detector

materials; a capability for making both visible and shortwave-infrared

measurements; use of linear, focal-plane arrays; onboard signal processing; and advanced concepts for data processing on the ground.

111-37
d. The Oceans

The analysis of data and the publication of results from Seasat and

Nimbus-7 have demonstrated the scientific potential offered by observation

of the oceans from space. Joint Oceanographic Institutions Incorporated,

representing the greater ocean research community, has published

"Oceanography from Space Research Strategy for the Decade: 1985-1995"

based on those projects and the scientific requirements for the World

Climate Research Program discussed below. That strategy outlines the

prospects that satellite techniques complemented by in situ observations

provide for determining for the first time the following: wind forcing--

via scatterometers; ocean current response--via altimeters; oceanic heat

transport--via various radiometric techniques; the associated dependence

of biological productivity--via color scanners; and the growth, movement,

and decay of sea ice--via passive and active microwave techniques. There

is an opportunity not only to understand how the oceans function as a

system, but also to assess their influence on the atmosphere, biosphere,

and cryosphere.

Under the auspices of the International Council of Scientific Unions,

the World Meteorological Organization, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, plans are being formulated to conduct a World Climate

Research Program in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The role of the

oceans has been recognized to be part of the program, and two oceanographic component programs are being defined: the World Ocean Circulation

Experiment and the Tropical Oceans/Global Atmosphere Experiment. Satellite altimetry and scatterometry activities, such as those proposed for

the Topography Experiment for Ocean Circulation and the NASA Scatterometer

described later, will be key components of the two experiments.

e. The Atmosphere

NASA's research program, Global Scale Atmospheric Processes, has

developed experience and facilities to deal with the special problems

associated with understanding the large-scale motions of Earth's atmosphere. Those problems relate to development of techniques both to observe

the atmosphere better and to process and manage the large volumes of data

needed in atmospheric studies. Numerical models have been developed to

simulate the physical processes that take place in the atmosphere. The

models were designed to make the most effective use possible of data from

both existing and planned satellite instruments. Such models pave the way

for development of satellite instruments by simulating their impact on the

accuracy and extent of meteorological predictions. They also guide the

development of operational forecasting models. Using the results of its

simulation studies, NASA is developing a Doppler Lidar for sensing the

wind globally.

Investigation and assessment of data from the Global Weather Experiment are reaching a mature phase. A number of publications that already

have appeared show the effectiveness of that data set. The data set

contains meteorological parameters not currently available to forecasters,

the most notable of which is depiction of global vertical wind profiles.

III-38
f. Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes

The Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Research program is the basic

research program at NASA dealing with atmospheric behavior that leads to

severe weather. High-altitude and space derived data are analyzed in

conjunction with conventional weather observations to obtain new

perspectives on and interpretations of atmospheric behavior. In 1984,

several studies were conducted of small, high-velocity downdrafts called

microbursts, to develop pilots' understanding of them and thereby increase

airline safety. Also, a new instrument, the airborne Doppler Lidar, was

used to map wind fields in clear air over the Pacific marine boundary

layer, air circulation in the California Central Valley, and the flow of

air entering storms. The resulting observations were compared with

observations made with the new ground-based VHF wind profilers at

Pennsylvania State University. Another activity during 1984 was flight

over storms by high-altitude aircraft equipped with remote sensors to

collect data on temperature, moisture, electric field variations,

lightning spectral emissions, and precipitation, for use in numerical

studies of the internal processes in storms.

Several additional activities currently in process are seeking to

improve mesoscale numerical models to make them able to take into consideration varying input data, land surface effects, improved handling of

cumulus cloud effects, and storm triggering factors. Those activities use

computer display techniques involving 3- and 4-dimensional presentations

that facilitate interpretation of the mechanisms of hurricane evolution

and growth, squall line development, and storm initiation.

g. Earth's Radiation Budget

Observations from instruments on Nimbus 6 and 7 and the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's operational satellites are the

foundation for a continuing series of data sets on Earth's radiation

budget that will serve as a resource for climate research. NASA's Earth

Radiation Budget Experiment, launched in 1984, will continue those observations and augment the data sets. Earth's radiation budget also is being

addressed in other ways. Evidence from recent Nimbus 7 and Solar Maximum

Mission observations confirms that the total output of the sun varies

naturally by several tenths of a percent for periods of up to about two

weeks. To monitor the long-term trend of the variation and to determine

its effect on climate systems, the following instruments have been

designed for use on the Shuttle: the Active Cavity Radiometer, the Solar

Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor, and the Solar Constant Variation

instrument. It is expected that such instruments will be flown regularly

during the next decade. Research programs have been initiated to develop

an understanding of and models for the processes by which clouds are

formed and interact with incident or reflected radiation, and to study the

sources, compositions, and radiative effects of aerosols that volcanic

explosions inject into the stratosphere. In addition, the International

Satellite Cloud Climatology Project is expected to develop a global cloudclimatology data set for use in improving climate models.

III-39
h. Trace Species

Investigators are developing techniques for measuring major trace

species in the troposphere. Field measurements to test the most promising

instruments will be followed by a 6-year program of measurements by

aircraft to characterize the chemistry of the troposphere on a global

scale. Research on the stratosphere and mesosphere also continues and has

increasingly used more realistic 2- and 3-dimensional models. The

chemical, radiative, and dynamic computer codes used in those models are

being improved continually, with the goal of developing fully coupled

chemical, radiative, and dynamic 3-dimensional models that simulate the

atmosphere very precisely. Also, NASA, in cooperation with European,

Canadian, and Japanese investigators, is using a variety of instrument

techniques on balloon, rocket, and aircraft flights to obtain measurements

of trace species in the stratosphere that will allow accurate comparison

of current experimental techniques.

Data from Nimbus 4, Nimbus 6, Nimbus 7, and Stratospheric Aerosol and

Gas Experiment have been validated and are becoming available for detailed

analysis. Solar Mesosphere Explorer data on ozone, nitric oxide, and

water vapor soon will be available for analysis; and two instruments,

Imaging Spectrometer Observatory and the Atmospheric Trace Molecule

Spectroscopy experiment, have been developed for use on the Shuttle to

measure those species in the mesosphere and stratosphere. The Observatory

already has flown on Spacelab i and the Spectroscopy experiment will fly

on Spacelab 3.

i. Geod_namics

Laser ranging and microwave interferometry are being used to measure

the motions of Earth's polar axis, variations in the length of day, and

the motion and deformation of Earth's crustal layer. A worldwide network

of over 20 cooperating space agencies participates in NASA's global

geodynamics research. A second Laser Geodynamics Satellite, being built

by Italy, is to be launched by the Shuttle in 1987. Data from laser

tracking of satellites and altimeter data from Seasat and the third

Geodynamic Experimental Ocean Satellite are being used to improve the

accuracy of models for global gravity fields used in studies of earth and

ocean processes. Similar data acquired by Magnetic Field Satellite are

being used in studying secular and temporal variations of Earth's main

field and inhomogeneities in Earth's crust.

j. Space Plasma Physics

Space plasma physics has two main thrusts. The first consists of

studies of large-scale systems and requires simultaneous measurements by

several spacecraft occupying different regions in space. For example,

Atmosphere Explorers C, D, and E studied how solar ultraviolet radiation

interacts with the upper atmosphere to produce the cool, co-rotating

plasma of the ionosphere and helped to explain how those interactions

control the thermosphere. International Sun-Earth Explorers I, 2, and 3

investigated how the incoming solar wind interacts with the outer fringes

of Earth's magnetic field to produce the boundaries of the magnetosphere

and the hot, convective, magnetospheric plasma. Dynamics Explorers 1 and

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2 studied the interactions between the hot, convecting, magnetospheric

plasma and the cool, co-rotating, ionospheric plasma and also studied the

energizing of particles that produce the aurorae and interact with the

atmosphere. International Sun-Earth Explorers 1 and 2 and Dynamics

Explorer 1 continue to make measurements in the magnetosphere. Analysis

continues of data from all those missions.

The second main thrust is complementary to the first and involves

controlled studies of interactive processes. Spacelab provides a unique

capability for in situ active experiments involving the injection of

particles, the transmission of electromagnetic energy, and the ejection of

chemicals into the upper atmosphere so that the effects can be measured

and understood. Active experiments of those types have been conducted on

OSS-1 and Spacelab 1 and are scheduled for Spacelab 2 in 1985. In

addition, Active Magnetospheric Tracer Explorer, which was developed in a

cooperative program with the Federal Republic of Germany and the United

Kingdom, was launched in August 1984. Its Ion Release Module has released

tracer chemicals in front of the magnetosphere, and additional releases

will occur in 1985 at the flanks of and in the tail of the magnetosphere.

Simultaneously, Charge Composition Explorer will try to detect the tracers

inside the magnetosphere so that the entry into and energizing of plasma

in the magnetosphere can be studied.

k. Global Biology

An important emerging area is global biology, which deals with the

influences of biological processes on global biogeochemical cycles.

Because biological processes dominate in the production and removal of

many constituents of the biosphere, knowledge about them is critical to

understanding the consequences of environmental perturbations. It has

become clear that they constitute a key influence on the land, the oceans,

and the atmosphere. Factors to be investigated are the areal extent of

land use and biomass, rates of change of biomass as determined from remote

sensing data, biogenic gas fluxes and the factors that affect them, in

situ monitoring of ecological processes, and interpretation of sedimentary

fossil records to test hypotheses about modern processes. Although

achieving an understanding of Earth as a system is formally part of the

Life Sciences program, it will be possible only if study of global biology

is a feature of the total Space Science program.

I. Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

This program's goal is to extend scientific understanding of the

chemical and physical processes occurring in Earth's stratosphere,

mesosphere, and lower thermosphere. Its primary objective is to

understand the mechanisms that control the structure and variability of

the upper atmosphere, the response of the upper atmosphere to natural and

human-related perturbations, and the role of the upper atmosphere in

climate and climate variability. It will use remote sensing instruments

currently in development, including two instruments being provided by

British and French investigators, to measure trace molecule species,

temperature, winds, and radiative energy input from and losses to the

upper atmosphere. It also will make in situ measurements to determine

magnetospheric energy inputs to the upper atmosphere. Plans include

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extensive interaction among experimental and theoretical investigations

and an interactive central data facility with direct on-line access via

remote terminals to facilitate interaction among investigators.

m. Scatterometer

Upper ocean currents, as well as surface waves, are generated by the

stress that winds exert on ocean surfaces. As earlier instruments aboard

aircraft and Seasat have shown, a scatterometer can measure the smallscale roughness of a sea surface; and the associated wind velocity, or

stress, then can be calculated. Modern oceanographic measurements show

that ocean currents are much more variable than they previously were

thought to be. An ability to obtain wind velocities will permit calculation of the velocities of the time-dependent, wind-driven, upper ocean

currents; and knowledge of those velocities will substantially improve

understanding of the momentum coupling of the atmosphere and oceans.

Knowledge of wind velocities also will improve forecasts of such factors

as wave conditions and the intensity and location of storms. Scatterometer data would provide a unique global perspective of the oceans,

significantly improving understanding of how the oceans work; and plans

for acquiring the data are being made possible by flight of a scatterometer on the U.S. Navy's Remote Ocean Observing System scheduled for

launch in 1989. lhe scatterometer and the satellite are approved items in

the respective budgets of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration and the Navy.

3. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-1990

a. Shuttle-Spacelab Payloads

Basic processes in which electromagnetic energy and particle beams

interact with plasmas occur in many systems within the universe, but can

be studied most easily in the most accessible space plasma--that near

Earth. As noted earlier, Spacelab's capabilities are well suited for

making those studies. A beginning was made with the flight of the OSS-I

pallet, which used a small electron gun to study vehicle charging and wave

generation. Spacelab 1 had a Japanese electron accelerator with palletmounted diagnostics, and Spacelab 2 will include an electron gun and a

plasma diagnostic package on a subsatellite. In planning is a more

ambitious mission called the Space Plasma Laboratory on which those

instruments will be joined by other instruments, including a VLF-HF wave

injection facility being developed in cooperation with Canada. Because of

Spacelab's versatility, the mix of instruments can be changed between

flights and the entire payload can be upgraded in an evolutionary fashion.

Spacelab laboratory elements can be used later on the Space Station.

Also planned is the assembly into a single payload of several solar

radiance instruments (the French-developed Solar Ultraviolet Spectral

Irradiance Monitor, the Active Cavity Radiometer, and the Belgiandeveloped Solar Constant Variation instrument) and two atmospheric

instruments (the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy experiment and

the Imaging Spectrometer Observatory). That payload will be flown on a

regular basis starting in 1985 to provide information on behavior with

time of the the solar constant, the solar spectrum, and the upper

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atmosphere. In addition, a variety of new instruments for remote sensing

of Earth's surface will be flown on Shuttle-Spacelab flights to test their

capabilities and to evolve their use from short-duration Shuttle-Spacelab

missions to longer missions on the Space Station.

b. Ocean Color Ima_er

The success of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, which was launched on

Nimbus-7 in 1978 and now is in its sixth year of operation, clearly

indicates that a follow-on instrument could determine global primary

productivity, which forms the base for the various marine food chains.

The synoptic, global measurements of chlorophyll concentration that a

satellite color scanner can provide will serve as the primary data base to

which complementary data from ships, airplanes, and buoys can be added to

yield primary productivity estimates of high accuracy for key oceanic regions.

An improved version of the Coastal Zone Color Scanner, the Ocean Color

Imager, has been designed; and plans are being formulated to make

possible, for the first time, the relating of wind forcing data acquired

by a NASA Scatterometer to data on ocean current response from the planned

Topography Experiment for Ocean Circulation mission, to data on the

redistribution of oceanic nutrients by the currents, and to data on the

resulting changes in primary productivity from the Ocean Color Imager.

With appropriate in situ observation, it will be possible to relate

biological variability quantitatively to the physical characteristics of

the global oceans. Concurrently, studies are under way relating to flight

in 1990 of the Ocean Color Imager on either the U.S NOAA-K or the French

SPOT-3 spacecraft.

c. Tethered Satellite System

The Tethered Satellite project is an international cooperative undertaking between the United States and Italy to provide a new facility for

conducting Earth Science and Applications experiments (see chapter IV.

Space Flight, page 10). The Tethered Satellite will make measurements as

far as 100 ki|ometers from the Space Shuttle. It wil] make possible

long-term scientific experimentation not heretofore feasible, including

generation and study of large-amplitude hydromagnetic waves; magnetic

field aligned currents; and high-power, very low frequency and extremely

low frequency waves in the ionosphere-magnetosphere system. It also will

permit studies of magnetospheric-ionospheric-thermospheric coupling and

atmospheric processes below 180 kilometers; of high resolution crustal

geomagnetic phenomena; and of the generation of power using a conducting

tether. Italy has agreed to provide the sate]lite for the planned

atmospheric (tethered downward) and space plasma (tethered upward) missions.

d. _opograph_ Experiment for Ocean Circulation

The large-scale movement of water in the oceans has many direct

consequences for life on Earth. For example, climate changes, fish

production, commerce, waste disposal, and national security are affected

by ocean circulation and, in turn, affect daily life. And many things

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about the oceans are poorly understood, largely because the oceans are

difficult to observe. The Ocean Topography Experiment is expected to

provide significant capabilities for observing the circulation of the

oceans on a global basis. Its objectives will be to measure ocean surface

topography over entire ocean basins for several years; integrate those

measurementswith subsurface measurementsand use the results in models of

the oceans' density fields to determine the oceans' general circulation

and variability; and then use the information from all those activities to

develop an understanding of the nature of ocean dynamics, calculate the

heat transported by the oceans, understand the interaction of currents

with waves, and test the capabilities available for predicting ocean

circulation.

e. Magnetic Field Explorer

lhe first Magnetic Field Satellite, Magsat-l, acquired--for the first

time--detailed, global data on the scalar and vector magnitudes of Earth's

magnetic field. However, that field undergoes major changes over the

period of a few years due to variations in the motions of the inner core.

The position of the magnetic pole drifts westward, but the rate of drift

is not constant. Resulting uncertainties in magnetic maps limit their

usefulness to from three to five years. However, those changes provide

information on important and enigmatic properties of Earth such as the

origin of the main magnetic field and its variations with time; the

structure and electrical properties of the mantle; magnetic monopoles; and

the relationship among variations in the magnetic field, the mass distribution of the atmosphere, and the rotation rate. The Magnetic Field

Explorer will obtain scalar and vector field data that, in conjunction

with data from Magsat-i and the Geopotential Research Mission, will be

used to examine magnetic field changes for periods ranging from months to

decades. It also will provide an updated data set required for a future

magnetic field survey.

f. Geopotential Research Mission

Accurate knowledge of Earth's gravity and magnetic fields is essential

to scientific studies of the planet, particularly those involving the

solid earth, the oceans, and energy and mineral resources. Earth's

gravity field is known to an accuracy of 5 to 8 milligals for resolutions

of 500 to 800 kilometers, and the geoid (mean ocean sea level) to an

accuracy of about 50 centimeters. Those accuracies are inadequate to

resolve key scientific questions relating to the motion of Earth's crust

(mantle convection) and the structure and composition of Earth's interior.

Magsat-1 provided a map of crustal magnetic anomalies that showed a high

degree of correlation with large-scale geological and tectonic features.

However, its orbital altitude was too high to yield a map with the

accuracy and resolution required for both solid earth science and geological prospecting. Greater accuracy and resolution are needed, and they can

be achieved only by a mission at a significantly lower altitude.

The Geopotential Research Mission will provide the most accurate

models yet available of the global gravity field, geoid, and crustal

magnetic anomalies. It will employ two spacecraft approximately 300

kilometers apart in the same 160-kilometer circular polar orbit. To

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determine the gravity field, a drag-free sphere will be positioned at the

center of mass of each spacecraft in a cavity that will shield it from all

surface forces and therefore permit it to be affected only by gravitational forces. The relative motion of the spheres as they are accelerated

and decelerated while passing over a gravity anomaly will be a measure of

the size and intensity of the anomaly. The accuracy to which the position

of each sphere in the along-track direction can be measured by Doppler

tracking will be I micrometer per second every 4 seconds. That accuracy

in the Doppler data will permit analysis to determine the global gravity

field to approximately 1 milligal and the geoid to approximately 5 centimeters, both to a resolution of lO0 kilometers. Earth's magnetic field

will be surveyed by scalar and vector magnetometers, similar to those

flown on Magsat, mounted at the end of a rigid boom extending from the

leading spacecraft. The magnetic field data will have an accuracy of 2

nanoteslas and a resolution of lO0 kilometers.

g. International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program

This program's purpose is to attempt, for the first time, a quantitative study of the complete solar-geospace system. Geospace comprises the

near-Earth environment and contains the near-Earth interplanetary medium

and Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere. Each geospace region has been investigated individually, but it is the collective

behavior of the geospace system's highly interactive components that

determines the system's overall behavior. In particular, an understanding

of the behavior of the entire system will require measurements in the two

main energy storage and two main energy deposition regions, as well as

knowledge of solar surface and solar wind features. Thus, the mission is

envisioned as a multi-instrumented spacecraft mission to be carried out

jointly with the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences

and the European Space Agency. The elements of the mission may include:

o The Solar-Pointed Laboratory, stationed at the Earth-sun libration

point--to measure solar surface osci|lations and deduce solar flare

and solar wind processes

o The Solar Wind Laboratory--to measure the incoming solar wind,

magnetic fields, and particles

The Polar Laboratory--to measure solar wind entry, ionospheric

plasma output, and deposition of energy into the neutral atmosphere

at high latitudes

o

The Equatorial Laboratory--to measure solar wind entry at the

sunward nose of the magnetosphere and the transport and storage of

energetic plasma in the equatorial ring current and near-Earth

plasma sheet

The Geotail Laboratory--to measure solar wind entry and the

acceleration, transport, and storage of plasma in the geomagnetic

tail

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The Multipoint Plasma Laboratory--to study the spatial and temporal

behaviors of small-scale plasma processes, including magnetic

merging.

4. Future Thrusts, FY 1991-1995

In the decade of the 1990s, the Earth studies program will investigate

long-term physical, chemical, and biological trends and changes in Earth's

environment, including Earth's lithosphere, atmosphere, magnetosphere, land

masses, and oceans. It will study the effects of natural and human activities

on Earth's environment by measuring and modeling the chemical cycles of

nutrients and will provide improved models for estimating the future effects

of humans and other species on Earth's biological productivity and habitability. It will use space and suborbital observations, land- and sea-based

measurements, laboratory research, and supporting data management technologies

over ten years or more. The space measurements to support the program will

require a Space Station polar platform able to support a variety of remote

sensing instruments. A concept for such a platform is under study. In

addition, platforms for active plasma experiments and free-flyers for in situ

measurements will be required.

E. Life Sciences

The Life Sciences program pursues goals in both basic science and applied

sciences. Its goals in basic science are to understand how life forms are

affected by the conditions found in space and to learn the origins, evolution,

and distribution of life in the universe. Its goal in applied science is to

ensure the health and well-being of spacecraft crews during prolonged space

flights. All three of those goals contribute directly and immediately to

meeting two major goals in the national space policy: to establish a permanent human presence in space and to conduct a vigorous program of space

exploration and scientific research.

The program's research is performed by laboratories in universities and

the Agency's field centers, supported where appropriate by development work

performed by private industry. Complementary ground-based research and space

experimentation contribute to achievement of the program's goals. Their

emphasis is on developing a comprehensive view of life in the universe and on

showing how Earth's life forms can live away from the planet where they

originated.

I. Objectives

The program's objectives are to:

o Determine the effects of long-term space flight on humans and understand the basic physiological mechanisms of those effects

0 Develop effective means to maintain spacecraft crews in good health,

treat illnesses and injuries that occur in space, and enable crew

members to achieve the highest work productivity of which they are

capable

III-46
o Learn how non-human organisms sense and react to varied levels of

gravitational force

o Show how life began on Earth and what its distribution throughout the

cosmos may be

o Characterize the role of life in processes that affect the terrestrial

environment on a global scale.

2. St raters,

Because it is responsible for medical support to manned space operations,

the Life Sciences program is directly concerned with practical biomedical

problems in the Space Station and Space Transportation System programs.

United States and Soviet space flights have provided a fairly complete picture

of the effects of exposure to flight in space lasting up to a few months.

Effects that can interfere with operations or that represent potential dangers

to crew members are being subjected to intensive research on the ground and

selected experiments on Shuttle missions.

The Space Adaptation Syndrome is the least understood of problems that

have been identified. It is characterized by anorexia, vomiting, and malaise

during the first few days of flight. Because those annoying symptoms appear

in approximately half of all persons who fly in space, their elimination would

aid operations materially. However, no satisfactory ground-based model or

predictive diagnostic method is now available. The current strategy is to

improve understanding of the syndrome's mechanisms through research on the

fundamentals of balance and motion perception, to obtain data from Shuttle

missions, and to conduct controlled tests of the countermeasures derived.

Other physiological effects that occur in space flight include bone and

muscle loss, deleterious fluid shifts, bends during extravehicular activity,

and similar problems. They can be interpreted in the context of known mechanisms by which the body adapts to changing conditions and can be investigated

in controlled, ground-based experiments. It appears, therefore, that satisfactory ways to avoid them will be developed by determining their thresholds

and modifying the stimuli that crews will experience.

The fact that the population of spacecraft crew members is becoming much

more heterogeneous is increasing the difficulty of combating those effects.

To be sure that environmental effects are understood and countermeasures

against the effects are adequate for the whole population, it will be

necessary to study the reactions of men and women of diverse age groups and

with differing medical histories. It also will be necessary to gather data on

the people who go to space, both to verify that the effects are understood and

to ensure that countermeasures to alleviate them are effective.

On the basis of current knowledge, it is expected that adequate health

maintenance measures can be available for Space Station operations when they

begin, and that the effectiveness and convenience of the measures will improve

steadily as space experience and ground-based research results accumulate.

Means to provide medical treatment, a healthful environment, and tolerable

living conditions also should be available if adequate definition and development programs are conducted during the 1980s.

III-47
More extensive research will be neededto ensure the health and safety of

crews that remain in space for a year or more, as would be necessary, for

example, on any interplanetary mission. The effectiveness of health maintenance measuresdeveloped for the SpaceStation must be verified for longer

duration missions, and questions associated with very long missions must be

addressed. The most important of those questions concern exposure to radiation and radioactive particles, particularly high-energy particles, and the

psychological effects of prolonged confinement in a remote environment from

which there is no escape. Also, substantial developments will be needed in

life-support, habitability, and man-machinesystems for growth versions of the

SpaceStation, lunar surface operations, and interplanetary missions.

Ground-based research will continue to be important for progress in solving the medical problems associated with long-duration missions and permanent

residence in space. However, research on animal models in space will be

essential for investigating effects that may become important for stays in

space longer than those of SpaceStation crews. Spaceexperiments also will

be needed in developing biologically based life-support subsystems that

regenerate food as well as air and water.

The reactions of non-human organisms to space flight have an intrinsic

scientific interest in addition to their importance for applied research.

Basic research on how plants and animals sense gravity and process the sensed

information can throw new light on fundamental physiological questions and

strengthen the scientific basis for space medicine. Investigations of how

organisms develop in reduced gravity will contribute to understanding how

their forms and functions evolved, and also will help NASAto develop biologically based life-support systems and to evaluate the feasibility of living

permanently in space.

Ground-based research can point the way to fruitful hypotheses and help

identify sensitive systems, but extended space experiments are indispensable

for definitive results in gravitational biology. The approach used in the

SpaceBiology program is to maintain a moderate program of ground-based

exploratory research and to use available space missions to obtain preliminary

data in preparation for full-scale research on the SpaceStation. Manned

laboratories are essential for all parts of the SpaceBiology program.

Biology and biomedicine will interact closely through shared techniques,

equipment, and experimental objectives; and they will involve major payload

activities on the Space Station. Both of them must by built up in phases,

from a single laboratory module for initial operation of the SpaceStation to

multi-module programs in later years. To deal with the complex relationships

involved, the Life Sciences programwill conduct its payload planning and

development on an integrated basis instead of defining separate activities as

individual projects.

Several sources of data are available for developing an understanding of

the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe: laboratory

experiments, investigation of extraterrestrial materials and environments,

studies of how life processes interact with Earth's environment, and direct

attempts to detect extraterrestrial life. Laboratory experiments and meteorite analyses have shownthat all of the basic materials needed to start life

on Earth could have been produced by chemical processes in the primitive

111-48
atmosphere and oceans or introduced from extraterrestrial sources. Remaining

to be determined are which source was the more important and how the materials

of life became organized and self replicating. For the time being, work on

the origins of life will continue to rely mostly on biochemical research,

supported by studies of terrestrial geology and extraterrestrial environments,

that can suggest hypotheses about the conditions in which life actually

originated. However, plans are being made to use Space Station facilities for

experimental work on the origins of prebiotic materials in space and their

possible presence in interplanetary dust grains.

The only currently possible direct method for observing extraterrestrial

life is analysis of cosmic radio emissions to determine whether they contain

signals emanating from sources controlled by intelligent extraterrestrial

beings. Present work is concentrated on analyzing signals received by existing large radio-telescopes. However, studies are being planned to assess the

usefulness of supplementing the capabilities of those radio-telescopes with

those of specially constructed antennas in orbit.

An understanding of the interactions of life with its planetary environment is important for identifying evidence of primitive life in the geological

record, determining whether life exists or has existed on other planets, and

resolving current questions about Earth's environment. Resolution of all

those issues depends on knowledge of the role of life in large-scale cycling

of materials and energy. The approach of the Life Sciences program to acquiring that knowledge is to conduct field studies of biogeochemical processes and

to develop remote sensing methods for global observation of those processes

from space. The global observations will be obtained using the Space Station

system's polar orbiting platform.

3. Current Program

a. Medical Sciences

The Medical Sciences program is responsible for certifying crew

members and maintaining their health and career longevity. It includes

preflight and postflight medical examinations, inflight health monitoring,

training of crews in medical countermeasures and emergency procedures, and

research on the likely physiological effects and occupational hazards of

future missions.

The program will continue to place major emphasis on problems

associated with the Space Adaptation Syndrome until they are understood

and successfully treated or prevented. Biofeedback methods and improved

pharmacological agents for controlling motion sickness symptoms were

tested on Spacelab 3, and the results are being analyzed. Experiments

scheduled for the Spacelab 4 and D-1 misssions will include several

further tests of vestibular function and treatments for the Syndrome.

Extensive research is in process to develop understanding of the

physiology of cardiovascular deconditioning, bone demineralization, and

other effects of long-term space flight; and countermeasures based on the

research are being tested.

111-49
Cardiovascular experiments on Spacelab 4 will measure central venous

pressure and baroreceptor sensitivity. The relevance to humans of

myocardial changes observed in experimental animals will be assessed, and

defects in the reflex control of circulation that possibly contribute to

deconditioning will be characterized. In addition, countermeasures such

as antigravity suits, programmedexercise, and fluid loading with and

without medication will continue to be evaluated on Shuttle missions.

For studies of bone demineralization, non-invasive techniques are

being developed for measuring the mineral content and elasticity of bone.

Experiments are being planned for flight on Spacelab 4 to investigate

hormonal control of calcium metabolism and the kinetics of calcium

absorption.

The probability of damageto the musculoskeletal system is higher for

long-term SpaceStation missions than for short Shuttle flights. However,

since hypercalcemia, kidney stones, and renal damage are possible on

missions of any duration, appropriate treatments must be developed. A

clearer understanding is needed of the loci of bone loss and whether

recovery rates for bone and muscle loss vary with age and sex. Groundbased and flight research is in process to identify the changes space

flight causes in red blood cells, body water, electrolytes, hormones,

biosynthesis and breakdown of muscle protein, and the immunological

capacity of a humanbody in space to cope with infectious agents.

Greater understanding is needed of respiration in space and its

relationship to cardiovascular and other functions. So that better cabin

and space suit atmospheres can be provided, understanding also is needed

of the effects of changes in both pulmonary function and blood perfusion

on crew members' elimination of inert gas from their bodies before

decompressionfor extravehicular activity. Both ground-based and flight

analyses of procedures to prevent bends are required.

In process are: studies to improve radiation dosimetry and to characterize the radiation environment in space; radiobiological tests of the

effects of high-energy, multicharged particles thought to be componentsof

cosmic rays; and work to determine the shielding requirements of highinclination and high-altitude flights and to characterize the shielding

properties of spacecraft materials.

Research is being conducted in psychology and humanperformance to

explore the effects of nutrition, motivation, personality, and group

composition on individual performance and interpersonal interactions. So

that more effective countermeasures to stress can be developed, the

research will be directed both toward evaluating the efficiency of

individuals under the influence of adaptive physiological processes in the

space environment and toward studying the overt behavioral responses of

those individuals.

Development of technology to support the medical program will address

personal hygiene systems, restraints, and equipment for monitoring medical, physiological, and environmental parameters. Meanswill be sought to

improve spacecraft food supply systems, with particular attention to new

preparation and preservation techniques. A long-range research and

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technology effort is under way to develop practical biological processes

for regenerating food, as well as air and water, in life support systems

for future programs such as a manned |unar base or mission to Mars.

b. Biological Sciences

The Biological Sciences program comprises three disciplinary programs:

Exobiology, Biospheric Research, and Gravitational Biology.

(1) Exobiology

The Exobiology program studies the origin, evolution, and distribution

of life and life-related molecules on Earth and elsewhere as part of the

evolution of the cosmos. It has six major elements: forms, abundances

and reactivities of biogenic elements and their incorporation into simple

compounds; chemical evolution of more complex organic compounds; evolution

of processes and systems that led to single-celled life; early biological

evolution; effects of planetary and astrophysical processes on evolution

of complex life; and search for life and life-related molecules in the

solar system and beyond.

Research is progressing in all six disciplines, but additional effort

is needed to capitalize on the latest scientific thought and progress

toward understanding the mechanisms that led to life's origin and evolution. Effort will be increased on development of analytical exobiology

instruments suitable for use on the missions recommended by the Solar

System Exploration Committee: gas chromatographs, gas chromatograph/mass

spectrometers, visible- and infrared-light spectroscopes, and other

devices for specific elements and compounds. Instruments for making

remote observations must be developed for use with the Earth-orbiting

telescopes described in other sections of this chapter, to detect the

signatures of life-related chemicals both within and outside the solar

system. Those signatures will increase understanding of the nature and

extent of chemical evolution beyond Earth.

(2) Biospheric Research

The Biospheric Research program seeks to characterize the effects of

biological processes on global dynamics by pursuing three research

objectives: characterization of the pathways and rates of exchange for

movement of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur into and out of

terrestrial ecosystems and the oceans; development of methods for

extrapolating local rates of anaerobic activity to predict global effects;

and development of mathematical models to represent the dynamics of global cycles.

Since its initiation three years ago, this program has been

strengthened by the addition of tasks to correlate ground-based data with

remotely sensed data to determine biomass extent on varying spatial

scales, with data from satellite imaging to determine ecosystem extent,

and with measurements of atmospheric gases to indicate ecosystem behavior.

Stimuli to studies of the biosphere have been provided by satellite

observations that have recently become available, computers able to handle

large quantities of data, and new analytical instruments for ground-based

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research, lhe thrusts of the program for the near future are to use data

collected by Landsat and the AdvancedVery High Resolution Radiometer to

develop registration techniques for use in producing geographic information systems; to use remotely sensed data in updating existing vegetation

and land-use maps, techniques for recognizing ecosystem borders, and

methods for determining biomass types and extent; to correlate measured

fluxes of ground gases with the type of ecosystem and soil producing the

gases; and to develop, for specific types of ecosystems, measurementsthat

are comprehensiveand stratified, that incorporate ground truth measurements, aircraft measurements,and satellite observations, and that are all

correlated and integrated through multi-dimensional computerized models.

(3) Gravitational Biology

The Gravitational Biology program deals with physiological responses

to the full range of gravitational forces, from microgravity to levels

greater than that at Earth's surface. It seeks to increase understanding

of how gravity affects life on Earth. Its objectives are to understand

how organisms perceive gravity and make that perception effective at

responsive sites; determine the role of gravity in reproduction, development, and maturation; elucidate the effect of gravity on form, function,

and behavior of organisms; and determine how the absence of gravity in

space affects living systems. Although limited so far in number and

complexity, space experiments have confirmed the sensitivity to gravity of

certain biological systems and processes.

Near-term objectives of the program are to identify organs that

perceive gravity and to determine how those organs function. Particularly

needing characterization are the gravity sensors of plant and animal cells

and the role of calcium in gravity perception and mediation. In addition

to having fundamental scientific importance, such subjects are relevant to

manned space flight and to the use of plants in advanced life support

systems. Another objective in the next few years will be to determine the

influence of gravity on fertilization, development, and maturation of

organisms. Flight experiments will be required for attainment of all

three of those objectives, and proposals have been solicited for

experiments that can take advantage of the availability of mid-deck space

on the Shuttle. Facilities such as centrifuges and containers must be

developed for maintaining and manipulating animal and plant species during

flight. Plans also are being developed to conduct, on the Space Station,

gravitational biology experiments that require much longer durations in

weightlesness.

c. Life Sciences Flight Experiment Program

Achievement of the objectives of both the Medical Sciences and

Biological Sciences programs depends on the availability of flight

opportunities. Xhe flight objectives and instrumentation requirements of

the Exobiology and Biospheric Research programs are closely integrated

with those of the planetary and Earth observation programs conducted by

other divisions in the Office of Space Science and Applications. The

principal means for achieving the objectives of the Medical Sciences and

Gravitational Biology programs is the Life Sciences Flight Experiment

Program, a multimission program encompassing Spacelab flights dedicated to

III-52
life science investigations, Spacelab flight shared with partners,

experiments on the Shuttle's mid-deck, and investigations on Shuttlelaunched, free-flying spacecraft. The Life Sciences Flight Experiment

program will provide for investigations of the effects of the space

environment on biological systems that cannot be performed on the ground,

with emphasis on characterizing and understanding the problems of humans

in space flight.

A major feature of the program is development of an inventory of

Spacelab equipment that can be flown on many missions, serving the needs

of several investigations on each flight. The program's near-term

objective is to fly dedicated Spacelab missions at approximately 2-year

intervals. Dedicated missions maximize the number of integrated

experiments flown, thus permitting extensive, simultaneous measurements on

a limited set of specimens. The resulting broad coverage provides

opportunities for correlating measurements from diverse experiments to

characterize the biological effects of zero gravity.

Life science experiments have flown on the second and third Shuttle

flights and on the Spacelab I, 2, and 3 missions. The first flight

dedicated to life science investigations is Spacelab 4; it and subsequent

dedicated flights will carry approximately 15 to 20 experiments each.

4. Potential New Initiatives, FY 1986-1990

The need for life sciences initiatives arises from the unprecedented

number of crew members required for the Shuttle's operations in space, from

NASA's plans to develop the Space Station, and from plans to exploit fully

NASA's ability to expand fundamental understanding of major scientific

questions about living systems.

a. Medical Care and Health Maintenance in Space

The ability to maintain health and provide adequate medical and

surgical care in space will be required if the Nation is to succeed in

deploying and utilizing the Space Station. Therefore, expansion is

planned of efforts to develop medical measures against the adverse effects

of long-term weightlessness, to protect crew members in orbit against

radiation damage, and to evacuate injured and sick crew members.

b. Advanced Crew Support

A pre-prototype of a biologically based life support system capable of

regenerating food, as well as air and water, will be built and tested on

the ground. Tests without human participants will verify the productivity

of plants and other organisms raised in the system and provide performance

data on the recycling of air, water, and major nutrients. Those data then

will be used to design a subsequent preprototype system for manned tests.

c. Human Performance in Space

Enhancement of the productivity of humans participating in future

space missions will be achieved not only by improving the habitability of

space vehicles, but also by improving the ability of humans to use the

111-53
machines at their disposal. Other factors that will be investigated are

the psychological compatibility of crew membersand the effects of social

isolation, sensory deprivation, commandand control structures, and

motivational factors on humanproductivity.

d. Mid-Deck Fli_ht Experiments

Action is being taken to make use of Shuttle flights for research and

experimentation in both the medical sciences and the biological sciences.

Spacelab capabilities will be indispensible, and the Shuttle mid-deck will

supplement them by providing frequent flight oppportunities. Research

equipment based on Spacelab experience and suitable for mid-deck use is

being developed. It will make possible a vigorous program of simpler,

relatively low cost, medical and biological mid-deck experiments that are

expected to total up to ten investigations per year.

e. Space Station Experiment Module, Phase I

The Space Station will provide the first opportunity for work with

animals, plants, and experimental equipment in weightlessness for periods

of months or more. Plans to take advantage of that opportunity include

development of a module to support studies of changes in physiological

functions, such as calcium excretion, and in adaptation as a function of

increasing length of exposure to weightlessness. The module also will

support studies of the use of artificial gravity as an alternative to

biomedical countermeasures and of the possible effects of weightlessness

on development. This first phase includes development of animal support

and data collection systems needed for those studies and of facilities for

testing new equipment on the Space Station.

f. Biospheric Research, Phase I

The focus of this phase of the program will be modeling studies that

use available data to formulate hypotheses about the behavior of the

biosphere as an integrated system. Remote sensing data from NASA

satellites will play a key role in tests of the hypotheses and in

supporting worldwide field research. Plans include development of models

of individual biogeochemical cycles and of analysis techniques in four

areas: the areal extent of land use and the rates of change of biomass,

as determined from remote sensing data; biogenic gas fluxes and the

factors that affect them; in situ monitoring of ecological processes; and

interpretation of the sedimentary fossil record to test hypotheses about

modern processes.

g. Biospheric Research, Phase II

If Phase I of the Biospheric Research program proceeds as expected and

shows promise of success, Phase II will be initiated to formulate a

comprehensive model for describing and predicting biogeochemical processes

accurately on a global scale. Phase II also will establish in situ

devices for monitoring biological and chemical processes; correlate remote

sensing data with ground based measurements to monitor the extent, rate,

and significance of environmental changes; and establish a biospheric data

network for informational, archival, analytical, and general uses. Used

lll-b4
in conjunction with global data on the oceans, atmosphere, and land, the

resulting data will be a key element in developing an understanding of

Earth as a system.

h. Exobiology Payloads

Any mission outside Earth's immediate environment provides

opportunities to gather data important for understanding chemical

evolution and the origin of life. Missions that are of particular

interest include cometary missions, the Mars Geoscience and Climatology

Observer, and the Titan Probe and Radar Mapper. To take advantage of

these and other anticipated opportunities, this initiative will develop

miniaturized instruments for chemical analysis of extraterrestrial

environments. Those instruments will include gas chromatographs, combined

gas chromatograph-mass spectrometers, and remote sensors such as microwave

spectrometers.

i. Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

A low-level, five-year effort was initiated in FY 1983 to define the

instruments needed to anlayze radio signals in the microwave region of the

electromagnetic spectrum. The next phase of the program will consist of

active searches with the resulting equipment. Consequently, the bulk of

the program's effort will go first into designing and constructing

sensitive, multichannel spectrum analyzers and signal processing

equipment, and then into carrying out a comprehensive search program with

that equipment at existing radio telescope sites.

5. Possible Initiatives, FY 1991-1995

a. Regenerative Life Support Systems

By the end of the 1980s, a breadboard of a closed, food-regenerating,

biologically based life support system will have been built and tested.

The next step toward a capability for systems that can be used in space

will be to develop and test a preprototype system that can sustain a small

group of human test subjects in ground-based experiments. It is expected

that this project will require approximately five years.

b. Space Station Experiment Module, Phase II

This phase of the program will provide the Life Sciences Space Station

Experiment Module, a pressurized laboratory that will be attached to the

Space Station. The module will provide long-duration exposure of animals

to weightlessness to validate models developed in connection with Spacelab

missions. It will use models based on experiments with animals to explore

important human problems further, and also will characterize the effects

of weightlessness on humans and other biological systems.

c. Biospheric Research, Phase III

The establishment of in situ sensors on Earth and a remote sensing

data system in Phase II of the program will be followed in this phase by

the use of data relay satellites. Also, special provisions in Earth

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looking satellites will optimize their yield of biological information.

Whencomprehensiveglobal data are available, it will be possible to

evaluate biological influences on global processes and the sensitivity,

rate, extent, and significance of changes in the biota as functions of

environmental perturbations.

d. Vestibular and Variable Gravity Research Facility

Definitive data on the ability of living systems to respond to linear

and angular accelerations must await experiments that can be done in space

using apparatus that can apply force vectors singly and in combination.

This program will develop a flight-qualified vestibular and variable

gravity research facility incorporating a centrifuge able to subject test

subjects at its periphery to gravity fields from zero to one Earth gravity

in intensity, lhe objective is to induce accelerations on the inner ear's

otolith and semicircular canals to shed new light on their fundamental

reactions to, and requirements for, those stimuli.

F. Satellite Communications

The current era has been characterized as the "Information Age."

Information is the foundation for economic growth; and data, news, and other

information flow worldwide, both as raw material and as finished product. The

coming of the information age was made possible by communications electronics,

especially communications satellites, which now constitute a critical and

fast-growing segment of the communications industry. The worldwide market for

communications satellite hardware alone is expected to total about $38 billion

in 19_1 dollars from 1981 to the year 2000.

NASA's Syncom satellite, launched in 1962, was the precursor to Intelsat

and the first generation of domestic fixed-satellite services. The Syncom

program, undertaken with full knowledge that many respected authorities in the

communications industry were opposed to geostationary communications satellites, is a good example of a high-risk program that had large potential

benefits, but that industry was not willing to undertake. That crucial step

to geostationary orbit led directly to a rapid increase in the use of communications satellites because of their reliability, wide coverage, and low net

cost for the communications services they supply.

NASA's Advanced Technology Satellites (ATS) of the 1966-1974 era were

precursors to current maritime, land, and aeronautical mobile satellite

services. ATS-I, in orbit since the 1960s, has been the backbone of southern

Pacific island communications. ATS-6 and the joint Canadian-NASA experimenLal

Communication Technology Satellite (CIS) provided the basis for today's new

broadcast satellite service industry. ATS-6 provided the first tests of

educational instruction via satellite transmissions and supplied the means for

conducting signal and propagation experiments at 20 and 30 GHz. CTS opened

the door to a whole new generation of fixed-service satellites operating in

the 12 GHz band.

Worldwide, about 150 geostationary satellites have been launched. Crowding of the frequency spectrum and the limited geostationary orbit arc already

is evident, and positions in the spectrum and arc are a subject of domestic

and international competition. Technical innovations in the use of new

111-56
frequency bands, frequency re-use, and onboard signal switching and processing

will be necessary for additional growth. NASAalso will continue to develop

high-risk technology that will yield systems to satisfy expanding demands for

communications but that industry is unlikely to develop.

I. Objecti yes

For the next decade, the objectives of NASA's program for communications

satellite development and support are to:

o Develop technology to relieve growing geostationary orbit congestion

and frequency allocation shortage

o Develop communications technology and systems that permit innovative

new services in communications, navigation, and search and rescue

o Develop and support U.S. and NASA interests in international and

domestic communications regulations.

Beyond 1994, the program's theme and direction will be interconnectivity;

and the mobile satellite will be a component of the program. World communications can progress toward hubs or regions of interconnection using fiber optic

cable for trunking and high-density communications. Low-density communications, business communications and data distribution, and the transmission of

entertainment programs can be handled by satellites, with access between

regions provided by teleports, gateways, and intersatellite links. The region

of space between low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit will come into its

own for new and innovative communication services through the use, for

example, of store and dump techniques.

The Communications program's long-term objectives are based on the

interconnectivity theme. They are to:

o Develop advanced communication technologies for the low Earth orbit to

geostationary orbit region

Use and develop technology for intersatellite links to cross-link

regional satellites with north-south patterns, enabling them to serve

international business communities and areas on the coverage fringes of

terrestrial cable networks

Develop technology for

relay satellite system

requirements

an international commercial tracking and data

network to serve private and government

o Develop technology for second and third generation mobile communications satellites

o Provide leadership in developing technologies and systems applicable to

interconnectivity worldwide.

111-57
2. Past and Current Program

Twenty-two years ago, NASA launched a communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit for the first time. Twelve years ago, only two commercial

communications satellites, both Canadian, were in geosynchronous orbit serving

North America. Today, nearly thirty are in orbit.

Between 1962 and 1985, NASA's program went through three phases and

embarked on its current course. In the 1962 to 1973 period, NASA conducted a

strong, broad-based program of communications flight experiments, developing

six experimental AIS satellites and, with Canada, the experimental CIS satellite. In 1973, after the peak funding for CTS was over, NASA phased down its

program in satellite communications technology and, until 1978, concentrated

on continuing operations with the ATS-I, -3, -5, and -6 and CTS satellites.

Near the end of that period, the idea of a search and rescue program was

formulated, and development of the concept started. In 1979, NASA's program

was restructured to address the objectives of developing selective high-risk

technology for relieving the congestion of the geostationary orbit and the

frequency spectrum and of developing new and affordable communications

services. The theme for those activities was development of interconnectivity

technology and architectures that would permit the current era of "bent pipe"

operation to transition to an era in which nodal points in space would be used

both for space- and Earth-based information gateways and for interfaces to

terrestrial communication systems.

In 1984, the emphasis of the program changed from development of nonflight

projects and proof-of-concept technology to development of technology for

flight projects needed to support NASA's long-term goals and objectives: the

Space Station, the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite, the Mobile

Satellite program, and the Geostationary Platform (see Figure 111-4). Those

projects will meet the challenges posed by the imminent congestion of the

frequency spectrum and the geostationary arc, the unfilled demands of the

public sector for communications, the eroding U.S. competitive position in

satellite communications technology vis-a-vis Europe and Japan, and NASA's

long-term requirements for space communications.

a. NASA Communications Support and Service Actiyity

Since its inception, NASA has provided significant support, service,

and consultation on communications matters to both U.S. industry and

various government programs. Some of the most important activities are as

follows:

o Technical consultation and support services, including studies of

radio interference, propagation, and systems to ensure growth of

existing satellite services and incorporation of new satellite

applications. Analysis techniques are developed and used to solve

problems of interference within and between the signals of

satellite and terrestrial communications systems. Those analysis

techniques also provide a technical basis for regulatory and policy

studies. Orbit and spectrum utilization studies are conducted to

aid in developing frequency and orbit sharing techniques and design

standards and in determining the effects of propagation phenomena

and human-made noise on the performance, design, and efficient use

111-58
0

0 u

U,I .- _

U

111-59
of the geostationary orbit and the radio spectrum. NASAalso

provides support to the Federal CommunicationsCommission, National

Telecommunications Information Administration, Department of State,

Federal EmergencyManagementAgency, and other organizations.

o Experiment coordination and mission support, including identifying

and helping to develop new types of communications services,

primarily for the public sector. The principal vehicle for that

development has been a series of experiments with the ATS-I and

ATS-3 satellites. Future work will include development of small,

low-cost terminals that will work with leased channels on existing

communications satellites to provide communications services to

remote areas. Use of those terminals with Intelsat in the Pacific

Basin has priority.

o Basic research and technology development, including provision of a

technology base for all of NASA'scommunications programs. The

time horizon for the device and component technology pursued is

five years or more, and the work is performed cooperatively by

NASA,universities, and U.S. industry. This activity has included

the Proof-of-Concept Technology Programdirected by NASA'sLewis

ResearchCenter. That program developed, from 1978 to 19B4, the

technology for the AdvancedCommunicationsTechnology Satellite,

the innovative switchboard-in-space concept described below.

o Satellite-aided search and rescue, which is a cooperative program

in which Canada, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States

are developing and demonstrating a satellite system for detecting

and locating the position of signals transmitted automatically from

aircraft, marine vessels, and individuals in distress.

b. Advanced Communications Technology Satellite Flight Program

In mid-summer 1984, President Reagan signed into law a bill directing

NASA to proceed with a flight experiment with the Advanced Communications

Technology Satellite (ACTS). 3o be built by RCA Corporation teamed with

TRW, Inc. and COMSAT Corporation, ACTS is intended to provide advanced

technology in support of the commercial satellite communications market.

It will include technology development and a ground-based test program to

prove the feasibility of advanced communications satellite technologies,

including those for multiple fixed-spot-beam and scanning-spot-beam

antennas, frequency reuse, beam interconnectivity at both intermediate

frequencies and base band, concepts for advanced system networks, and

dynamic rain-compensation techniques. Those technologies will be applicable to a wide range of communications systems in the 1990s.

ACTS will be the first satellite to be equipped with scanning beam

antennas for domestic satellite communications. The 2.2-meter diameter

receiving and 3.3-meter diameter transmitting antennas are larger than

previous communications antennas and will provide very high gain, small

spot size, and excellent side-lobe performance. High gain is needed to

support high burst rates and to overcome fading caused by rain at K band.

Small spot size and excellent sidelobe performance permit extensive

frequency reuse by both fixed- and scanning-beam antennas.

111-60
A base-band processor is the heart of the ACTS system. The first

processor to be used in domestic satellite communications, it will have

the primary functions of demodulating input signals, storing data bits in

input memory, routing data bits to output memory, and remodulating. It

will route signals between electronically hopped (scanning) uplink and

downlink beams and between sectors in synchronism with the processor.

About 1990, ACTS will test a new data communications technology. Data

will be transmitted between the Shuttle and ACTS at a rate of about 300

Mbps over a laser link using gallium arsenide diodes operating at 870

nanometers. The test will assess the laser link itself and, in addition,

the link's operation between rapidly moving spacecraft simulating the

Space Station and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System in their

advanced stages of development. The principal advantage of a laser system

over a K -band system as a 300-Mbps link is that the antenna for the laser

system w_ll be only 7 inches in size as compared with 12 feet for the K

system. That smaller size also will provide the additional advantages o_

reduced beam width and interference.

c. Mobile Satellite

Land mobile communications service within the United States is concentrated in metropolitan areas. The rest of the country, containing about

one-third of the total population, has inadequate or no service. Factors

contributing to that inadequacy include channel crowding, spotty coverage,

and incompatibility between equipments due to different operating frequencies. Although allocation of the 800-MHz band and the recently developed

cellular system for mobile communications will help, those improvements

are expected to be introduced primarily in densely populated areas and at

a rate that will not provide coverage to even those areas until after the

year 2000.

After several years of study by NASA of the use of the 860/890 MHz and

L bands for mobile satellite communications, the Federal Communications

Commission issued in early 1985 a request for applications that led to 12

commercial applications to build a mobile communicatiions satellite.

First flight of a commercially designed satellite is expected to occur in

the late 1990s, and it is anticipated that a NASA-industry joint endeavor

then will produce larger mobile satellites using, successively, 20- and

55-meter antennas.

In 1985, the mobile satellite program became an approved flight

program to be conducted by NASA in partnership with U.S. industry. Its

objectives are to:

o Develop high-risk technology to enable commercial mobile satellite

service

o Facilitate development of new markets for satellite and ground

terminal hardware

o Develop terminal hardware that is frequency and power efficient

111-61
o Develop networking techniques for use in experimental government

applications

o Promotegrowth of commercial services.

The program will be conducted under an agreement between NASA and U.S.

industry, with appropriate coordination with Canada. It will facilitate

commercial application of this totally new service by reducing the risks

the private sector will have to assume. Industry will build, with its own

funds, a satellite system able to support first-generation commercialization, including the first and second objectives stated above, and to

provide capacity to NASA and other government agencies for two years of

experimentation to satisfy the third and fourth objectives. For those two

years, approximately 80 percent of the system's capacity will be allocated

to commercial use and 20 percent to experimentation, lhen the experimental channels will be transferred to commercial service.

To meet the third and fourth objectives, NASA will help other government agencies define their requirements and specialized equipment needs.

lhose agencies will purchase their own field equipment and, during the two

years of experimentation, determine the ability of satellite service to

satisfy their needs for mobile communications service. Agencies wishing

to continue the service after the experimentation period will enter into a

contract for commercial service on the same satellite. NASA thus will

help formulate requirements across the government, validate special hardware requirements, and transfer to commercial service technology developed

during the two years of experimentation.

3. FY 1986-1990 Program

The Communications program's budget for the FY 1986-1990

expected to support continuation of the work described above.

period i s

4. Possible Initiatives, FY 1.991-1995

a. Direct Satellite Sound Broadcasting

The United States Information Agency's Voice of America has requested

NASA to help improve the Government's international sound broadcasts. The

agencies' Administrators have signed a memorandum of agreement outlining a

study to be undertaken. If it or subsequent studies identify a need for

satellites for the broadcast mission, NASA will develop and test the

technologies required. Subsystems needing new technology identified so

far include space power supplies, such as a nuclear unit providing i00

kilowatts of electricity and a 12.5-kilowatt solar array; high-power,

highly efficient transmitters providing, for example, 15 to 30 kilowatts

of broadcasting power at 26 MHz; large space antennas, such as 300- to

500-meter diameter reflectors or array antennas; control systems for large

space structures; and launch vehicles able to deliver payloads weighing,

for example, i0,000 kilograms or more to geostationary orbit.

111-62
b. Space Station Communications

With time, the Space Station is expected to become a complex of space

systems containing the Station itself in low Earth orbit at an inclination

of 28.5 ° , co-orbiting platforms; tethered platforms or spacecraft, free

flyers, an unmanned polar orbiting platform in low Earth orbit, and a

staging base in the vicinity of the Station's manned module. That complex

will be serviced by systems such as the Shuttle and will be provided with

communications by tracking and data relay satellites and a global communication network able to communicate with those satellites, the Shuttle, and

the Station's manned modules. The polar platform will be able to view the

portions of Earth not visible to manned parts of the complex and will

carry scientific instruments, such as side-looking radars and imaging

spectrometers, with which to make Earth observations.

The Tracking and Date Relay Satellite System will be the base-line

communications system for the Space Station. The Communications program

will support the Space Station's needs by verifying experimentally the use

of laser and millimeter-wave links to augment that system and by developing technology to provide data rates of as high as gigabits per second.

Millimeter-wave communications at 60 gigahertz or higher will compete with

laser communications. Both can provide wide-band communications enhanced

by the vacuum of space, both require development of new technology, and

both are among the most challenging methods for providing high data rate

communications between two low Earth orbits, between low Earth orbit and

geosynchronous orbit, and between two positions in geosynchronous orbit.

The laser experiment between the Shuttle and ACTS mentioned earlier will

provide experimental verification that laser intersatellite links can be

used to update the Space Station's data handling capability in the

post-IOC era.

c. Communications Experiments in Low Earth Orbit: Testing Antennas

The Shuttle and Space Station will make it possible to develop and

test, in space, communications systems and technologies that can then be

"handed over" to operational systems. For example, the laser communications system could be tested between the Advanced Communications

Technology Satellite and the Shuttle or a Spartan type of spacecraft to

provide a basis for updating the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

to make it capable of handling the high (greater than one gigabit) data

rates predicted for the late 1990s.

Use is planned of a dedicated Spartan type of maneuverable free flyer

that can be instrumented with systems embodying new communications technology and can be maneuvered from the Shuttle or the Space Station. Such a

spacecraft will make possible a variety of experimental communication

links between the Shuttle, the Space Station, the Advanced Communications

Technology Satellite, and the ground. It could be a repeated payload for

the Shuttle or it could be stored in the Space Station between uses. It

could be used for the following wide range of experimental purposes:

o To test the Voice-of-America HF beacon

III-63
o To serve as a test vehicle for an Antenna Far Field Test Range by

travelling in space to test the side lobes of an antenna attached

to the Space Station and to test the operation of related payloads,

and by sending the data collected to the Shuttle or Space Station

for analysis

To conduct at the Space Station the following tests of a mobilecommunications satellite with 20-meter diameter antennas: testing

and verifying antenna integrity; testing antenna side lobes under

multiple-beam conditions; and testing, in the Antenna Far Field

Test Range, the beam switching system of the mobile-communications

satellite

To serve as a vehicle for flight tests of communications at low

Earth orbit and between low Earth orbit and the geosynchronous

ACTS:

To test a O.8-micrometer gallium arsenide laser transmitter mounted

on the free flyer and controlled from the Shuttle or the Space

Station with a link to a laser receiver mounted on ACTS, and of a

20-GHz down link between ACTS and its ground station (in

association with Lincoln Laboratories)

- In association with industry, to test laser communications links

between the free flyer and ACTS

- In association with Lincoln Laboratories, to test 0.8-Micron laser

links between the free flyer and the Space Station.

Plans for the Antenna Far Field Test Range recognize that optimum use

of the geostationary arc will require reuse of positions on the arc and of

onboard switching, which will demand, in turn, larger antennas in space

than the Shuttle and available expendable launch vehicles can provide.

The space assembly capabilities of the Space Station will make possible

the needed increase in antenna diameter from 16 feet to i00 meters. Thus,

use of large antennas will be possible for the missions of the late 1990s

and, in addition, the designers of spacecraft buses no longer will be

limited to the "box" or "can" configuration dictated by the accommodations

that expendable launch vehicles can provide. Spacecraft of the future are

expected to use girders and antennas in such a way that their payloads,

including their antenna or antennas, are the principal contributors to

spacecraft mass, as compared with the 25-percent payload mass ratio

typical of current standard communications satellites.

Large space antennas will require development of technology for

distributed space structures; that is, structures whose geometry is

maintained by distributed controls rather than by the intrinsic rigidity

of the structures. That technology must be developed and tested, in large

part, in the space environment. An ability to control the dynamics of

large antennas is mandatory because of the extreme pointing accuracy they

will be required to have.

Large antenna development currently is being conducted by NASA, with

Harris Corporation under contract to Langley Research Center for a

111-64
15-meter antenna and LockheedMissiles and SpaceCompanyunder contract to

the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a 55-meter antenna.

d. Large Geostationar_, Communications Platforms

The demand for satellite transponders is expected to grow through the

turn of the century, but development of the full potential of the market

for them will require resolving two difficulties: saturation of the

accessible orbit arc and spectrum and the already evident decrease in

cost-effectiveness gains from technology advancements as short term

advancements are exhausted. Alleviation of those difficulties will

involve increasing the number of orbital positions, use of intersatellite

links, expansion into the K= band, and more effective use of the orbit arc

and spectrum Large geosta_ionary communications platforms are expected

to contribute significantly to effective use of the orbit arc and

spectrum, but several issues regarding their use will have to be resolved:

whether the seeming economy of scale benefits are likely to be realized,

the practical limitations on frequency reuse provided by multiple beams,

the feasibility of aggregating services, and whether current expectations

for system operations and overall cost effectiveness are realistic.

By the year 2000, the Space Station could include, in addition to an

expanded complex in low Earth orbit, a geosynchronous platform and orbital

transfer vehicles operating in both low Earth orbit and geosynchronous

orbit. The geostationary platform would be far advanced from the then

innovative orbiting farm concept of 1977. It presents many new challenges

with regard to architectural concepts. For example, instead of consisting

of a single cluster of antennas, it might consist of multiple clusters of

small or giant, or both small and giant, antennas. It might have central

or distributed, direct current power systems instead of modular payloads

with self-contained power systems. And, instead of consisting of rigid,

interconnected structures, it might consist of large, distributed systems

held together by cables or even electromagnetic radiation.

NASA started studying space platforms in the mid 1970s and now is

studying the feasibility of large geostationary communications platforms,

determining what technology must be developed, and defining what the

Government's and industry's respective roles and responsibilities should

be. An experimental system could be initiated in FY 1994, with launch in

FY 1998.

e. Low Earth Orbit Communication Satellite

NASA has a Joint Endeavor Agreement with industry to test a unique,

low Earth orbit communications satellite capable of picking up, on

command, data from a location on the ground over which it is passing and

then transmitting the data, again on command, to another point on the

ground. That store and dump satellite will have many applications such as

conveying data from buoys to a data processing or collection facility.

Its cost will be low, and it can be launched from the Shuttle with the

low-cost system used for launching Get-Away Special payloads.

This program represents a thrust toward use of locations not on the

geostationary arc for communications, particularly use of low Earth orbit

III-65
locations. The Space Station and its free flyers and platforms will

stimulate development work on low Earth orbit communication systems in the

1990s.

5. Planned Activities for 1995 and Later Years

About 1995, a new era in the use of space for communications will emerge,

due in large part to the availability of the Space Station as a staging base

for space assembly and test operations. The Space Station also will make

possible a large number of scientific spacecraft that will join the communications satellites in the region between low Earth orbit and geostationary

orbit. That proliferation of all kinds of spacecraft will generate many new

requirements. For example, Earth observation platforms using side-looking

radars will generate hundreds of megabits of data that will have to be

returned to Earth; and satellites in geostationary orbit using radiometers to

monitor the atmosphere will require very large antennas.

The Space Station will generate many needs for advanced communications

technology, but also will provide capabilities that will enable development of

the technology. Clusters of science and applications satellites will fly in

formation with the Space Station and will require a variety of communications

capabilities. As NASA learns how to use the Space Station's capabilities

effectively, its fundamental method of doing research and development on

antennas will change. Construction, test, and subsequent launching to other

orbits of very large antennas will become possible.

NASA is exploring long-term concepts for using laser intersatellite links

to provide space communications. One concept is for a commercial data relay

satellite using laser links to access satellites in the geostationary arc,

satellites between low Earth orbit and geostationary orbit, and even highflying aircraft. Expected customers for the satellite are sellers of services

such as mapping, crop analysis, and exploration for water, oil, and other

Earth resources.

Another long-term concept being explored is that of global interconnectivity. This concept calls for a laser intersatellite link from geostationary

platform to geostationary platform around the periphery of the geostationary

arc, with any point in the peripheral linkage accessible to an Earth station

in a north-south corridor and using a microwave or millimeter wave link. By

providing interfaces with the proliferating fiber optic terrestrial and

submarine cable networks, this laser intersatellite link system can provide

the "wiring" or interconnectivity of the entire globe.

G. Microgravit X Science and Applications

Earth's gravity influences many processes, often in subtle ways. Small

thermal and compositional gradients in fluids cause complicated and sometimes

unwanted stirring that is difficult to analyze. Hydrostatic pressure requires

confinement of liquids by containers whose walls sometimes produce unwanted

effects. Since virtually every process developed by humans evolved in a unit

gravity environment, humans have become adept at circumventing some, but not

all, of the difficulties imposed by gravity. Now the Space Shuttle provides

for extended periods of time a laboratory environment in which the effects of

gravity are minute. Thus, new dimensions in process control exist--freedom

111-66
from constraints imposedby gravity on Earth-based processes and opportunity

to study nongravitational effects that often are masked by gravity-driven

flows. NASA encourages the academic and industrial research communities to

use the Shuttle's unique environment on a routine basis when it is expedient

to suppress various gravitational effects. NASAalso works with industry and

commercial interests to develop, in space, microgravity processes and products

that will help to maintain U.S. technological leadership.

1. Goals

The goals of the Microgravity Science and Applications program are to

investigate the behavior of material in a fluid state and the effects on that

behavior of carrying out processes in the microgravity environment of space,

to provide a better understanding of the effects and limitations imposed by

gravity on processes carried out on Earth, and to evolve processes that

exploit the unique character of the microgravity environment of space to

accomplish results that cannot be obtained in unit gravity. Those goals

anticipate that the scientific and industrial communities will find sufficient

merit in research carried out in space to justify development, at least partly

supported by the user community, of a National Microgravity Laboratory as part

of the SpaceStation. They also anticipate that someof the processes from

early research will be sufficiently attractive to industry to form the bases

for additional commercial ventures similar to those already undertaken by

McDonnell Douglas, Microgravity Research Associates, and the 3MCorporation.

2. Program Scope

The Microgravity Science and Applications program consists of investigations previously sponsored by the Materials Processing in Space Office in the

Office of Space Science and Applications and by the Chemistry in Space program

in the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology. It concentrates on the

following research discipline areas and does not study the effects of gravity

on living organisms:

o Electronic materials, including crystal growth from the melt, solution,

and vapor

o Metals and alloys, including macro and micro segregation in casting,

eutectic formation, and solidification of immiscible metals

o Glasses and ceramics, including formation of glass compositions and

fining (the elimination of gas bubbles from a glass melt)

o Combustion science, including study of droplet and solid surface

combustion

o Biotechnology, including separation and purification of biomaterials by

continuous flow electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing

o Fluid and transport phenomena, including study of critical point phenomena and wetting behavior.

111-67
3. Strategy

Plans for the program include expansion of the research base established

during the last several years and the conduct of flight investigations to

delineate the potential and limitations of the microgravity environment for

scientific and industrial use. Since the merits of that use ultimately will

be determined by participating investigators, the following steps are being

taken to involve potential users in the program's capability demonstration

phase:

0 Establishment of an advisory group consisting of research scientists

from universities, government, and industry to provide an external

perspective to the program. That group's functions will be to convey

to NASA the reactions of the potential user community to various facets

of the program, identify the types of research that would be most

beneficial to prospective users, and serve as emissaries to the

external research community.

Establishment of working groups structured along disciplinary lines.

The primary functions of the working groups are to identify areas of

research relevant to the program and to encourage qualified investigators to become involved in it.

0 Consideration to establishment at various universities of additional

centers of excellence to strengthen specific areas of research. Those

centers would be similar to the Materials Processing Center at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology and would have the same purpose,

the bringing together of the research interests of government,

industry, and universities in a setting suitable for innovative

activity.

In cooperation with NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, encouragement

of increased industrial involvement through use of the Technical

Exchange Agreement and Joint Endeavor Agreement mechanisms already

established and published in the Federal Register and the Commerce

Daily. The former mechanism allows an industrial firm to work with

NASA in an area of mutual interest with no exchange of funds. The firm

conducts experiments in NASA's ground-based facilities--levitation

systems, drop tubes, drop towers, and aircraft--to determine whether

space experiments are justified. A Joint Endeavor Agreement allows an

industrial firm and NASA to share the costs and risks of developing

commercial space ventures. Generally, the firm is expected to develop

the experimental apparatus; NASA, to provide a specified number of free

flights in return for considerations such as data rights and use of the

apparatus. If the venture proves to be profitable, the firm reimburses

NASA for future flights of the apparatus. Another mechanism in use is

an industrial outreach program in which industries with a potential for

using microgravity are contacted and supplied with information or

invited to visit NASA field centers engaged in microgravity research.

NASA also arranges seminars in which researchers involved in the NASA

microgravity program describe the program to potential participants and

discuss the results they have obtained.

o Issuance in the near future of an announcement calling attention to the

flight opportunities available, now that the Shuttle is operational.

111-68
That announcementwill emphasize the desirability of starting investigations on apparatus suitable for installation on the Shuttle's middeck because that type of apparatus usually can be produced more

quickly and is less expensive than apparatus that must be mounted in

the cargo bay. Prospective investigators also will be encouragedto

use existing cargo bay and Spacelab apparatus, if possible. If

existing apparatus cannot be used or readily modified, NASAwill

determine whether it is more cost effective for NASA to build the

needed apparatus or for the investigator to build it. NASAalso will

determine whether the apparatus can, with minor modifications,

accommodateother investigators.

4. Current Program

a. Ground-Based Investigations

With its growing science base and maturing investigations, the groundbased experiment program has begun to make significant contributions to

the materials sciences, as indicated by an increase in the number of

papers published in refereed journals from a total of a few dozen before

1977 to over i00 in each of the past two years. Some of the areas

promising valuable results are described in the paragraphs that follow.

(1) Convection in .C.rystal Growth

Crystal growers only recently have begun to analyze convective flows

and how they affect the growth process. The flows are complicated by the

fact that most systems of interest have more than one component, requiring

that both thermal and compositional effects be considered. Since thermal

diffusivity usually is several orders of magnitude larger than chemical

diffusivity, modeling the combined convection is extremely difficult.

Solidification in a binary system can be unstable even when the system's

concentration is very low. Even a very small convective flow can have a

significant effect on the radial distribution of dopants in crystal

growth, and it has been found that considerable convection occurs because

of radial gradients that are impossible to avoid. Diffusion controlled

vapor transport is not possible in a gravity field because viscous

interactions between the transporting vapor and the container wall create

density gradients that are always convectively destabilizing. Research

sponsored by NASA already has contributed significantly to understanding

of crystal growth processes, and its results provide a base for the

crystal growth experiments in space that NASA plans to sponsor.

(2) Non_ravitational Phase Separation Mechanisms

Early attempts to avoid phase separation from density differences in

the solidification of certain alloys in microgravity have indicated that

phase separation mechanisms other than gravity also are important. Recent

work has provided interesting insights into some of those mechanisms, and

further understanding of them possibly could allow control of phase separation in such alloys.

111-69
(3) Containerless Processin_

Containerless processing on and near Earth's surface is possible, but

in a limited fashion, using drop facilities, aircraft, and various levitation techniques. A lO0-meter drop tube is in operation at Marshall Space

Flight Center, and a variety of smaller drop tubes are in operation at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Drop towers, which can drop entire experimental packages, are in operation at both Marshall Space Flight Center and

Lewis Research Center. General Electric has developed an electromagnetic

levitation facility, and other levitator systems are in operation at

Marshall Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

In space, liquids--especially high temperature melts--can be contained

solely by their surface tension and can be positioned by small noncontacting forces provided by electrostatic, electromagnetic, or acoustic fields.

Thus, there are a number of potential applications for containerless

processing in space. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory does considerable work

on levitation technology. It has developed and tested extensively in

KC-135 aircraft, and on flights of Space Processing Applications Rockets,

techniques for positioning and rotating samples using acoustic and electrostatic fields, and has developed a 3-axis, acoustic levitator furnace

for use on the Space Shuttle. General Electric is modifying a small

electromagnetic levitator it developed originally for the Space Processing

Applications Rocket program to perform similar experiments on the Space

Shuttle.

(4) Bioseparation Processes

Considerable progress has been made in understanding the component

flows in continuous flow electrophoresis, the limitations imposed on that

process by Earth's gravity, and the possibilities for its use in space.

Princeton University has performed analyses; and Marshall Space Flight

Center has conducted experiments and developed an electrophoretic

separator that eliminates stream distortion by using as walls endless

belts that move with the fluid, allowing the stream to occupy the total

width of the chamber without loss of resolution from wall effects. The

University of Arizona has developed a recirculating isoelectric focusing

separator that has major advantages. Both the moving wall electrophoretic

separator and the recirculating isoelectric focusing separator have

commercial potential and could be the subjects of joint endeavors.

(5) Combustion Science

The fire incidents in the Apollo I and Apollo 13 spacecraft made it

clear that buoyancy driven flows in a gravity field and the lack of them

in space strongly affect the way in which fires propagate. Experiments

relating to fire safety technology began in response to those fires. It

precipitated an awareness that experiments in low gravity could provide,

on a variety of combustion systems, important data unobtainable in unit

gravity because the buoyancy driven convective flows that unit gravity

creates often mask processes such as conductive and radiative heat transfer and the molecular diffusion of chemical species. In the microgravity

of space, relatively simple instruments have provided significant insight

into combustion phenomena. It is ironic that that insight applies

111-70
principally to ground-based power conversion, propulsion, and fire-safety

systems.

b. Space Shuttle Mid-Deck Experiments

Shuttle flights have provided the means for resuming long-duration

experiments in a microgravity environment in the Microgravity Science and

Applications program. Descriptions of two that have flown on the

Shuttle's mid-deck follow.

(1) Monodisperse Latex Reactor

Beginning with the third flight of the Shuttle, Lehigh University has

conducted a series of seeded polymerization experiments with the objective

of producing precision polystyrene spheres with uniform sizes for use in a

variety of applications. Spheres with diameters of 7 to 40 micrometers

had been produced on Earth, but they were not available in quantity, were

not spherical, and had a size dispersion of about 3 percent. The spheres

produced on the Shuttle have size dispersions generally less than i percent and are spherical. The National Bureau of Standards has determined

that they qualify as standards and has requested additional samples.

(2) Continuous Flow Electrophoresis

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company has developed and built a

Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System under the terms of a Joint Endeavor

Agreement with NASA. That system has been flown several times on the

Shuttle, beginning with that vehicle's fourth flight. The objectives of

the experiments conducted with that system are to determine the technical

advantages of its operation in microgravity and to assess the commercial

viability of its use for separating pharmaceuticals in space. Flight data

indicate that operation in space can yield up to 400 times the throughput

that can be achieved on the ground in the separation of "proprietary"

biomaterial. McDonnell Douglas is proceeding with its flight program,

which ultimately may lead to commercial processing in space. Under the

provisions of the Joint Endeavor Agreement, NASA-sponsored investigators

have had a chance to conduct 8 separation experiments to increase understanding of electrophoretic separations in space. Materials that have

been separated are hemoglobin, polysaccharide, and kidney cells. The

results of the experiments still are being analyzed.

c. Materials Experiment Assembly Experiments

The Materials Experiment Assembly is a carrier for materials processing experiments. It can accommodate up to four experiment packages of the

Space Processing Applications Rocket type, providing them with power,

control, data acquisition, thermal control, and heat rejection. Since its

provision of those services is independent of the Shuttle's systems, its

integration with the orbiter is greatly simplified and it therefore can

take advantage of more flight opportunities. It first flew on the seventh

Shuttle mission, performing flawlessly. The investigations that have been

conducted on it are described below. Their results provide the foundation

for microgravity research to be undertaken during the next few years.

111-71
(I) Furnace Experiments

Two experiments involving a total of six samples were conducted in two

General Purpose Rocket Furnaces. One furnace was configured for isothermal processing and the other for gradient processing. The furnaces

functioned to specification and produced the required thermal profiles in

the samples.

(a) Monotectic Alloys

Several monotectic alloys were processed in experiments like those

flown earlier on sounding rockets except that the crucible materials were

chosen to avoid phase separation from critical wetting. One sample was

processed in the gradient furnace to examine the effects of thermal

migration of droplets of the minority phase driven by thermal capillary

flows. Other samples were processed in the isothermal furnace equipped

with plungers to eliminate free surfaces and, therefore, possible flows

driven by surface tension. Analysis of the samples is in process.

(b) Crystal Growth from Vapor

A Skylab experiment to grow crystals of germanium and selenium from a

vapor was repeated on the Space Shuttle except that an inert gas was

substituted for the iodine transport gas used previously. The purpose of

the experiment was to determine whether previously observed anomalous

transport rates were in fact caused by chemical reactions throughout the

growth ampoules or by other mechanisms that must be sought. The observed

transport rates agree with those predicted from diffusion calculations to

within 20 percent. However, one unexpected result has been observed. The

crystals grown in space are almost an order of magnitude larger than those

grown under identical thermal conditions on the ground. Well-defined

platelets, some as large as five by ten millimeters, grow in an open

web-like structure in flight ampoules, whereas ground control ampoules

contain a crust of very small crystallite or polycrystalline material in

the growth region. The effects of small gravity-driven flows in the

vicinity of a growing crystal apparently are more pronounced than anyone

anticipated.

(2) Levitator Experiments

A single-axis, acoustic levitator furnace with an automatic sample

exchange mechanism containing eight samples was flown to test its

levitation capability at temperatures up to 1,600 o C and to explore

containerless glass formation. Because of a mechanical malfunction, no

data were obtained, lhe equipment has been repaired and will be reflown

in 1985.

5. Future Focus

The fact that experiments in a microgravity environment can produce new

and unexpected scientific results has been established; for example, the

anomalous growth rates and large size crystals mentioned above, which have led

to substantial reevaluation of transport theory in growth of crystals from

vapor. Other surprises undoubtedly will be encountered as the flight program

111-72
accelerates. Such results have intensified interest in the aspects of the

program described below, which will be emphasized during the next several

years.

a. Cr_stal Growth of Electronic Materials

Single crystals of various electronic materials are extremely important for continuing progress in the rapidly expanding technology of those

materials. In fact, they may have sufficient value per unit mass to be

candidates for commercial production in space. As mentioned above, it is

becoming increasingly clear that it is virtually impossible to avoid

convective effects in crystal growth in unit gravity and that even small

flows can result in profound differences in growth morphology,

compositional homogeneity, and structural perfection.

b. Crystal Growth of Organic Materials

The academic and industrial research communities are showing considerable interest in the use of microgravity to provide diffusion controlled

transport in the crystallization of various complex organic molecules with

low symmetry and small bonding energies. The result is expected to be

many materials that may have interesting and unique electro-optical

properties and that grow into crystals large enough to provide good

electro-optical properties.

Results that Spacelab I obtained on the growth of protein crystals

have stimulated considerable interest in using microgravity to grow

crystals of various proteins whose 3-dimensional structures would be

determined by x-ray or neutron diffraction. The techniques for making

such determinations have developed rapidly because of advances in interactive computer graphics. Additional impetus has come from the use of

knowledge about the 3-dimensional structures of proteins in designing both

highly specific pharmaceutical agents and enzymes tailored for specific

tasks. That activity has become a major new research area for many

chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

Several pharmaceutical companies and cancer research centers at

universities have expressed interest in trying to grow protein crystals in

space for structural analysis. If their efforts are successful, they

could provide commercial as well as societal benefits.

c. Solidification of Alloys and Composites

Low-gravity experiments in the solidification of alloys and composites

have revealed some unexpected and interesting effects. As mentioned

above, several nongravitational phase separation mechanisms have been

discovered in monotectic systems. In addition, rod diameters and spacings

found in melts composed of manganese bismuth and bismuth eutectic

directionally solidified in space have been much finer than ground control

experiments and the theory of convection growth had indicated they would

be. Dendrite arms in transparent model systems (such as ammonia

hydroxide) and binary metallic alloys (such as lead-tin and copperaluminum) solidified in space have been observed to have an unexpected

difference in spacing from that obtained in control experiments on the

111-73
ground. Investigation of such unexpected effects will be the object of

future flight experiments designed to reevaluate the role of convection in

present theories of solidification.

d. Containerless Meltin 9 and Solidification

Drop tube demonstrations have shown that substantial undercooling can

be achieved in bulk samples and that unique metastable and amorphous

microstructures thus can be produced. %o extend that type of research to

materials that cannot be solidified in drop tubes, experiments in electromagnetic levitation of nickel alloys will be conducted in space. Also,

space experiments involving containerless positioning of high-temperature

melts offer unique opportunities to measure high-temperature thermal

properties of materials, especially those whose melt phases are highly

corrosive.

e. Containerless Formation of Glass

The absence of container walls offers the possibility of avoiding

heterogeneous nucleation in glass formation and of extending the range of

glass formation to systems that do not readily form glasses. Extreme

purity can be obtained by eliminating trace contaminants that a crucible

would introduce, especially in gel-derived systems. Also, a degree of

manipulation is possible by shaping the noncontacting force fields to form

various configurations, such as precision glass shells and optical fibers.

lhe weight of I00 kilometers bf lO0-micron diameter optical fiber is only

a few kilograms. ]hus, since there is considerable commercial interest in

very low loss optical fibers formed from halide glasses that transmit in

the near infrared, production of such fibers in space may become a

commercial process.

f. Separation Processes

McDonnell-Douglas' success with continuous flow electrophoresis in

space indicates that similar benefits may be possible in other microgravity separation processes such as moving wall electrophoresis, isoelectric

focusing, isotachophoresis, photophoresis, thermophoresis, and phase

partitioning. Of particular interest are unique separations that can be

performed in such processes and the effects that may be caused by the high

sample concentrations permitted by microgravity operation. Examples of

those effects are particle-particle interactions during separation and

electric field distortions caused by electrical conductivity mismatch

between sample and buffer.

g. Fluid and lransport Phenomena

Elimination of buoyancy driven convection and sedimentation will

permit study of fluid and transport phenomena that are difficult to study

in a gravitational field. Examples are 3-dimensional rotating flows,

2-phase flows, thermocapillary flows, drop and bubble dynamics, bubble and

droplet migration in thermal and solutal gradients, Soret diffusion, equilibrium configurations in partially filled containers, critical wetting

and spreading, nucleation and growth, Oswald ripening, foam stability,

rheology, and critical phase transitions.

111-74
h. Cloud Microphysics and Aerosol Science

Microscale processes in the atmosphere--aerosol formation resulting

from gas to particle conversion and its mechanisms, cloud droplet and ice

crystal nucleation and growth, riming, collision-coalescence, charge

separation, precipitation formation, droplet breakup, aerosol scavenging,

etc.--are among the most difficult physical processes to study experimentally because of the small energies involved and the care that must be

taken to prevent foreign influences from altering the results obtained.

Elimination of convective motions and artificially supported large hydrometers can improve experiment performance greatly by isolating the gas

being studied from the disturbing influences of chamber walls and other

surfaces. The absence of convection also implies that temperatures and

vapor fields within the gas are controlled only by conduction and diffusion mechanisms that can be accurately modeled and, therefore, that

unpredictable experimental variations caused by eddy motions can be

eliminated. Encouragement will be given to the undertaking of fundamental

microgravity experiments that could lead to greater or more precise understanding of the important processes in atmospheric cloud microphysics.

i. Combustion Science

The absence of a significant gravity field facilitates observation of

fundamental combustion mechanisms that buoyancy driven convection would

mask under unit gravity. Such observations increase understanding of

combustion processes in traditional terrestrial systems by permitting

comparison of the data obtained with predictions from models with gravity

controlled terms removed. Those observations also can lead to direct

application, in both space-based and ground-based systems, of the

technology developed. Experimentation will continue in droplet burning,

particle cloud combustion, solid-surface flame spreading, smoldering combustion, pool burning, gas-jet diffusion flames, and premixed gas flame

propagation. Experimentation will be started in buoyancy effects in

turbulent combustion; and several directed studies will be conducted on

such aspects of the fire safety of spacecraft as radiative ignition of

solids in the absence of buoyancy.

6. Facilities and Apparatus

NASA has conducted, since 1968, a program of research into phenomena

associated with the processing of materials in low gravity provided by drop

tubes, aircraft, and rockets. That research and other laboratory investigations are continuing but have the limitation that they can provide only

seconds to minutes of low gravity. The Space Shuttle makes frequent and

long-term microgravity investigations possible. Table 111-3 lists the

Nation's low-gravity research facilities, Table 111-4 the processing equipment

currently available and planned, and Table 111-5 the apparatus being used on

the Shuttle's mid-deck and being used or planned for use in the Shuttle's

cargo bay. Other systems and apparatus will be defined and developed as

required for support of experiments that will be proposed in response to a

solicitation that soon will be issued. Small systems will be developed that

can be accommodated on a space available basis and, therefore, may have

frequent opportunities to fly. Spacelab will provide support for advanced

sophisticated processing systems.

111-75
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111-78
Present emphasis is on apparatus and experiments, for installation on the

Shuttle's mid-deck, that potentially can be upgraded to fly in the cargo bay

or Spacelab. Need for longer experiment times and higher power levels is

expected to develop, requiring a carrier such the Space Station system or

Leasecraft. Those systems will provide a low-gravity environment that is

continuous and free of the constraints that flight on the Shuttle places on

mission duration, power availability, and freedom from minor disturbances.

Lewis Research Center has established the Microgravity Materials Science

Laboratory to provide easy access and assistance to researchers in industry,

universities, and government wishing to conduct materials research with

experimental equipment designed for use on the Shuttle. That |aboratory will

allow researchers to precede establishment of a formal project with brief

exploration of microgravity science concepts and examination of ideas aimed at

potentia] flight experiments.

7. Prospects for Commercialization

Two functions of the Microgravity Science and Applications program will

have a substantial effect on the possibilities for the program's

commercialization: the use of space to obtain knowledge that can be applied

to improve terrestrial processes and the processing of materials in space to

take advantage of the weightless conditions there. The first of those

functions anticipates the routine use of microgravity experimentation as an

accepted method for solving problems related to the processing of materials on

the ground, with industry paying at least a portion of the cost of the

experimentation. A number of companies recently have indicated an interest in

using space for such problem solving. Now that use of finite element analysis

techniques to model industrial processes is spreading, the need for more

accurate knowledge of the thermophysical properties of materials is becoming

acute. The companies also have expressed interest in testing their models of

various processes by determining whether the results from carrying out the

processes in the absence of gravity verify that the models correctly predict

the essential nature of the processes before the complicating effects of

gravity enter in. Other matters attracting industrial attention are the role

of convection in crystal growth processes and the growing of various crystals

in microgravity to try to discover why they are difficult or impossible to

grow on Earth. Another activity that could be useful to a number of

industries is preparation in space of small quantities of unique materials to

determine their characteristics or to use them as paradigms.

The processing of samples in space will be restricted, at least for the

near future, to small quantities of high-value, low-volume materials such as

pharmaceutical products, electronic materials, optical fibers, highly specialized alloys, and possibly precision latex microspheres. However, other

applications can be expected to emerge as experience with the flight program

increases and unforeseen results are obtained. To form the basis for and

foster future ventures by industry, NASA will continue to conduct its flight

program with inputs from and participation by industry. NASA sponsors, and

encourages others to sponsor, materials processing research on materials and

processes known to be of technological interest so that sufficient information

will be available for industries interested in commercialization to determine

whether the technology is advanced enough to warrant commercialization. The

Office of Space Science and Applications works in cooperation with the Office

111-79
of Commercial Programs to foster commercial endeavors. The task of deciding

whether a material can be produced in space on a commercial basis is left to

industry, since industry is best qualified to make such decisions.

H. Institution

The Office of Space Science and Applications has responsibility for

institutional management of Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory. It also will continue to use the capabilities and facilities of

the other NASA centers to achieve its science and applications goals.

I. Goddard Space Flight Center

Goddard Space Flight Center will be strengthened and sustained as a center

of excellence to provide expertise in the scientific disciplines related to

NASA's space science and applications programs with emphasis on unmanned

satellite systems, satellite tracking networks, and broad-based scientific

research. Its specific functions are to:

o Plan and develop Earth orbiting science and applications spacecraft and

plan and execute associated operations and data analyses

o Provide for acquisition and dissemination of data from science and

applications missions

o Develop science and appl°ications instruments to be flown or placed in

Earth orbit by the Shuttle

o Plan and develop designs for platforms, accommodations for attached

payloads, servicing and assembly equipment, and user characteristics of

the data system for the Space Station during the Station's definition

phase

o Conduct balloon and sounding rocket programs for science and

applications research

o Maintain the large-scale computer resources needed to support the

research and data analysis programs, including the long-term archiving

of space data, of the Office of Space Science and Applications

o Sustain excellence in development and operation of Earth orbital

spacecraft

o Enhance tracking and data acquisition systems and support operations as

the primary mode is changed from a ground-based system to a satellite

system

o Maintain itself as the NASA center of excellence for overall space

science and applications disciplines

o Sustain its excellence in the development, launch activities, and

operation of the sounding rocket program at Wallops Flight Facility

111-80
o Enhance its excellence in management of special Shuttle payloads and

analysis of resulting data.

2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be strengthened and sustained as the

center of excellence for development and operations of planetary missions.

Its specific functions are to:

o Plan and execute scientific research involving unmanned automated space

systems

o Develop science instruments to be flown or placed in Earth orbit by the Shuttle

o Serve as lead center for solar system exploration, including operation

of the Deep Space Network

Undertake work for other U.S. government agencies

Sustain its excellence in applying advanced information systems

technologies to support the programs of the Office of Space Science and

Applications

o

o Maintain its excellence in advanced guidance and propulsion systems

o Sustain its excellence in acquisition and analysis of planetary data.

Other NASA Centers

Capabilities of other NASA centers will be used and reinforced in the

following areas:

o Ames Research Center

- Life sciences flight experiments

- Mission operations for Pioneer spacecraft

- Management of the Office of Space Science and Applications' aircraft

programs

o Johnson Space Center

- Life sciences flight experiments

- Lunar and planetary geosciences disciplines

- Development of space-based sensors for Earth observations

o Kennedy Space Center

- Life sciences flight experiments

111-81
- Spacelab payload processing operations

o Langley Research Center

- Atmospheric sciences technology

- Developmentof space instruments for atmospheric sensing

o Lewis Research Center

- Advancedcommunications systems technology, including managementof the

AdvancedCommunicationslechnology Satellite project

o Marshall Space Flight Center

- Developmentand mission managementof Spacelab payloads

- Specialized automated spacecraft activities, including managementof

the Space Telescope project and conduct of studies for advanced

missions.

111-82
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IV. SPACE FLIGHT

CONTENTS

A. Goals .............. .............................................. 1

1. Objectives f;r'FY 1986"through't990..................................3

2. Objectives Beyond FY 1990 ............................................ 4

B. Planned Programs .................... ..................................... 4

I. Baseline ............................................................. 7

a. Shuttle Production and Capability Development .................... 7

(1) Orbiters ..................................................... 7

(2) Propulsion System ............................................ 9

(a) Space Shuttle Main Engine ................................ 9

(b) Solid Rocket Boosters .................................... 9

(c) External Tank ........................................... 10

(3) Launch and Mission Support .................................. 10

(4) Changes and Systems Upgrading ............................... 10

(5) Tethered Satellite System ................................... 10

b. Upper Stages .................................................... 11

(1) Inertial Upper Stage ........................................ 11

(2) Centaur Upper Stages ........................................ 11

(3) Payload Assist Module ....................................... 12

(4) Other Stages ................................................ 12

c. Spacelab ........................................................ 12

(I) Spacelab Operations ......................................... 12

l_I Spacelab Capability Development ............................. 14 Pricing Policy ..................................... 14

d. Spaceflight Operations ......

(1) Space Shuttle Operations................................... "14"''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''.16

(2) Expendable Launch Vehicles .................................. 16

2. New Initiatives ..................................................... 17

a. Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle ..................................... 18

b. Flight Demonstrations and Satellite Services .................... 18

c. Advanced Crew Support ........................................... 20

C. Institutional Management ................................................ 20

I. Marshall Space Flight Center ........................................ 20

2. Johnson Space Center ................................................ 21

3. Kennedy Space Center ................................................ 21

4. National Space Technology Laboratories .............................. 22

D. Technical Relationships Between Program Elements ........................ 22

E. Advanced Studies ........................................................ 24

I. Crew Systems ........................................................ 24

2, Spacecraft Systems .................................................. 24

a. Geostationary Platforms ......................................... 27

b. Advanced Tether Applications .................................... 27

3. Satellite Services .................................................. 27

a. Satellite Services at the Orbiter ............................... 30

b. Satellite Services Remote from the Orbiter ...................... 32
o Advanced Transportation ............................................. 32

a. Earth to Low Orbit Transportation ............................... 32

(1) Aft Cargo Carrier ........................................... 32

(2) Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle .............................. 35

(3) Heavy-Lift Vehicle .......................................... 35

b. Low Orbit to Geostationary and Other High-Energy Orbits ......... 37

TABLES

Table IV-1 Evolution Implications ........................................... 5

Table IV-2 STS Capabilities ................................................. 8

FIGURES

Figure

Figure

FI gure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

Figure

IV-1

IV-2

IV-3

IV-4

IV-5

IV-6

IV-7

IV-8

IV-9

IV-lO

IV-II

IV-12

IV-13

Capability Evolution Plan ...................................... 6

Spacelab Missions Preliminary May 1985 Baseline ............... 13

Spacelab Flight Services ...................................... 15

Elements of Space Infrastructure .............................. 23

Advanced Manned Systems ....................................... 25

Closed Cycle Life Support ..................................... 26

Tether Applications in Space .................................. 28

Tethered Systems .............................................. 29

Orbital Services .............................................. 31

Flight Experiments and Demonstrations--Satellite Services .....33

Advanced Launch Vehicles ...................................... 34

NASA "Driver" Missions ........................................ 36

Orbital Transfer Vehicle ...................................... 38
IV. Space Flight

In calendar year 1984 the Space Transportation System (STS) made five

operational flights, including the first two flights of Discovery, the third

Shuttle orbiter. Those flights also included the first use of the Manned

Maneuvering Unit, the first 7-member crew, the first in-space repair of a

satellite, the first flight of a "commercial" payload specialist, the first

landing at Kennedy Space Center, the first demonstration of refueling in

orbit, and the first retrieval and return of satellites.

The STS has begun to change the traditional view that space activities are

merely idiosyncratic activities of and for a limited few to the more forward

looking view that they are an integral part of human activity and of great

benefit to all of society. The STS will provide, into the 1990s, reliable,

low-cost transportation from Earth's surface to low Earth orbit and return.

However, as currently defined and approved, it will not meet requirements for

the more distant future. As space becomes more and more a part of daily life,

new space transportation capabilities will be required. The plan described in

this chapter is designed to meet the goals and objectives for U.S. space

transportation systems through at least the end of the century. It describes

current programs and programs planned to be started by FY 1995.

The program of the Office of Space Flight has four components:

Development of space transportation capabilities--acquisition, testing,

production, and continuing improvement of space vehicles and the

services they provide

o Space flight operations--prelaunch, launch, flight, landing, and postlanding activities and the concomitant customer services

Active support of the commercial use of space and of privatizing space

transportation systems such as expendable launch vehicles and upper

stages for the Shuttle

Advanced programs--planning and evolutionary development of fol|ow-on

programs to exploit the STS, define a second-generation system, provide

an infrastructure for permanent presence of humans in space, and

increase space flight capabilities through development of advanced

transportation, satellite services, advanced crew and life support, and

tethered systems.

A. Goals

The President's space policy commits NASA to maintain world leadership in

space flight by developing and employing space transportation systems able to

meet appropriate national needs. Four of the Agency's primary goals are

relevant to that commitment, namely:

Make the STS fully operational and cost effective in providing routine

access to space for domestic and foreign, commercial, and governmental

users
o Develop within a decade a permanently mannedSpaceStation

o Expandopportunities for U.S. private sector investment and involvement

in civil space and space-related activities

Establish NASA as a leader in the development and application of

advanced technology and management practices which contribute to

significant increases in both Agency and national productivity.

Progress in meeting those goals requires that the Space Flight program

have as a goal maintenance of a strong, responsive, reliable, and costeffective space transportation system. That goal calls for NASAto prepare

for the anticipated demandon the STSfrom U.S. and foreign users and to focus

its activities in the immediate future commensurately on completing development of the STS, making each mission safe and successful, maintaining an

operational launch schedule, reducing operational costs, and exploiting the

STS' inherent abilities. Developmentof new customer markets will require

that the STSevolve to meet advanced requirements for more economical support

of payloads, manned space operations beyondthose the STSnow can provide,

reduced costs for communications satellite activities, increased use of the

orbiter fleet, larger and heavier payloads, extension to geostationary orbit

of the reusability of spacecraft, and provision of orbital research and

development facilities.

The SpaceTransportation Systemwill be considered fully operational when

it is ready and available for routine use in its intended operational environment to achieve its committed operational objectives. Required, therefore, is

that its flight and ground system design and performance be verified by test

or analysis, including flight demonstration of critical capabilities; that

adequate logistic support for it be in place; that its flight rate capability

be adequate to support its committed flight schedule; and that appropriate

operational managementcapabilities be in place.

The Agency's second major goal related to space transportation systems is

to establish a more permanentpresence in space. Permanenthumanoccupancy of

space is necessary for undertaking larger-scale scientific, exploratory, and

industrial space activities to fulfill economically and effectively the

transportation, facility, and operations needs of exploration, science, and

applications space missions, as well as many transportation needs of national

security space missions. It is the logical next step in evolution of capabilities provided by the STSand in the further development of space flight. The

meansfor achieving this goal is development of a manned, permanent Space

Station in accordance with the President's directive to NASAin his January

1984 State of the Union address. Because of the large scope of that

development, NASA established in 1984 the Office of SpaceStation to manage

the development. That office's program plan is described in chapter V of this

report.

Exploitation of the STS's unique abilities to further the permanent

occupancy goal requires objectives extending into the 1990s that can serve as

a basis for initiatives to be undertaken in the near term. The objectives

that have been established are described in subsections I and 2 below.

IV-2
I •

o

o

o

Objectives for FY 1986 through 1990

o Completing development, acquisition, and upgrading of the STS to its

full capability, and achieving routine operations with it by 1988

- Maintaining the production schedule

- Bringing Spacelab to operational status

Encouraging use of the STS by both domestic and international

commercial customers on a reimbursable basis by implementing the

strategies of the STS marketing plan

Improving support to current commercial communications satellite

missions

Identifying new areas of commercial activity that would benefit from

STS launch support to create new SIS launch markets

Successfully carrying out a total of 14 STS missions in FY 1986

Developing by the second quarter of FY 1986 a Centaur upper stage

compatible with the Shuttle to provide cost-effective transportation to

higher energy orbits

Supporting and encouraging commercial development of upper stages to

ensure a reliable and effective upper stage capability

Establishing an institutional framework for space flight activities

that meets civil and defense needs, appropriately utilizes industry

capabilities, and faci|itates international cooperation

Stabilizing and expanding the STS market by establishing and implementing a business plan that includes both identification of constraints

and a financial management program with an adequate commercial pricing

policy, a customer service organization, and an aggressive marketing

program

Developing a tethered satellite system for the controlled deployment,

orbit stabilization, and retrieval of science and applications

satellites above and below the orbiter

Continuing demonstration of the abilities of the STS in servicing

satellites in order to emphasize this new operational capability and

thereby influence systems designs and operations adopted by users

Developing by 1990 an orbital maneuvering vehicle to meet the needs of

planned and prospective spacecraft, platforms, and facilities for

maneuvering in and between Earth orbits.

IV-3
2. Objectives Beyond FY 1990

Maintaining an operational launch schedule with reserve capacity, while

conducting safe, successful STS missions having progressively lower

operational costs and shorter turn-around times

0 Helping the Offic_ of Space Station to meet its objective of developing

and putting into routine operation by the early 1990s a manned permanent facility (the Space Station) in low Earth orbit for operations,

construction, and research in space

Developing an

Shuttle to meet

platforms, and

Earth orbits

orbital transfer vehicle complementary to the Space

the needs of planned and prospective spacecraft,

facilities for transportation to, between, and beyond

0 Defining, designing, and providing a second-generation STS, including

unmanned cargo vehicles and second-generation orbiters

Developing and operating on a routine basis, beginning in the mid

1990s, space platforms that are unmanned, permanent, and multifunction;

are in geosynchronous orbit; and meet advanced telecommunications,

science, environmental and resource observation, and other needs

Developing and putting into routine operation by the year 2000

permanent, multifunction facilities in geosynchronous orbit that are

capable of being manned periodically and that meet communications,

observation, science, and national security needs

Developing technology and techniques to construct, deploy, or assemble

each of the above systems in space, and achieving an ability to test

and service the systems in orbit

Encouraging and supporting NASA and industry development of technology

to improve concepts for space boosters that will reduce launch costs

significantly

Continuing to develop goals and planning information for expanding

manned programs in space beyond the period covered by this plan.

B. Planned Programs

The evolutionary objectives discussed above have functional implications

that give rise to the technological requirements shown in Table IV-I. Those

requirements are basic to the Space Flight program's ability to exploit fully

the unique characteristics of the STS. Technological solutions to them will

implement the evolutionary plan for the program depicted on Figure IV-1 and °

discussed in greater detail in the later sections of this chapter entitled New

Initiatives and Advanced Studies. Relationships among the elements shown on

Figure IV-I are described further in Figure IV-3 in the later section entitled

Technical Relationships Between Program Elements.

IV-4
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IV-6
I. Baseline

The STS provides efficient, economical access to space, as well as capabilities (summarized in Table IV-2) that today's expendable launch vehicles

cannot supply. It constitutes almost the whole of the NASA space-flight

baseline program. In FY 1984 the third orbiter, Discovery, joined the

orbiters Columbia and Challenger; and the three conducted a total of four

operational flights. The orbiter, payloads, ground control, flight control,

and processing teams have been proven; and the STS now is ready to grow and

mature, over the next few years, into a system that will use the assets

developed by NASA and the Air Force to meet the space transportation needs of

our nation's and the free world's governmental, scientific, commercial, and

national security payloads.

The key element of the STS, the reusable Space Shuttle, has reintroduced

flight crews into spaceflight operations. The Shuttle's major advantage is

its ability to service, maintain, repair, retrieve, and reuse payloads. Its

most important characteristic is its versatility, which will make using it

most effectively a distinct challenge. It has demonstrated some of its

advantages and versatility by launching commercial communications satellites

and the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite; by retrieving satellites for

repair in orbit or return to Earth; by supporting the first extravehicular

activity (space walk) astronauts had conducted in nine years; and by carrying

Spacelab into space.

a. Shuttle Production and Capability Development

The objective of NASA's Shuttle production and capability development

activity is to provide a national fleet of Space Shuttle orbiters that

will meet the needs of NASA, the Department of Defense, and other domestic

and international users. Included are launch site facilities, initial

spares, production tooling, and related support activities. This development activity provides spares for the orbiter and develops structural

spares.

(i) Orbiters

The third orbiter, Discovery, was first flown in FY 1984; and the

planned delivery date for the fourth, Atlantis, is FY 1985. Current plans

also provide for completing production of structural spares, with delivery

of the last component in FY 1987; changeover of the orbiter Columbia into

its operational configuration; and performance of residual development

tasks.

The need for additional orbiters is under assessment. Although the

approved 4-orbiter fleet will satisfy the current mission manifest,

projected increases in launch demand and mission duration would require

the addition of one or more orbiters. Also, an additional orbiter would

be needed if an orbiter were removed from service by an accident or for an

extensive overhaul.

IV-7
TABLEIV-2. STSCAPABILITIES

SHUTTLE

Delivery of Tended and Untended Satellites and Other Payloads to Low Earth

Orbit

Repair and Retrieval of Spacecraft

Delivery of Propulsive Stages and Satellites to Low Earth Orbit for transfer

to High-Energy Orbits

Delivery of 29,500 kg (65,000 Ibs) of Payload to 250-km (150-nmi) Circular

Orbit (Due East)

Delivery of 14,500 kg (32,000 Ibs) of Payload to Polar (980 ) 250-km (150-nmi)

Circular Orbit

Return of 11,340 kg (25,000 Ibs) of Payload from Space

SPACELAB

Payload Capability: 4,800 to 8,800 kg (lO,600Rto 19,400 Ibs)

Pressurized Volume: 8 to 22 m_ (280 to 775 ft _)

Average Electrical Power: 3 to 5 kW

Payload Specialists: i to 4

Nominal Mission Duration: 7 days

INERTIAL UPPER STAGE (2-STAGE)

Delivery of up to 2,270 kg (5,000 Ibs) to Geosynchronous Orbit

PAYLOAD ASSIST MODULES (PAMs)

Delivery of 1,270 kg (2,800 Ibs) to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (PAM-D)

Delivery of 1,995 kg (4,400 Ibs) to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (PAM-A)

CENTAUR-G PRIME

Delivery of 5,895 kg (13,000 Ibs) to Geosynchronous Orbit (Centaur-G:

kg (I0,000 Ibs))

Delivery of 2,360 kg (5,200 Ibs) to Outer Planets (C 3 = 85 km2/sec 2)

4,535

IV-8
(2) Propulsion System

The Shuttle's propulsion system consists of three main engines, two

solid rocket boosters, and an external tank. Residual development tasks

and production of flight hardware constitute the main focus of the plans

for the system.

(a) Space Shuttle Main Engine

In March 1983 the basic full-power-level configuration of the Space

Shuttle main engine (SSME) was certified for service on the orbiter fleet.

After that configuration's first flight, the emphasis of the SSME test

program shifted to flight confidence testing to prove that flight engine

components have sufficient mean-time-before-replacement margins to provide

an extended life capability. One engine will be subjected to the equivalent of about 80 missions and two more engines will be tested to approximately 40 mission equivalents to prove their durability and reliability.

The tests will be scheduled so that any problems relating to engine life

will be found on the ground well before they can occur in flight.

Under consideration are ground tests in which the SSME would be

operated at a higher thrust level to accelerate the occurrence of any

fatigue problems. The tests could reveal problems early and provide a

time margin for developing fixes and applying them to flight engines. In

addition, the higher-thrust operation could provide a basis for increasing

the SSME's thrust performance if operational demands requiring greater

payload capacity should develop.

Because electronic components in the engine controller are obsolescent, development of a new controller is in process. To increase the

reliability and reduce the maintenance costs for other critical components

of the SSME, a product improvement program has been initiated.

(b) Solid Rocket Boosters

Lightweight steel cases for the solid rocket boosters, used for the

first time on the Shuttle's April 1983 flight, increased the Shuttle's

payload capacity by about 260 kilograms. A configuration provided by

reshaping the thrust-time curve, increasing the nozzle expansion ratio,

and decreasing the throat diameter, first flown on the Shuttle's eighth

flight, provided a payload improvement of 1,360 kilograms. A filamentwound composite motor case planned for development for use in highperformance launches will provide a payload capacity about 2,275 kilograms

greater than that provided by the current steel case. It will require

minimal or no reconfiguration of the external tank and the orbiter. The

plan for its development is designed to provide the shortest development

schedule, the least cost, the least technical risk, and the least effect

on the external tank's current design. Its first developmental firing is

planned for July 1984, and its first flight use for October 1985.

Plans for the solid rocket boosters emphasize greater reusability of

parts and the reduction of flight damage, particularly damage to the

hydraulic power unit.

IV-9
(c) External Tank

The first lightweight external tank was flown in April 1983, providing

a weight saving of more than 4,545 kilograms. Development is continuing,

with emphasis on cost reduction, producibility, and production readiness

as the tank's production rate increases and anticipated production-flow

and processing improvements are identified and implemented. Tooling for

both the external tank and the solid rocket boosters currently is based on

a flight rate of 24 per year rather than the higher flight rates

anticipated.

(3) Launch and Mission Support

Current facilities at Kennedy Space Center can support simultaneous

launch processing of two Space Shuttles through assembly and checkout.

However, the single launch pad available allows the launch of only one

Shuttle at a time. A second launch pad will become operational January 1,

1986. At Johnson Space Center, support facilities are being improved to

upgrade techniques related to flight design, flight analysis, and software

development.

(4) Changes and S_stems Upgradin _

Changes and systems upgrading activities pertain to potential changes,

system modifications, and developments that are not included in the

current program. They result from development testing, which will

continue during early operational flights, ground testing, and experience.

They consist of programmatic and technical changes to improve operational

effectiveness. The resulting modifications and improvements are essential

to ensure that development objectives are met and turn-around times are

reduced as flight rates increase. System studies and cost-benefit analyses are integral to the process of establishing priorities for proposed

changes and system upgrades.

Proposals currently under consideration include development of an

advanced (8-psi) extravehicular mobility unit and pressure suit to reduce

or eliminate pre-breathe time before extravehicular activity; modification

of the orbiter reaction control system to eliminate single-point failures,

reduce propellant usage, and reduce life-cycle costs; redesign of the

orbiter landing gear to make it capable of accommodating heavier landing

weights, to reduce tire loads, and to extend brake life; and modification

of the orbiter auxiliary power unit to reduce turn-around time and weight.

(5) Tethered Satellite System

The Tethered Satellite System will consist of a satellite attached by

a cable to a deploying mechanism mounted on a pallet in the cargo bay of

the orbiter. The deployer will include a reel mechanism and an extendable

boom for deploying, operating, and retrieving the satellite. The satellite can weigh 200 to 500 kilograms and may be deployed upward or downward

to distances of as much as 100 kilometers from the Shuttle.

IV-IO
The Tethered Satellite Systemwill makepossible entirely new electrodynamic experiments, in situ observations in hitherto inaccessible

regions, and a unique approach to significant scientific objectives such

as observation of important atmospheric processes occurring within the

lower thermosphere, observation of crustal geomagnetic phenomena, and

direct observation of processes coupling the magnetosphere, ionosphere,

and upper atmosphere in the 125- to 150-kilometer region of the lower

troposphere. It also will provide a means for long-term scientific

experimentation not previously possible, such as emergency power generation, propulsionless reboost and transfer, long-wave communications, Mach

25 flight, and the clustering and station-keeping of platforms around a

space station. Some of its planned uses are described in Chapter Ill of

this report.

The Tethered Satellite System program is a cooperative one with Italy,

which is responsible for developing the satellite and for instrument and

experiment integration. The United States is responsible for developing

the deployer, overall program management, and integration of the system

with the orbiter. Work to prepare the system for its first flight was a

FY 1984 new initiative. It will yield an initial operational capability

in FY 1988. The Italian government has appropriated all the funds

necessary for its activities associated with the development and first

flight of the satellite.

b. Upper Stages

STS upper stages are propulsive systems for boosting Shuttle payloads

to orbits and on trajectories beyond those the Shuttle can fly, primarily

geosynchronous orbits and planetary mission trajectories. Upper stages in

process under government sponsorship are the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS)

and a high-energy Centaur stage modified for use with the Shuttle.

Industry has undertaken development of four solid-propellant upper stages

and has several additional upper stages under consideration or in the

initial stages of definition and development.

(1) Inertial Upper Stage

The U.S. Air Force is developing the IUS, a two-stage, solidpropellant vehicle capable of boosting 2,270 kilograms into geosynchronous

orbit from the Shuttle and the Titan expendable launch vehicle. The IUS

has been flown on both of those vehicles. Its first use on the Shuttle

was to launch the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. That IUS

experienced anomalies that prompted deferral of the second use of the IUS

on the Shuttle to 1984. NASA, the Department of Defense, other government

agencies, and commercial organizations will use the IUS to transport heavy

payloads from low Earth orbits to high Earth orbits.

(2) Centaur Upper Sta_es

The Department of Defense and NASA have agreed to develop jointly the

Centaur-G, an adaptation of the Centaur stage of the Atlas-Centaur expendable launch vehicle. Centaur-G will be able to boost 4,535 kilograms from

the Shuttle to geosynchronous orbit and will become operational in 1987.

IV-II
NASA is developing a longer version of the Centaur-G, the Centaur-G

Prime, for use in planetary missions. It will be able to deliver about

5,900 kilograms to geosynchronous orbit and is planned for use in 1986 to

place the Galileo and Ulysses (formerly International Solar Polar Mission)

spacecraft on their interplanetary trajectories.

(3) Payload Assist Module

The McDonnell Douglas Corporation has undertaken development of payload assist modules for use on missions requiring less propulsive energy

that that provided by the IUS. The Payload Assist Module (Delta Class),

called the PAM-D, has been used to launch several missions on both Delta

expendable launch vehicles and the Shuttle. An improved performance version of the PAM-D, designated PAM-DII, is currently under development.

The Payload Assist Module (Atlas Class), PAM-A, has completed development.

(4) Other Stages

In January 1984, the Orbital Sciences Corporation contracted to

develop the Transfer Orbit Stage for use in missions requiring propulsion

capabilitis between those of the IUS and the Centaur-G Prime. The

Transfer Orbit Stage will be able to place payloads weighing 2,725 to

5,910 kilograms (6,000 to 13,000 pounds) into geosynchronous orbit. Its

planned availability is mid 1986.

Several other private firms are considering commercial development of

upper stages to provide propulsion from the Shuttle's orbit for payloads

with various propulsion requirements.

c. Spacelab

Spacelab is a versatile facility that, installed in the cargo bay of

the Shuttle orbiter, affords scientists the opportunity to conduct experiments in the unique environment of space. The program includes habitable,

pressurized modules; experiment pallets; the Instrument Pointing System;

and ground support, including hardware integration and payload operations

control facilities. It is the result of a highly successful cooperative

venture by the European Space Agency and NASA.

(i) Spacelab Operations

Two Spacelab pallets carrying scientific instruments were flown during

the Shuttle Orbital Flight Test program, one in November 1981 and one in

March 1982. The verification flight of the Spacelab module configuration

was conducted during a dedicated Shuttle flight in November 1983, and the

first operational flight of the Spacelab pallet system was flown in

October 1984 in a mixed cargo configuration. Spacelab provided the experiment support structure for missions flown in August and October 1984, and

Spacelab pallets were used in the November 1984 recovery of two communications satellites. A second dedicated verification flight, involving an

all-pallet configuration and an instrument pointing system, is scheduled

for flight in mid 1985. Figure IV-2 shows Spacelab related missions

planned through FY 1989.

IV-12
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(2) Spacelab Capability Development

The Spacelab program offers a wide range of capabilities to users, as

shown in Figure IV-3. Techniques and systems to satisfy more effectively

the many needs of users have been demonstrated or are being developed; for

example, several methods for manifesting in the mixed cargo mode and a new

payload operating control center at Marshall Space Flight Center to

complement the existing one at Johnson Space Center.

Many flight opportunities for Spacelab payloads will be available on

Shuttle flights whose primary purpose is to deploy satellites and upper

stages. For mixed-cargo missions requiring Spacelab's full datamanagement capability, a Spacelab pallet system configuration called the

Spacelab Igloo Pallet System is under development. It is to be used for

the first time in early 1986 to carry the Instrument Pointing System and a

major science payload associated with Halley's Comet. For mixed cargo

payloads that are substantial but do not require so much data management

support, another version of the Spacelab pallet system called the

Multiplexer, Demultiplexer Pallet has been used successfully. To reduce

payload integration costs, that pallet is being modified to be independent

of the orbiter's General Purpose Computer system.

A novel concept, designated Hitchhiker, is under development to provide a simple interface with small experiments and with the Shuttle, thus

making integration for flight easier and less costly. Two versions are

being developed, and both will add to Spacelab's capability and flexibility. Flight of an experiment using Hitchhiker will be possible only six

months after the experiment's selection. Hitchhiker is designed to reduce

experimenters' costs and to optimize Shuttle load factors. Its first

application is planned for 1985.

(3) Spacelab Pricing Policy

The successful completion of the first Spacelab mission has drawn the

interest of potential commercial users. To establish a consistent basis

for cost reimbursement and make public the cost of using Spacelab, a

pricing policy for Spacelab is being developed. Planned for publication

this year, it will provide pricing principles for standard Spacelab

services by configuration.

d. Spaceflight Operations

Spaceflight operations consist of all the essentials for planning,

scheduling, and conducting space missions, including people, facilities

and ground equipment, supporting computers and communications links,

ancillary flight hardware, flight planning and scheduling, operating

procedures, mission control, logistics support, user interfaces, and

overall program management of all those elements. Plans include continuing provision of standard operational support services to expendable

launch vehicles, as well as to the Shuttle.

IV-14
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(1) Space Shuttle Operations

The Space Shuttle operations program provides for launching missions

for NASA, the Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies,

domestic commercial organizations, and international organizations. Four

flights took place in FY 1984. Ten flights are planned for FY 1985, 14

for FY 1986 (including the first West Coast launch, set for October 1985),

16 for FY 1987, 23 for FY 1988, and 24 for FY 1989 and each year beyond.

Operational support provided includes producing external tanks and solidrocket boosters; providing, overhauling, and repairing operational spares;

and furnishing manpower, propellants, and other materials for flight,

launch, and landing operations.

The price to non-NASA customers for the Shuttle's launch services

depends on the size of the customer's payload and the services required.

For standard launch services, the price in FY 1982 dollars is $36 million

per flight through FY 1985 and $71 million per flight for FY 1986 through

FY 1988. The charge to the Department of Defense in FY 1975 dollars is

$16 million for flights in FY 1984 and FY 1985 and $29.8 million for FY

1986 through FY 1988. A post-1988 price is being developed and may be

announced officially before the end of the year.

Space Shuttle operations are being streamlined by consolidating

related program functions under single management contractors. A Base

Operations Contract has been in force since December 1982 at Kennedy Space

Center for all Shuttle, cargo, and institutional support. It replaces 14

contracts and 7 subcontracts. A Shuttle Processing Contract in effect at

Kennedy since September 1983 for handling all of the launch and landing

operations at both Kennedy and Vandenberg Air Force Base supplants 12

contracts, and a Facility Maintenance Contract has been in effect at

Michoud Assembly Facility since January 1983. Johnson Space Center has

planning in process for an STS Operations Contract that will become

effective in early 1986, replacing approximately 12 contracts.

(2) Expendable Launch Vehicles

NASA has managed a stable of expendable launch vehicles for 25 years.

It currently consists of the Scout, Delta, and Atlas-Centaur vehicles.

The "small" vehicle in the present stable is the 4-stage solid-fuel

Scout. The project office for the Scout program is at Langley Research

Center; the launch contractor is LTV-Aerospace, Dallas, TX; and launch

facilities are at Wallops Flight Facility, VA, Western Space and Missile

Center at Vandenberg AFB, CA, and the Italian San Marco platform off the

coast of Kenya, Africa. Scout can launch payloads weighing as much as

approximately 225 kilograms (500 pounds) into circular low Earth orbit.

Its manifest through 1987 contains 13 Department of Defense missions and I

NASA mission. NASA's announcement in 1983 of its willingness to foster

the taking over by commercial operators of full operation of its expendable launch vehicles evoked no response concerning Scout. During recent

months, however, interest has been expressed; and NASA is drafting a

request for proposals to elicit proposals from those who are interested.

Since NASA currently is operating the Scout program for the Department of

IV-16
Defense, it will have to coordinate with that agency any arrangement for

commercial operation of the Scout program.

The "medium" vehicle in the stable is the 3-stage liquid-fuel Delta.

The project office is at Goddard Space Flight Center, with launch activity

management provided by Kennedy Space Center. The launch contractor is

McDonnell Douglas, Huntington Beach, CA; and launch facilities are at Cape

Canaveral, FL, and Vandenberg AFB, CA. Delta can launch payloads weighing

as much as 3,050 kilograms (6,700 pounds) into circular low Earth orbit

and, with the PAM-D as a third stage, 1,300 kilograms (2,850 pounds) into

synchronous transfer orbit. Its manifest contains only two missions,

GOES-G AND -H, to be launched for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration in late 1985 and early 1986, respectively. NASA signed an

exclusive interim agreement under which Transpace Carriers, Inc. is trying

to establish a viable technical and business plan for operating Delta and

to develop a market for Delta launches.

The "large" vehicle in the stable is the 2-stage liquid-fuel AtlasCentaur. The project office is at Lewis Research Center, with launch

activity management provided by Kennedy Space Center. The launch contractor is General Dynamics Corporation, San Diego, CA; and launch facilities

are at Cape Canaveral. Atlas-Centaur can launch payloads weighing as much

as 5,910 kilograms (13,000 pounds) into circular low Earth orbit and 2,275

kilograms (5,000 pounds) into synchronous transfer orbit. Its manifest

through mid 1987 contains seven missions, four for Intelsat and three for

the Navy's FLTSATCOM program. Negotiations between NASA and General

Dynamics Corporation are in process for that corporation to operate the

Atlas-Centaur program commercially after completion of the NASA program.

In addition, NASA acts as agent for the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration in arranging for the Air Force to launch that

agency's low-altitude weather satellites. The vehicles for those launches

are refurbished Atlas-E/F ICBMs, and the launch site is Vandenberg AFB,

CA.

2. New Initiatives

In consonance with the President's January 1984 State-of-the-Union

address, NASA's next major goal is to establish a permanent manned space

station in low Earth orbit. The Office of Space Flight has focused its

advanced programs on that goal, identifying potential space programs and

systems that will support it and developing technical, programmatic, and cost

data for evaluating those programs and systems. Included also are advanced

development activities to improve performance and reliability and to reduce

program costs and risk. The major goals of the advanced programs, therefore,

are to help define the infrastructure and systems elements needed for achieving a permanent manned presence in space and for conducting space operations

over the next 20 years.

The Office of Space Flight's advanced programs fall naturally into six

major categories: crew systems, such as life support systems, to support the

Space Station; spacecraft systems such as geosynchronous platforms and tether

applications; satellite services; advanced transportation; generic systems

(definition for flight demonstrations, multi-vehicle avionics and software

IV-17
commonality, orbital debris management,and the like); and long-range (postSpaceStation) studies. Planned work is in consonancewith those categories.

Descriptions of proposed new initiatives follow, and section E of this chapter

describes advanced studies to identify future systems and operations.

a. Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle

The Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV), a reusable extension of the STS

formerly called the Teleoperator Maneuvering System, will fill a need for

conducting orbital operations with spacecraft and payloads beyond the

practical operational limits of the base-line STS. It will be a freeflying, remotely piloted vehicle for use with the STS, and later with the

Space Station, to perform satellite services. Controlled primarily from

the ground, and later from the Space Station, the OMV in its initial

configuration will provide spacecraft viewing, deliver and retrieve

payloads and satellites under both planned and contingency conditions,

reboost satellites to their original operational altitudes or higher,

de-orbit satellites that have completed their useful lives and space

debris that may be a hazard to operations, and provide science support as

a free-flying subsatellite operating in the vicinity of the orbiter. The

OMV can be evolved with the addition of advanced mission kits to provide

more advanced servicing capabilities in remote orbits.

Studies are in process to define the OMV system and its supporting

elements and to establish detailed schedule and funding requirements.

System definition was begun in FY 1984. Related supporting development

work includes evaluation of display and control station requirements;

definition of rendezvous and docking system requirements and sensor needs;

development and test of a payload docking mechanism; enhancement of simulation facilities and associated software; development of a full-scale

mock-up for fit, form, and systems integration and packaging analyses;

advanced development of a rendezvous and docking radar; test and evaluation of cameras, lighting, and radio-frequency control systems; and

development of payload servicing controls and interface mechanisms.

System definition studies will be terminated in FY 1985. Initiation

of system development will require proposals that identify new start

candidates. The proposal process is planned to be completed in FY 1986,

leading to the availability in 1990 of an OMV able to perform payload

delivery and retrieval from the orbiter. A second OMV flight unit,

acquired with Space Station funds, will be orbit based. Advanced mission

kits providing a capability for refueling and servicing spacecraft in

remote orbits could be added one to two years later.

b. Flight Demonstrations and Satellite Services

One of the major objectives of the Office of Space Flight's program is

to capitalize on the STS as a test bed for experiments and demonstrations

in flight. Shuttle operations and satellite servicing activities of the

orbiter and the Space Station will create a great need for orbital tests

and demonstrations of advanced payload operations and of some systems

between the development phases of systems definition and systems design.

To meet that need, flight experiments are continually being defined to

demonstrate Shuttle capabilities and develop user confidence in satellite

IV-18
services and orbital operations with large space structures. Particularly

with respect to Shuttle capabilities, the focus is on definition of tools,

techniques, and standard flight-developed equipment for servicing,

placement, and repair of satellites in low orbit and on other equipment,

systems, and demonstrations such as an orbital refueling system, extravehicular activity (EVA) tools, the companion demonstrations EASE and

ACCESS (Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA and Assembly Concept

for Construction of Erectable Space Structures), tethered platforms,

systems for transferring cryogens and for voice control, a set of standard

spacecraft fluid connectors, and an in-bay tanker. The in-bay tanker

would store the propel]ant for refueling satellites and would be carried

like any other payload in the orbiter's cargo bay. Standard spacecraft

quick-disconnect fluid connectors will be equipment common to all

satellites requiring in-orbit resupply. Flight development of a quickdisconnect fluid transfer device will start in FY 1985, and one of the two

sets to be developed will be delivered to the Gamma Ray Observatory for a

refue|ing mission. New and improved EVA tools will increase the

efficiency of crews working in space suits outside the orbiter, enabling

them to operate servicing equipment efficiently and service satellites

effectively.

When possible, flight demonstration objectives will be satisfied using

either low-cost, experimental, and prototype equipment or equipment

acquired for other purposes. In 1984, for example, the Shuttle's 41-C

mission demonstrated satellite retrieval and repair on the incapacitated

Solar Maximum Mission observatory. On the Shuttle's 41-G flight, satellite propulsion tanks were refueled with hydrazine in the orbiter's cargo

bay. During that demonstration, an EVA astronaut manually connected a

refueling valve to the propulsion system and conducted several cycles of

refueling to investigate fluid flow and adiabatic concerns. That orbital

refueling demonstration is the foundation for a series of demonstrations

to be conducted of satellite servicing systems such as the in-bay tanker

mentioned above. Before demonstration of that system in the orbiter's

cargo bay, engineering understanding of fluid transfer behavior will be

acquired through demonstrations conducted in the orbiter's mid-deck with

plastic tanks, passive fluid management devices, and a reference fluid.

Other flight demonstrations that may be included in the orbital refueling

program would involve alternate tankage configurations, fluids, and new

quick-disconnect valving systems designed to provide ease of servicing and

known, proven interfaces for both NASA and the users.

Other flight demonstrations under development are as follows:

0

The companion demonstrations EASE and ACCESS mentioned above, to

obtain basic data for evaluating construction capabilities provided

by the astronaut-Shuttle team

o Use of voice commands to augment manual control of closed circuit

television cameras

o Use of a force-feedback end effector to improve the dexterity of

the Remote Manipulator System

IV-19
o Useof a secure, infrared communications system to improve the STS'

voice and data systems.

Flight demonstrations tentatively selected for development are as

follows:

o In-orbit transfer of superfluid helium

o Proof of function of a plasma motor and generator

o Useof a kinetic isolation tether.

c. Advanced Crew Support

A need is anticipated for quick-response satellite servicing systems

for use by both the Shuttle and the Space Station and for providing the

high rate of daily EVA expected in Space Station operations. To meet that

need, a study is in process on a totally new EVA system, the

Extravehicular Mobility Unit, and on the improvement it would make in

human productivity, lhe study currently is concentrating on projected

mission requirements and preliminary system concepts. Its results will be

incorporated into the work package for Space Station definition and

subsequent system acquisition. The initial Space Station will be provided

with six flight units. A preliminary set of requirements for the

Extravehicular Mobility Unit _ncludes daily use in EVA; high mobility;

in-orbit maintainability; long life; non-venting operation; automated

check-out; heads-up display capability; regenerable, portable, life

support subsystems; and automated control of visor density. The work on

advanced crew support systems also is supporting advanced developments to

provide mature engineering options for EVA systems beyond the

Extravehicular Mobility Unit.

C. Institutional Management

lhe Office of Space Flight has responsibility for institutional management

of four NASA field installations: Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight

Center, Kennedy Space Center, and National Space Technology Laboratories.

1. Marshall Space Flight Center

Established in 1960 for the purpose of developing launch vehicles for the

Apollo and subsequent programs, Marshall Space Flight Center today designs and

develops space transportation systems, orbital systems, science and applications payloads, and other systems for space exploration. It has the principal

role within NASA for development of rocket propulsion systems. It also has

assembly facilities and provides centralized computer services for other NASA

centers and their contractors and for other government agencies. It has the

following areas of technical expertise:

o Propulsion systems design analysis

o Materials science and engineering

IV-20
o Structural design and analysis

o Test design and engineering

o System dynamics analysis

o Large systems engineering, analysis, and management

o Heat transfer analysis

o Data systems design and analysis.

2. Johnson Space Center

Johnson Space Center was established in November 1961 to satisfy NASA's

need for a center with primary responsibility for managing the design,

development, and manufacture of manned spacecraft; selecting and training

astronaut crews; and conducting manned spaceflight missions. The need for

those functions has continued as the Nation has progressed through ambitious

undertakings such as the Apollo and Skylab programs, Apo|lo-Soyuz Test

Project, and Space Shuttle program. Johnson now is the "lead center" for the

Space Station, with responsibility for NASA-wide program management of design,

system engineering and integration, advanced development and test, and

customer interface. Johnson also conceives, plans, and develops advanced

missions; conducts research in the life sciences; and performs Earth resources

surveys. Its areas of technical expertise are as follows:

o Space flight mechanics of manned vehicles

o Data systems and analysis

o Space flight systems for manned vehicles

o Flight crew training and mission simulation

o Mission operations for manned vehicles

o Earth resources surveys

o Environmental control and life support systems

o Management of large-scale systems and programs

o Remote sensing systems.

3. Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center was established in July 1962 to serve as the primary

NASA center for test, checkout, and launch of space vehicles. It has since

grown to become the major Free World launch site, with a civil service staff

possessing unparalleled skills in testing, checking out, and launching space

vehicles and in designing associated ground support equipment. Space Shuttle

flights began at Kennedy in 1981 and will begin at the Western Space and

Missile Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in 1986. Expendable launch

IV-21
vehicle operations are conducted at both Vandenbergand the Eastern Space and

Missile Center at CapeCanaveral Air Force Station. Kennedy's areas of

technical expertise include:

o Flight systems testing

o Facility and equipment development and operations

o Launchoperations

o Cargo processing

o Technical project management.

4. National Space Technology Laboratories

Constructed and operated during the 1960s under the name Mississippi Test

Facility, National Space Technology Laboratories conducted acceptance testing

of the booster stages of the Saturn rocket systems. Today, it is NASA's

principal static test facility for large liquid-propellant rocket engines and

propulsion systems. Its change in name was made in June 1974 to emphasize its

emerging role in space and environmental technology. Its areas of technical

expertise are as follows:

o Testing of large liquid-propellant rocket engines

o Earth resources observation.

D. Technical Relationships Between Program Elements

The goal of a permanent U.S. manned presence in space requires development

of a multi-equipment infrastructure of ground- and space-based technical

systems, as well as smooth interplay and efficient complementarity between

those systems to provide the greatest possible economy and effectiveness of

operation. The central space-based element is the Space Station. In essence,

what the Space Shuttle is in importance to transportation from Earth to low

Earth orbit, the Space Station is to operations in space. It will transcend

traditional scientific roles and become both an orbital service center and an

indispensable transportation node to higher orbits--a "beachhead" in space.

As focal point and "mother ship," it will enable efficient use of the Shuttle

fleet while ensuring economical and efficient access to all other space-based

elements of the infrastructure. Vastly superior to the Shuttle as an orbital

operations base because of its greater onboard resources and permanent duration, it will serve as a facility for servicing free-flying spacecraft, for

storage and assembly operations, and as a communications and data processing

node.

The Space Station cannot be expected to create by itself a permanent

presence in space. That goal will require associated elements such as those

shown on Figure IV-4, which illustrates the necessary infrastructure and the

relationships between its elements. The major elements and relationships are

described in section E of this chapter.

IV-22
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In considering the technical relationships between current and future

program elements, it is clear that the Shuttle is the primary means of access

to low orbits, including that of the Space Station, and that the Space Station

will be the primary means of access to geosynchronous and other orbits. To be

most useful, the Shuttle and the Space Station will have to operate in

conjunction with unmanned platforms and free flyers in various orbits, and

with auxiliary transportation and maneuvering vehicles. Orbital transfer

vehicles may be either expendable or reusable. If reusable, they either may

be brought back to Earth by the Shuttle after their return from high orbit or,

as space-based vehicles, be serviced and refueled at the Space Station. Free

flyers and platforms the orbiter cannot reach will require the services of a

close-in maneuvering system such as the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle described

earlier under New Initiatives. Pairing that vehicle with an orbital transfer

vehicle will permit it to service unmanned platforms and free flyers in

geosynchronous orbit.

E. Advanced Studies

The Office of Space Flight's advanced studies serve the six major program

categories mentioned earlier, in subsection B.2. of this chapter: crew

systems, spacecraft systems, satellite services, advanced transportation,

generic systems, and advanced (long-range) studies.

I. Crew Systems

Crew and life support systems are central to the support of manned operations in space. Their anticipated development in the three major areas of

life support, habitability provisions, and EVA systems is shown on Figure

IV-5. For the onboard life support systems, experiments using the Shuttle

and, later, the Space Station as a test bed will be targeted at successive

closure of the water and air loops to provide the closed cycle life support

system shown schematically on Figure IV-6. Permanent manned presence in space

also will require improvements in habitability that ultimately will provide

Earth norms in space food and hygiene systems, as well as enhancement of manmachine interactions to achieve higher human productivity. That higher

productivity will be sought aggressively, using both the Shuttle and the Space

Station in the development of superior EVA systems such as the higher-pressure

space suit currently under development to eliminate the need for prebreathing;

a regenerable EVA mobility unit and backpack maintained in orbit; an advanced

manned maneuvering unit; and a crew capsule for manned access to higher

orbits.

2. Spacecraft Systems

The Agency's objective of economical support of payloads requires payload

aggregation, standardized orbits, and human-tending (see Table IV-l). The

first step in meeting those requirements will involve the use of platform-like

instrument carriers called quick-reaction opportunity carriers, such as the

Hitchhiker mentioned earlier. Then, permanent free-flying or tethered platforms and facilities based at the Space Station or remotely tended from it

will be needed. The remotely tended platforms and facilities will include

ones in geosynchronous orbit. As indicated in Table IV-1 and Figure IV-4,

economical transportation and support also will be required.

IV-24
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a. Geostationary Platforms

Studies have shown that the technical and economic benefits are

potentially greater from the use of large platforms in geosynchronous

orbit than from the use of smaller, single-purpose satellites. Both

economy of scale and conservation of the geostationary arc favor large

multipurpose systems. The best methods for developing the potential of

those systems are the subject of a joint study program between the Office

of Space Flight and the Office of Space Science and Applications. The

Office of Space Science and Applications is sponsoring studies at Lewis

Research Center to define possibilities for aggregation of communications

payloads; and the Office of Space Flight is sponsoring studies at Marshall

Space Flight Center to develop configurations for the spacecraft and to

develop an understanding of the possible evolutionary paths. These

studies will provide background data NASA needs to address questions

regarding the utility, systems, and institutional implications of large

operational geostationary platforms. The answers derived will determine

what further efforts NASA will apply to development of technologies for

large geostationary platforms.

b. Advanced Tether Applications

The Tethered Satellite System described previously is in development.

Approved as a new initiative in FY 1984, it is an innovative concept that

will provide an important new platform facility for conducting aggregated

space experiments at a distance from the Shuttle orbiter and the Space

Station. More advanced applications of tethers, such as those shown on

Figure IV-7, are under investigation. Tethers are expected to be valuable

for positioning space structures and for use in power generation, gravity

control, transportation, cryogenic propellant storage and transfer in

space, attitude control of space stations, and many other applications

that could revolutionize space operations. Figure IV-8 shows the likely

evolution of space tethers toward highly advanced applications during the

next 20 years. Tethering and its possible applications, such as use of

the electrodynamic interactions the tether causes, are understood far less

than are other elements of the Shuttle and Space Station infrastructure.

However, they appear extremely promising and will be investigated

carefully.

3. Satellite Services

The manned Space Station and planned unmanned low-altitude and geosynchronous platforms clearly will create a need for new and unique systems and

equipment, such as satellite servicing systems, large structures, handling

aids, and teleoperators--all with greater capabilities than those the current

basic STS systems possess. As mentioned earlier, those advanced systems and

equipment will require development testing in orbit. Consequently, NASA's

satellite services advanced studies are focused on flight demonstration, as

well as on development of the systems and equipment.

Industry is hesitant to incorporate satellite maintenance and servicing

provisions into spacecraft design. At a satellite-services workshop held June

22-24, 1982, potential users of satellite servicing concluded that to change

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IV -29
the attitude of users toward satellite servicing, NASA must demonstrate that

needed capabilities exist. They stated that they look to NASA not only to

demonstrate basic servicing capabilities, but also to define and develop

requirements, standards, interface specifications, operational procedures,

baseline servicing equipment and costs, and policy guidance on routine EVA.

Therefore, NASA must institute a series of demonstrations with the Shuttle

that will be highly visible and technically meaningful to STS users.

The flight experiments program described earlier (in subsection B.2.b.)

has been established to meet that need. Satellite servicing has been demonstrated already in the Solar Maximum Mission repair and the orbital refueling

demonstration described in that subsection. Figure IV-9 shows an example of

an evolutionary line of future flight experiments dedicated to development of

satellite services capabilities.

a. Satellite Services at the Orbiter

The objective of this portion of the satellite services program is to

define, develop, and demonstrate capabilities for placing, retrieving,

maintaining, repairing, and replenishing the consumables of satellites in

orbit; retrieving nonstabilized satellites; and deorbiting space debris--

all in the vicinity of the orbiter.

An initial capability for placement and limited retrieval of

satellites is provided by the orbiter-mounted Remote Manipulator System,

Manned Maneuvering Unit, integrated space suit and backpack called the

Extravehicular Mobility Unit, and early tools for EVA. The Remote

Manipulator System already has proven its ability to perform those functions by placing and retrieving the SPAS-01 platform during the Shuttle's

STS-7 flight; and all those systems were used during the Shuttle's 41-C

flight to perform the Solar Maximum Mission repair mentioned earlier.

However, improved and new services will be needed by systems such as the

Long Duration Exposure Facility, Multi-Mission Spacecraft, Space

Telescope, Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility, Space Station, and space

platforms. Required will be equipment such as holding and positioning

aids, maintenance and repair tools, servicing tools, berthing platforms,

refueling tools and techniques, end effectors for the Remote Manipulator

System, versatile television systems, and equipment for assembling and

supporting large structures.

By the early 1990s, retrieval of nonstabilized satellites and debris

near the orbiter should be possible with the use described earlier of the

Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) equipped with special front-end kits.

Deorbiting of space debris by the OMV would free vital "space lanes" of

hazardous debris.

Advanced development will provide other needed capabilities.

Currently in development are proximity sensors and force-torque systems

for "smart," highly capable end effectors for the Remote Manipulator

System and of orbital refueling systems providing standard quickdisconnect mechanisms.

IV -30
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IV-31
b. Satellite Services Remote from the Orbiter

Providing satellite services in locations remote from the orbiter will

require communications and control capabilities much greater than those

for services at the orbiter. Those greater capabilities also will be

essential to the ability of the Space Station to function as an operational center for satellite servicing. The spacecraft that will provide those

greater capabilities is the OMV. Its development will benefit considerably from experience gained a few years ago from development work on the

Teleoperator Retrieval System, which was to be used to boost Skylab to a

higher orbit. Contingent only on the availability of a suitable upper

stage such as the Transfer Orbital Stage, Centaur, or reusable orbital

transfer vehicle, demonstration is expected in the late 1990s of the use

of an OMV service module teamed with an upper stage to service a satellite

or platform in geosynchronous orbit.

Figure IV-IO shows the evolution of capabilities for providing satellite services remote from the orbiter and Space Station.

4. Advanced Transportation

Payload sizes and functions are expected to increase, since the increases

will improve the performance and effectiveness of users' missions. For

example, as discussed in subsection E.2.a. above, large communications satellites and platforms permit aggregation of functions, decrease service costs,

and relieve the current trend toward overcrowding of the geostationary orbit

arc. They may require remote or manned in-orbit services and maintenance,

creating a need for further augmentation of STS and upper stage capabilities.

Also, demands on the STS for transporting greater volumes and weights from

Earth to low orbit can be expected to create further need for reducing costs

and establishing more flexible manifesting.

a. Earth to Low Orbit Transportation

Figure IV-11 shows the expected evolutionary trend of transportation

from Earth to low Earth orbit to satisfy the requirements mentioned in the

preceding paragraph.

(1) Aft Cargo Carrier

Studies are under way of a possible near-term modification of the

Shuttle, called the Aft Cargo Carrier, to provide more volume for payloads

on flights that otherwise would be volume limited. That modification

would provide a payload container projecting behind the Shuttle's external

tank, which would be modified appropriately. It would take advantage of a

currently unused location, doubling the Shuttle's payload volume while

leaving the orbiter's cargo bay free for other payloads and placing

virtually no penalty on payload weight. It also could take advantage of

the expected increases to 32,000 to 36,000 kilograms in the STS' lift

capability without requiring redesign of the orbiter's structure and

landing gear.

IV-32
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IV-34
(2) Shuttle-Derived Launch Vehicle

A variety of studies have been conducted in recent years in a search

for a practical means to carry large, heavy payloads from Earth to low

Earth orbit using a vehicle that would borrow extensively from STS hardware and facilities but would be unmanned and, therefore, not need to

incorporate the orbiter itself. Most candidate configurations use the

solid rocket boosters, the external tank or a shortened version of it, and

one to three Shuttle main engines. Some configurations show considerable

promise and will be pursued further as requirements emerge.

Figure IV-12 lists advanced missions "driving" the definition and

possible development of transportation systems more advanced than the

Shuttle. One anticipated requirement is for a "tanker" to transport

propellants to the Space Station for the Orbital Transfer Vehicle. Such a

tanker might be configured to transport approximately 63,600 kilograms

(140,000 pounds) of cryogenic propellant in a single launch from existing

STS facilities.

A major factor in establishing other uses for Shuttle-derived launch

vehicles will be needs related to Department of Defense activities such as

the new Strategic Defense Initiative. NASA is discussing with the

Department of Defense and the Air Force potential joint definition and

evaluation of candidate vehicles for such activities.

Development is anticipated of an economical vehicle to launch approximately 68,200 kilograms (150,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit to support the

Space Station and possibly large unmanned platforms, as well.

About the end of the century, the Shuttle orbiters may start to wear

out, requiring replacement. A concurrent need is expected to develop for

transporting increasingly larger numbers of persons to the Space Station

or other low Earth orbit destinations. In addition to the rotation of

crews, scientists, and technicians to the Space Station, there will be a

need for transporting workers to assemble large structures at or near the

Station. Farther into the future, the number of paying passengers is

expected to grow. Consideration of all those factors has led to initiation of studies relating to a second-generation Shuttle that would

emphasize transportation of personnel, with a secondary objective of

transporting small, high-priority cargo. That vehicle would complement,

and operate in conjunction with, the unmanned Shuttle-Derived Launch

Vehicle.

(3) Heavy-Lift Vehicle

The Department of Defense's Strategic Defense Initiative possibly

could involve payloads so large, heavy, and numerous that a major departure from STS technology would be warranted. NASA expects to participate

in the Department of Defense's studies and tradeoff decisions as the

Strategic Defense Initiative's requirements are defined, and to have a

significant part in developing any new heavy-lift vehicle required.

IV-35
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b. Low Orbit to Geostationary and Other High-Energy Orbits

The evolution of advanced transportation from low Earth orbit to

geosynchronous and other high-energy orbits is illustrated schematically

in Figure IV-13. The Transfer Orbital Stage and the STS Centaur upper

stage will satisfy the requirements of many geostationary and Earth-escape

missions in the late 1980s, but an orbital transfaer vehicle (OTV) will

become necessary to facilitate use of the Space Station as a major

transportation node in the 1990s.

The OTV will be a reusable, high-performance upper stage mainly

intended to be based at and launched from the Space Station. Although

most of its destinations are expected to be at geosynchronous orbit, some

of its civil payloads will be Earth-escape spacecraft. Concept studies

for the OTV are in process, and preliminary results indicate that spacebased OTVs may provide significantly lower costs than the STS Centaur will

be able to provide for transportation to geosynchronous and other highenergy orbits. Large, reusable, cryogenic OTVs will be needed to place

into geosynchronous orbit in the next 20 years heavy payloads such as

large communications platforms. A low-thrust OTV will be needed to reduce

accelerations imposed on large structures during deployment. Toward the

end of the century, manned sorties to geosynchronous orbit and return will

be the most demanding task for OTVs.

Current studies are examining configurations of OTVs that would be

transported to orbit in the Aft Cargo Carrier described earlier, others

that would be transported intact in the Shuttle's cargo bay, and still

others that would be assembled at the Space Station. The studies also

cover alternative propellants and tradeoffs among engine concepts.

Use of aerodynimc forces to brake OTVs returning to Earth orbit is

being contemplated. Upon return to Earth orbit, a reusable orbital

transfer vehicle must lose 2,400 meters per second of speed to achieve

orbit circularization. If the OTV can make that reduction by deploying an

aerodynamic drag device (aerobrake) at high altitude to interact with the

upper atmosphere, it can carry nearly two times as much payload for the

same propellant load.

To achieve maximum economy and minimum risk in development of the advanced

transportation systems discussed in the paragraphs above, use of the Shuttle

and, later the Space Station as test beds for flight experiments and demonstrations appears to be highly desirable. Experiments and demonstrations

related to transportation from Earth to low Earth orbit are expected to

address the Aft Cargo Carrier, the use of the Shuttle's solid rocket boosters

to carry Hitchhiker payloads to conduct high-altitude soundings during the

boosters' reentry, and an understanding of propellant transfer that could make

possible the scavenging of fuel from the external tank. Experiments and

demonstrations related to transfer from orbit to orbit are expected to focus

on such suggested developments as long-duration storage of cryogenics in

space, aerobraking technology using tethers to "troll" braking devices through

the atmosphere, other uses of space tethers, and advanced EVA maintenance of

propulsion systems.

IV-37
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IV -38
ORIGINAL P._QE I_

OF POOR QUALITY

HliilliI

V. SPACE STATION

A. Goals .................................................................... 1

B. Objectives ............................................................... I

C. Planning Strategy ........................................................ 3

1. User Community Involvement ........................................... 3

2. Extensive Definition Before Program Initiation ....................... 4

3. Agencywide Participation ............................................. 4

4. Evolution ............................................................ 4

5. Maintainability ...................................................... 4

6. Operational Autonomy ................................................. 4

7. International Participation .......................................... 5

D. Key Features of Program .................................................. 5

1. Management Approach .................................................. 5

2. Space Station Operations ............................................. 7

3. Design to Cost ....................................................... 8

4. Technology Transfer .................................................. 8

5. Department of Defense Participation .................................. 8

6. Modularity, Commonality, and Evolutionary Nature ..................... 8

7. Proper Mix of Humans and Machines .................................... 9

8. Functional Requirements .............................................. 9

E. Current Program ......................................................... 10

F. Space Station Configuration ............................................. 12

G. Underlying Technology ................................................... 13

1. Advanced Development Program ........................................ 13

2. Definition Program .................................................. 13

H. Technological Relationships with Other Progam Areas ..................... 14

TABLE

Table V-1 ................................................................... 11

FIGURES

V. SPACE STATION

A. Goal s

One of NASA's eight current goals is to develop, within a decade, a

permanently manned Space Station. That goal reflects the President's

directive to NASA in his January 1984 State of the Union address. Also, the

Space Station is essential to the national policies of maintaining U.S.

leadership in space activities and exploiting the economic and scientific

opportunities offered by space. The Space Station has been a focus of NASA

planning activities since May of 1982.

The goals of the Space Station program are to:

o Establish means for a permanent and productive presence of people in

space

o Establish routine, continuous, and efficient use of space for science,

applications, technology development, and operations

o Develop further the commercial use of space

o Develop and exploit the synergistic effects of the man-machine

combination in space

o Provide essential system elements and operations practices for an

integrated, continuing national space capability

o Stimulate the mutual benefits traditionally derived from cooperation in

space with allies and friends

o Reduce the cost and complexity of living in and using space

o Be a major contributor to U.S. leadership in space in the 1990s and

beyond

o Ensure that the elements of the Space Station are compatible with and

can interface with space elements of the operational Space

Transportation System

o Motivate future scientists and technologists and provide leadership in

furthering their education.

B. Objectives

The near-term objectives of the Space Station program center on refining

mission requirements for the Station; initiating technology and advanced

development programs to ensure the availability of options for key

technologies; and initiating systems definition studies to be performed by

industry. Current plans call for a 3-year definition phase leading to

initiation of a design and development phase in FY 1987 and an initial

operational capability in the early 1990s (see Figure V-l).
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The program's long-term objective is to provide the main elements of the

system, key organizational structures, and expert operational procedures that,

together, will constitute the principal in-orbit infrastructure needed to

support national goals for the U.S. civil space program in the 1990s and

beyond. This objective includes participation by international partners in

the design, development, construction, use, and operation of Space Station

elements; enhancement of The Station's capacity and technical capability by

both the addition of elements and the incorporation of new subsystem technologies; advancement of the technologies of automation and robotics; and

assurance of high productivity from humans in the space environment.

Due to the Space Station program' s requirements for long-lifetime,

evolutionary growth, in-orbit integration, and international cooperation, NASA

plans to perform system engineering and integration itself. All of the NASA

centers have participated in the planning for the system. The Space Station

Office at Johnson Space Center will manage the overall integration of the

program, with assistance from the other centers. During the definition and

preliminary design phase, which will begin April i, 1985, system alternatives

will be identified and evaluated as a basis for selection of a base-line

configuration that best satisfies program requirements. NASA will use the

data and analyses developed by its own personnel, study contractors, and

potential international participants in selecting the initial and subsequent

designs.

One of the challenges of the Space Station program is to determine as

optimum a mix as possible of humans and machines in order to achieve the best

of manned, man-tended, and automated systems. Space Station systems that will

advance automation and robotic technologies will be identified and analyzed

with a view toward maturing the technologies as a part of the definition and

preliminary design phase. The Station that evolves will include both manned

space flight elements and unmanned spacecraft in such a way that humans will

perform activities requiring their presence, while activities more suitable

for automated systems will be accomplished in a man-tended mode.

C. Planning Strategz

Many significant aspects of the Space Station program make it unique

compared with major programs of the past and, taken together, dictate a set of

strategic planning guidelines that govern program activities. The principal

planning guidelines follow.

1. User Community Involvement

To meet the goals of the program and maintain consistency with national

space policy, NASA has made a concerted effort to involve all potential U.S.

users in planning for the Space Station: the science and applications

communities, aerospace industry, commercial organizations, and technology

development organizations, in the United States and abroad. Users will

develop a continuously changing and growing spectrum of requirements that must

be refined, updated, and accommodated in a manner that achieves the best

balance among resources, capabilities, and technological readiness.

V-3
2. Extensive Definition Before Program Initiation

One of the major conclusions of NASA's Project Management Study (the

Hearth Report) in 1981 was that thorough project definition should precede

system development. In agreement with that conclusion, the Space Station

program is conducting an extensive definition and preliminary design phase

that includes an already completed period of inhouse concept definition that

will be followed by an 18- to 24-month contracted definition effort to begin

in early CY 1985. The inhouse definition work has improved the Agency's ability to be a capable buyer and has laid a foundation for systems engineering

and integration activities.

3. Agencywide Participation

Planning for the Space Station program has involved all NASA installations, first through their representation on the Space Station Task Force and

then through their participation in preparation of the request for proposals

for definition and preliminary design. The breadth of the program calls for

their continued involvement. The program's success depends on both the

contributions of the Agency's science and applications experts and the

technologies developed at the research centers.

4. Evolution

Except for the Space Transportation System, NASA's past programs have

provided hardware with limited evolutionary capability. A "permanently manned

Space Station" inherently must span decades and be designed to accommodate

evolutionary growth through incremental addition, modification, and replication. ]o ensure that its useful life is not short, the Station must be able

to evolve in capacity, capability, and technology. A properly designed

station will provide a foundation for succeeding major space activities, be

they manned operations at geosynchronous orbit or missions beyond Earth orbit,

such as establishment of a lunar base, the mining of precious resources from

the moon or asteroids, or a sample return or manned mission to Mars.

5. Maintainability

]he Space Station must be designed for in-orbit maintenance to retain its

equipment in, or restore it to, a fully operational condition. Cost-effective

operations will depend on integration of maintainability considerations and

requirements with other closely related functions such as reliability, safety,

quality assurance, verification testing, and logistics.

6. Operational Autonomy

From the outset, the Space Station must be able to operate as independent

of the ground as possible. Ideally, it would be totally autonomous except for

resupply of materiel and personnel. In particular, there should be no need

for full-time monitoring of subsystem status, detailed crew work scheduling,

or crew health assessments by teams of engineers, scientists, and mission

controllers on Earth. Almost all of the Station's routine monitoring tasks

should be automated.

V-4
NASA plans to retain overall operational control of the Station, but

expects participation in the operation by personnel of other user organizations, which also will employ Station payloads autonomously in making

scientific observations and performing manufacturing tasks.

7. International Participation

In his January 1984 State of the Union message, the President invited

friends and allies of the United States to participate in development and use

of the Space Station. NASA's long-standing partners have expressed interest

in participating in the planning, development, operation, and use of the

Station. The European Space Agency, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan

have conducted, at their own initiative and expense, mission analysis studies

paralleling NASA's. In addition, they and the United Kingdom are examining

what future part they potentially could play in the program.

To coordinate Space Station planning activities and exchange information,

NASA held in 1984 a series of workshops attended by all potential international partners. Negotiations were initiated with the European Space Agency,

Canada, and Japan for cooperative agreements on the definition activities each

country will undertake. A near-term goal is agreement by the mid-term of the

definition studies on what elements each partner will carry into development.

A long-term goal is a capable initial Space Station enhanced by the participation of international partners.

D. Key Features of Program

I. Management Approach

At the time the President directed NASA to develop a permanently manned

space station, NASA was in the final months of Space Station concept

definition. Conducted over a 2-year period, concept definition was completed

in April 1984 under the aegis of the Space Station Task Force, an amalgam of

engineering, scientific, financial, and administrative experts from every part

of the Agency, with augmentation and advisory support from academia and the

aerospace industry.

Concern for the development of technical concepts and operational

requirements is equaled by concern for the management approach to Station

development. In May 1984, the Space Station Task Force was replaced at NASA

Headquarters by the Interim Program Office. Concurrently, Johnson Space

Center was designated "lead center" and assigned responsibility for NASA-wide

program management of design, system engineering and integration, advanced

development and test, and customer interface. Overall direction of the

program was the responsibility of the Interim Program Office and now rests

with the Office of Space Station, which was created at NASA Headquarters in

September 1984 following approval of funding in the FY 1985 budget for

advanced development, program definition, and preliminary system design. That

office's organization is pictured in Figure V-2. Responsibilities remaining

with NASA Headquarters are for overall policy and program direction, establishment of requirements, schedule and budget guidelines, and related actions

involving commercial and international users, Congress, the Office of

Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and other

government departments.

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The Agency's research and development centers have been assigned responsibility for project management of system definition, design and development of

major elements of the Station, participation in the system engineering and

integration program, and specific advanced development projects. Proposals

for the definition phase have been received. Concurrent with its planning for

the definition phase, NASA has appraised extensively the need for advanced

technology projects that will minimize the risk associated with the development phase. A substantial advanced development program will be initiated in

FY 1985 to advance, during the next several years, key technologies that will

allow final design choices to be made with higher confidence. The development

phase will begin in FY 1987.

Continuing emphasis has been given to involving the scientific and

technical communities in every step of program planning and implementation to

the maximum degree possible. Key to the management approach, this early and

continued involvement of potential users has included extensive use of NASA's

external advisory structure to supplement the Agency's internal expertise.

For example, the NASA Advisory Council's Task Force on the Scientific Uses of

the Space Station advised NASA on how best to ensure and enhance the Station's

scientific capabilities. Continuing managerial attention also has been given

to development of policies and plans for international participation.

A final major management challenge has been to continue the iterative

process of developing requirements, analyzing configurations, and estimating

costs to ensure achievement of the program's technical and schedule goals

within the estimated total cost of $8 billion (FY 1984 dollars). The advanced

development program in key technology areas mentioned earlier will broaden the

subsystem options for the final design and reduce the technical risks in

critical areas. During development, to begin in FY 1987, all major contracts

for hardware will include a formal performance measurement system to allow

contractor and NASA managers to assess progress, identify problems, and take

timely corrective action to ensure integrity of program content, schedules,

and budgets.

2. Space Station Operations

The Space Transportation System will deliver the elements of the Space

Station system to orbit; and initial assembly, activation, checkout, and

operational verification will be achieved in a Shuttle-tended mode by the

Space Station flight crew assisted by ground control. The Shuttle will transport expendables and spares to the Station in a resupply module every 90 days.

Crew occupation will occur after the manned system is verified. Initia|ly,

the crew will number 6 to 8 and will be rotated totally or partially by the

Shuttle every 90 days. Later, long-term operations will include larger flight

crews including payload specialists and scientists.

The Space Station system is expected to evolve through in-orbit

integration of additional hardware, including more habitat and laboratory

modules, attached payloads, additional equipment for servicing and repairing

spacecraft, facilities for mating spacecraft to upper stages, protective

storage facilities with environmental conditioning equipment for spacecraft

awaiting deployment and for storing orbital replacement units, and facilities

and equipment for basing, servicing, and maintaining upper stages.

V-7
Propulsive stages will be based at the Station to bring to the proximity

of the Station, for servicing, satellites and platforms that do not have their

own propulsion. The Orbital Transfer Vehicle, based at the Station, will move

payloads to and from different orbits. Manned Maneuvering Units at the

Station will provide mobility during extravehicular activity within the

immediate vicinity of the Station.

The Space Station will have significant and growing functions involving

logistics, information control and processing, and proximity traffic control.

Because the Station will operate for years with minimal ground support, a

major challenge for the program is to incorporate operability, reliability,

maintainability, and provisions for logistics support into the Station.

3. Design to Cost

As mentioned previously, the total cost of the Space Station program has

been estimated to be approximately $8 billion in FY 1984 dollars. That cost

includes all the work performed by the NASA centers, program support,

integration, and deployment of the initial Station. Satisfaction of program

requirements within that cost constraint requires a rigorous design-to-cost

approach to all definition and development activities. Full exploration is

planned of design-to-cost tradeoff studies during the program definition

phase.

4. Technology Transfer

As stated earlier, the President invited other countries to participate in

the Space Station program. Participation will be achieved on a governmentto-government basis in such a way as to prevent unwarranted transfer of technology while creating meaningful international cooperation. This aim is in

keeping with NASA's policy of encouraging the domestic dissemination of technology to enhance the competitive posture of U.S. industry while preventing

the loss of sensitive technology to international adversaries and competitors.

All cooperative agreements will be structured to provide clean technical

interfaces between the participants and NASA and to ensure that all participants assume full responsibility for developing their projects.

5. Department of Defense Participation

The Space Station is a civil endeavor, based on civil requirements.

Although the Department of Defense is studying what uses it might have for a

permanently manned space station, it has not identified current military

requirements for a station. However, NASA believes that in the future the

Department might use the Station's laboratory facilities for research

purposes. In any event, NASA will continue to keep the Department fully

informed on Space Station activities.

6. Modularity, Commonality, and Evolutionary/ Nature

Several new approaches will be used in the program to reduce costs and to

impose on the Station fewer weight and configuration constraints than those

imposed on past space systems. Many Station elements will have common subsystems and components. That commonality and modularity are expected to lower

total costs. Further, the Station's evolutionary nature should allow new

V-8
systems and componentsto be developed, tested, and upgraded in an operational

setting, eliminating the need for someof the currently necessary qualification testing on the ground.

7. Proper Mix of Humans and Machines

Many studies and experience in the Skylab and Shuttle-Spacelab programs

have indicated the utility that humans will have in the Space Station system.

However, many potential missions will be performed best by automated, freeflying spacecraft, with only periodic human intervention through remote

"telepresence." A major objective of current planning is to define the proper

mix of human and machine functions in the Space Station setting so that tasks

can be distributed properly and machines and humans will enhance each others'

abilities. To increase understanding of advantageous uses for automated and

robotic systBns aboard the Space Station, NASA--at the direction of Congress--

established the Advanced Technology Advisory Committee. The Committee's

report is expected in the Spring of 1985 and will be made use of in Space

Station preliminary design activities.

8. Functional Requirements

A Space Station Mission Synthesis Workshop was held in May 1983, with

participants from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,

the U.S. Air Force, and U.S. industry. It examined the findings of previous

mission analyses, inhouse studies, and reports from advisory committees. The

Workshop produced a preliminary set of more than 100 phased activities for the

Space Station during the period from initial operation to the year 2000, and

base-line requirements for the initial configuration. The base-line requirements included a manned element at an orbit inclination of 28.50 and two

platforms, one at low inclination and one in polar orbit.

Two subsequent workshops were held during 1984, the first in March and the

second in September. The first included NASA science and technology users and

users from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and from

industry. The second added users from the European Space Agency, Canada,

France, Germany, and Japan. In both workshops, all potential users of the

Station were invited to present the requirements that their activities would

place on the Station for the period from initial Station operation to the year

2000. The potential uses that resulted range from mounting single instruments

on a Station element to programs requiring a complete manned module for their

fulfillment. The users identified a major emerging need for the manned

element to serve as a base for modification, repair, and servicing of

free-flyers.

The consolidated data base now reflects the funding priorities of the

sponsoring user organizations and will provide requirements information to the

Space Station contractors at the start of their program definition and

preliminary design work. The data base contains more than 300 entries

covering scientific, technological, and commercial activities, both domestic

and foreign.

Organizations reporting directly to program management have been established at both the Headquarters and the lead center to represent and interact

with the users. Those organizations are responsible for maintaining a current

V-9
set of user requirements, translating the requirements into performance

requirements for the Station, and ensuring that those requirements are

reflected in the Station's design and operational procedures to the

satisfaction of the users.

E. Current Program

For CY 1985, the Space Station program is concentrating on the following

principal tasks:

o Evaluation of proposals and selection of sources for contractors for

the program definition and preliminary design phase, which is planned

to extend to the end of FY 1986 and has the following objectives:

- To define innovative concepts that will increase productivity and

provide cost-effective means for conducting all phases of the program

- To define and conduct system engineering and integration activities

associated with the work package described in Table V-1

- To define the initial and growth Space Station program and determine

the optimum scenario for assembly of the Station, including the option

of a man-tended version

- To define the benefits of automation and robotics technology and

incorporate it, as appropriate, into the design of the Station

- To create preliminary designs of the initial manned and man-tended

elements of the Station and conceptual designs of growth elements

- To understand and develop required advanced technology

- To understand operations planning for the elements of the Station

- To plan means for accommodating the use of Station elements by

cust_ners

- To develop plans for implementing the design and development phase and

to understand the scope, schedule, and cost of the program

o Advancement of subsystem technologies critical to selection of the

design to be developed during the design and development phase of the

program. Advanced developments in process involve studies, prototype

devices, and flight-experiment planning for attitude control and

stabilization, data management, auxiliary propulsion, environmental

control and life support, space operations mechanisms, thermal

controls, and electric power generation, storage, and distribution.

Activity on all those advanced developments will continue beyond FY

1987 and will play a major role in reducing the technical risk in

selecting the initial and growth designs for the Station.

o Encouragement of international cooperation and planning, which has

proceeded actively since the London Economic Summit in June 1984, at

V-lO
V-ll
which the President explained and extended again his invitation for

other nations to participate in the program. The general procedure to

be followed is that each foreign government participating in the

program will conduct independent, but parallel, program definition

studies through early CY 1987, with an interface requirements review

attended by all participants to be held at the end of C¥ 1985. That

schedule will allow all participants to proceed with their own

development of hardware concurrent with preliminary design development

planning by the United States in the Spring of 1987.

Completion of focused studies on human productivity, automation and

robotics, and Space Station data management systems to provide essential information for use in the preliminary design contracts to be let

in 1985.

Completion of development of the separate acquisition plan begun in

late 1984 for the Station's Technical and Management Information

System. That system should provide the hardware, software, and

operation and service support required by all technical and programmatic elements of NASA and the associated contractors. Plans are for the

system to be operational in the summer of 1986 to be proved and ready

for use when development of Station hardware begins.

o Continuation through early 1985 of the progressive updating of functional requirements by means of a series of activities involving U.S.

government, foreign government, and selected U.S. commercial participants. The purpose is to develop a complete, coordinated set of formal

requirements for use from the beginning of the program definition and

preliminary design contracts in 1985. Definition of requirements will

continue, at least for the next several years, as definitions of

attached payloads and orbiting platforms mature and their needs for

in-orbit control, data processing, servicing, and maintenance become

better understood.

F. Space Station Configuration

In April 1983, the Space Station Task Force managed and coordinated tradeoff studies, conducted preliminary cost analyses, and integrated the results

of mission requirements studies into a set of functional capabilities, or

"architecture." The first architecture was completed in May 1983 in conjunction with a study conducted by the Senior Interagency Group (Space) at the

request of the President. An iteration was completed in July 1983 for use in

preparing NASA's FY 1985 budget submission. A second iteration was completed

in December 1983, and a third, at Johnson Space Center, for use as a reference

configuration in preparation for procurement of system definition. This

iterative process will continue and should provide a thorough system definition based on the most current mission sets, functional capabilities, and

budget plans.

An approved configuration for the Space Station does not yet exist.

Although the reference configuration for the Station specified in the request

for proposals for systems definition calls for functional capabilities represented by the following elements, some of the elements could change: two

habitat modules, a logistics module, two laboratory modules, an unmanned

V-12
platform at an orbital inclination

orbital inclination of about 90o , an

servicing system.

of 28.5 o , an unmanned platform at an

orbital maneuvering vehicle, and a

G. UnderlTing Technology

In 1981, NASA formed the Space Station Technology Steering Committee to

assess technologies expected to be needed for a 1990s space station. The

Committee concluded that a station using state-of-the-art technology would not

meet the goals for the program because it would not have affordable growth

potential and because providing it with an indefinite life through in-orbit

maintenance would not be cost effective. The Committee also identified

technology advances that would be necessary for the station to meet program

goals. To help guide technology development for the station, a workshop was

convened in FY 1983 to review the technologies relevant to a space station,

both those now available and those in process in NASA and industry research

and development programs.

1. Advanced Development Program

To provide advanced technologies needed for an evolutionary space station,

the Office of Space Station has initiated an advanced development program and,

to coordinate the program, has worked out agreements with relevant program

offices. The program will use test beds in key technology areas--such as

power, life support, and data management--in the research and testing conducted to develop technology options for use in developing the station.

Integration of the advanced development program with system definition

activities will be important. Plans are to involve the definition contractors

in the program through both their contracts and the NASA test beds. To

encourage the contractors to develop advanced technologies they believe the

station will need to meet its goals, the requests for proposals for system

definition will call for them to propose selection criteria, tasks, and

funding for development of advanced technology. They may propose that as much

of their funding as they deem necessary be spent for that purpose. In

addition, NASA will make its test beds and the Space Transportation System

available to the contractors for testing advanced technology ideas. A

schedule exists for announcing these plans to industry, working out agreements

for use of the test beds, informing contractors of the status of development

of the test beds, and reviewing the contractors' progress in advanced

technologies.

Major decisions will occur near the end of the definition phase when NASA

reviews the progress made in developing advanced technologies and selects

those that will be used in the development phase.

2. Definition Program

The definition program has four major components: supporting studies and

analyses covering functional and system requirements, system definition,

advanced development, and technology. It will evolve into the system development phase, scheduled to begin in FY 1987.

V-13
The principal emphasis of the supporting studies component is early and

continuous involvement of users in derivation of all the program's activities.

System definition must focus on development of a concept for growth of the

total system through the year 2000 that will be reflected in the detailed

definition of the system's initial elements. Subsequent definition will begin

as the initial elements enter development.

As stated in Section 1 immediately above, success for the definition

program is highly dependent on its efficient interaction with the advanced

development program. Both ground-based test beds and flight experiments are

planned and are expected to play a vital role in definition of evolutionary

elements. The test beds will serve as a conduit through which NASA's technology will be channeled, and incentives for their use will be included in the

definition contracts. Valuable results are expected to be reduction in

program cost and risk through an increase in insight into design details and

through demonstration of hardware.

H. Technological Relationships with Other Program Areas

The Space Station program has close relationships with the Office of Space

Science and Applications in developing mission requirements and in planning

accommodations for science and applications payloads in the design and operation of Station elements. The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology is

helping to implement the Station's advanced technology program, and the Office

of Space Tracking and Data Systems is assisting in the planning for processing

data generated by the Station and the systems and activities it supports. The

activities those program offices will conduct in support of the Station are

described in chapters Ill, VI, and VII of this report.

V-14
ing

Data

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VI. SPACE TRACKING AND DATA SYSTEMS

CONTENTS

A. Function ................................................................. 1

B. Major Objectives ......................................................... I

i. Space Network ........................................................ I

2. Ground Network. • • I

3. Other .......... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

C. Plans for Program Elements and Mission Support ........................... 2

i. Space Network ........................................................ 2

2. Ground Networks ...................................................... 2

3. Communications and Data Systems ...................................... 7

4, Research and Development for Advanced Systems ........................ 7

5. Advanced Studies ...... 8

a. Tracking and Data'Acquisition S;stem'fo_'the i990s._Z.Z_ZZZ_ZZ.8

b. Orbiting Deep Space Relay Station ................................ 8

FIGURES

Figure VI-1

Figure VI-2

Figure VI-3

Major Mission Support Plans of the Space Network ................ 3

Ground Network Phase Down Plans ................................. 4

Mission Support Plans of the Ground Network ..................... 6

VI. SPACETRACKINGANDDATASYSTEMS

A. Function

The primary function of the Space Tracking and Data Systems (STDS) program

is to provide tracking and data support to the Nation's space missions. The

program plans for, develops, and operates the space and ground network of

tracking and data systems required to support the inflight missions of automated and manned orbital spacecraft, deep space vehicles, sounding rockets,

balloons, and research aircraft. For operational support, the STDS program

provides three basic elements: a space network, a ground network, and the

related communications, control, and data systems. In addition to those three

operational elements, the program includes studies and development of advanced

systems, which provide the technology base from which future operational elements are derived. The STDS program also must provide responsive management

of NASA's program support communications and of its activities related to

allocation of the radio frequency spectrum.

B. Major Objectives

1. Space Network

The program's most important objective is that of getting the Tracking and

Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) ready for full operation. To handle the

combined support workload created by low Earth orbit systems anticipated for

the last decade of the century, at least three satellites must be maintained

in operation.

2. GroundNetwork

After phasing out ground stations in the Space Tracking and Data Network

that TDRSS makes unnecessary and after consolidating the remaining stations

with those of the Deep Space Network, NASA will operate a single ground

network under the management of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The major

objective of the network will be to provide tracking and data support for all

current and approved deep-space missions and missions in high Earth and

geostationary orbits, as well as back-up support for certain missions in low

Earth orbit, such as those of the Space Shuttle.

3. Other

Other important objectives for the STDS are to:

o Improve efficiency and economy in processing large volumes of data

o Upgrade the communications support provided by NASCOM (the NASA network

of leased communications services for operational data flow among

stations, control facilities, and users) to meet the demands of NASA

missions with high data rates

o Develop technology to facilitate use of the TDRSS space network

o Improve current capabilities for receiving telemetry from Voyager's

encounters with Uranus and Neptune
o

Continue support to the aeronautics, sounding rocket, balloon, and

geodynamics programs and increase the support capacity of the aerodynamics test range

Provide support for the processing of Spacelab data and for controlling

the Space Telescope mission

Improve and increase the efficiency of NASA's program-support

communications

o Plan for a follow-on system for the TDRSS

o Participate in the definition of space station requirements and prepare

for its support.

C. Plans for Program Elements and Mission Support

I. Space Network

From a network of ground tracking stations located around the world,

NASA's tracking and data acquisition facilities related to spacecraft in near

Earth orbit will evolve into a network of two TDRSS satellites in geostationary orbit, an in-orbit spare, and a single ground terminal at White Sands, New

Mexico. A single satellite currently is operating in Earth orbit, and the

system is expected to be fully operational in 1986. The contractor, Spacecom,

owns and operates the system and will provide NASA with leased support services for ten years of system operation. NASA has collocated a communications

terminal to interface with the TDRSS ground terminal at White Sands and is

operating its own network control center at Goddard Space Flight Center to

control the system and manage network resources. The system achieves extensive coverage of near Earth orbits, 85 percent compared with the 15 percent

provided by a network of ground stations. Therefore, even with a majority of

ground stations phased out, space systems using TDRSS--including the Space

Shuttle, Spacelab, and Hubble Space Telescope--will be able to contact the

mission control center, and vice versa, almost continuously, if necessary.

Missions planned for support by TDRSS are shown in Figure VI-I.

The capabilities of the Space Network will be augmented in the early

1990s. Support of current missions must continue, of course; and expected

increases in the number of spacecraft transmitting wide-band data will require

more capability than the present four single-access relay links can provide.

The Office of Space Tracking and Data Systems therefore plans to replace the

Tracking and Data Relay Satellites at the end of their useful lives, increase

the number of operating orbital spacecraft, and increase capacity for data

capture, processing, and distribution on the ground. The interim requirements

of the Space Station are expected to remain within the data rate capabilities

of the current Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.

2. Ground Networks

After full operation of the TDRSS is achieved, nine more ground stations

will be closed, leaving fully operational in the ground network only the three

Deep Space Network stations and the three Space Tracking and Data Network

locations shown in Figure Vl-2. Collocated facilities of the satellite

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network and the deep-space network at Canberra (Australia), Goldstone

(California), and Madrid (Spain) have been consolidated under Jet Propulsion

Laboratory management to gain technical and economic advantages. A central

signal-processing center has been established at each of those sites. Those

sites can array their large antennas into various combinations and thereby

have flexibility to tailor the support they give individual satellite missions

and to increase their performance for planetary missions. With the transition

to TDRSS for support of satellites in near Earth orbit and the consolidation

of the Deep Space Network and the Space Tracking and Data Network into a

single ground network, NASA began a new era of STDS support. Mating network

activities to the needs of NASA's space programs remains a continuous coordination process that provides current plans, such as those shown in Figure

Vl-3, for mission support by the ground network. The consolidated ground

network will support several Earth satellite missions with orbits that would

not be compatible with TDRSS. The principal early improvements planned for

the network are described in the paragraphs that follow.

In 1986, the Voyager 2 spacecraft will be nearly three billion kilometers

from Earth, close to the planet Uranus, and the signal a single station will

receive from it will not be strong enough to generate the images needed. The

ground network will increase signal strength by combining the signal received

by the 64-meter radiotelescope near Parkes, Australia, with that received by

the NASA ground network array at Canberra. For Voyager 2's encounter with

Neptune in 1989, plans are to add two more non-NASA antennas to the array: a

64-meter antenna in Japan and the Very Large Array in New Mexico. Also, a

program is under way to increase to 70 meters, before 1989, the size of the

64-meter antennas at each of the three sites mentioned in the preceding

paragraph.

An X-band command system scheduled to be operational at two 34-meter

antenna sites in 1987 will provide several advantages to Galileo and later

planetary missions. Because of the perturbing effects of the solar corona on

communications with spacecraft, the current S-band command system cannot

ensure that spacecraft at Jovian distances will receive commands over transmission paths within 15 degrees of the sun. The X-band system will reduce the

blackout, which otherwise could last up to 30 days. It also will provide two

additional full-time benefits: an improvement by a factor of 5 in signal

stability, as it affects navigation, and a better ability to search for

gravity waves. By 1991 the third 34-meter antenna site will have an X-band

uplink, and by 1992 all the 70-meter antenna sites will have X-band uplinks.

To sustain NASA's flight tests aboard sounding rockets, research aircraft,

and balloons, the STDS program includes a phased activity to upgrade and

replace equipment for the domestic, foreign, and mobile tracking and data

acquisition facilities operated by NASA's Wallops Flight Facility and Dryden

Flight Facility. The program includes development of a capability at Dryden

for supporting multiple missions; providing tracking and data acquisition

support to the National Scientific Balloon Facility at Palestine, Texas; and

improving the impact prediction system and fixed radar capabilities at

Wallops. Consolidation of Dryden, Moffett Field, and Crows Landing facilities

under Ames Research Center management was completed in 1984.

Vl-5
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3. Communications and Data Systems

The maturing of TDRSS services will be accompanied by a substantial

increase in the volumes of data to be transferred and processed. Economies

and improvements will be obtained through more transfer of data electronically

to reduce the need for human intervention and tape handling; automated alerts,

alarms, and control of data quality; and standard data labeling among data

bases. Aged and obsolete computing systems for mission support will continue

to be replaced to reduce downtime and maintenance costs; and more use will be

made of microprocessors.

In mid 1986, mission control systems will be ready to support launch of

the highly interactive Hubble Space Telescope. In addition, programs now

under way will provide mission control systems for new spacecraft such as the

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, International Solar Terrestrial Physics

program satellites, Gamma Ray Observatory, and Cosmic Background Explorer.

The trend toward increased automation of control facilities will continue and

will be treated as a factor in studies of the architecture for the Space

Station's data system.

Currently, NASCOM can accommodate data rates as high as 56 kilobits per

second on most of its circuits. To meet future requirements for even higher

data rates, plans for NASCOM include digital voice circuits, data rates up to

224 kilobits per second from overseas stations, greater use of fiber optics

for local links between NASCOM and satellite ground terminals, and possibly

direct Intelsat hop from network stations to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Also, NASA will introduce into NASCOM during the next two to three years the

use of time division multiple access, a capability for dynamically assigning

bandwidth among remote locations as a function of their changing demands.

In 1986, NASA will complete a program-support communications network that

will provide the Headquarters, field centers, and major contractors with

supplemental communications services for conducting day-to-day business.

Those services will include a data transfer rate of 56 kilobits per second or

greater and limited video conferencing.

4. Research and Development for Advanced Systems

The Advanced Systems program, a relatively small but vital portion of the

total program, consists of studies and developments in advanced technology.

It provides a base for future planning and for development of cost-effective

support capabilities. It recognizes the dramatic changes taking place in

telecommunications and computer technology and the ever-increasing need to

assess and apply advances in those areas to improve tracking and data acquisition for future missions. The following are examples of its objectives and

programs:

o Increase ability to communicate with spacecraft, using means such as a

34-meter diameter K-band antenna for deep space missions and millimeter

waves and optics for telecommunications

Improve navigation capability, using the Global Positioning System to

track Earth-orbiting missions with decimeter precision and developing

techniques for using ground-based navigation systems to measure the

Vl-7
angular directions of deep-space missions to an accuracy of 5

nano-radians

Improve ground-station and data handling and processing operations,

using newtechnology such as custom VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration)

and automation

o To facilitate TDRSS use, develop technology such as that for on-board

recorders with data rates of 20 megabits per second and higher and that

for steerable beam antennas.

5. Advanced Studies

a. tracking and Data Acquisition System for the 1990s

The TDRSS, including needed replacement satellites, is expected to

meet the requirements of the space program through most of the 1990s.

However, increases in the volume of data that missions will generate after

the 1990s will require greater capabilities in the space network. The

planned next-generation system, the Tracking and Data Acquisition System,

will provide more links; data rates of gigabits per second; a relayspacecraft to relay-spacecraft link; direct, relay to ground links; and

ground station automation, with distributed command management. Long

lead-time technology and functional designs are under study, with the

objective of initiating systems definition in the early 1990s.

b. Orbiting Deep Space Relay Station

Rapid advances being made in telecommunications technology are expected to have a profound effect on tracking and data acquisition support of

deep-space missions in the next decades. For example, a deep-space relay

satellite in geostationary orbit using an outward-looking optical receiver

may increase dramatically the information and science return from NASA's

planetary missions. The Space Tracking and Data Systems program will

continue to examine the feasibility of promising concepts and will study

technologies and tradeoffs for such a relay satellite.

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VII. SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTENIS

aI

B.

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6.

7.

8.

9.

I0.

11.

12.

13.

Mission .................................................................. 1

Mission Objectives ....................................................... i

i. Support for Development of Missions .................................. I

2. Maintenance of NASA Centers' Strengths ............................... 3

a. Research Centers ................................................. 4

(I) Ames Research Center ......................................... 4

(2) Langley Research Center ...................................... 4

(3) Lewis Research Center ........................................ 4

b. Space Flight Centers ............................................. 5

(i) Goddard Space Flight Center .................................. 5

(2) Jet Propulsion Laboratory .................................... 5

(3) johnson Space Center ......................................... 5

(4) Marshall Space Flight Center ................................. 5

3. Provision of New Concepts and Advanced Technologies .................. 5

4. Utilization of Strengths of Universities in NASA Research ............ 6

Program Planning and Direction ........................................... 6

i. NASA Space Systems lechnology Model .................................. 6

2. System-Level Planning ................................................ 7

a. Space Iransportation Systems ..................................... 7

b. Spacecraft Systems ............................................... 8

c. Large Space Systems .............................................. 8

3. Internal and External Coordination and Review ........................ 9

4. Assessment .......................................................... II

Technology Objectives ............................................... _...Ii

I. Materials and Concepts For Thermal Protection ....................... ii

2. Longer Life, Reusable Engines ....................................... 12

3. Orbital Transfer Vehicle Propulsion and Aerobraking ................. 12

4. High-Capacity Electrical Power Generation, Storage, and

Distribution Systems ................................................ 13

Satellite Communications ............................................ 14

Large Antenna Systems ............................................... 15

Space Teleoperation, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems ............... 15

Space Information Management Systems ................................ 16

Computer Science for Aerospace Applications ......................... 16

Computational Aerothermodynamic Techniques for Entry Bodies and

Rocket Engines ...................................................... 17

Human Capabilities in Space ......................................... 17

Advanced Sensor Concepts ............................................ 18

Distributed, Adaptive Controls for Large Space Systems .............. 18

Current Program, New Directions, and Program Emphasis ................... 19

I. Discipline Research ................................................. 19

a. Aerothermodynamics .............................................. 19

bI

C.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.

2.

Materials and Structures ........................................ 19

Information Sciences ............................................ 19

Space Data and Communications ................................... 19

Controls and Guidance ..

Human Factors ........ ................................................................

..20

Space Energy Conversion ......................................... 20

Propulsion ...................................................... 20

Systems-Level Research .............................................. 20
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a. Space Systems Analysis and Studies .............................. 20

b. Chemical Propulsion Systems ..................................... 20

c. Space Flight Systems ............................................ 21

Planned FY 1986 Augmentations ........................................... 21

i. Automation and Robotics Technology .................................. 21

2. Control of Flexible Structures ...................................... 22

3. Orbital Transfer Vehicle Technologies ............................... 22

Proposed FY 1987 through FY 1991 Augmentations .......................... 23

i. FY 1987 ............................................................. 23

a. Orbital Transfer Vehicle Technologies ........................... 23

b. Automation and Robotics ......................................... 23

c. In-Space Experiments ............................................ 24

d. Enabling Technologies ........................................... 24

2. FY 1988 through FY 1991 ............................................. 24

a. Entry Research Vehicle .......................................... 24

b. Liquid Oxygen-Hydrocarbon Research Engine ....................... 25

c. Mars Sample Return Technologies ................................. 25

d. Lunar Base Technologies ......................................... 25
VII. SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

Consistent with NASA's resources, the Space Research and Technology (R&T)

program addresses the future mission needs of the other NASA program offices,

the U.S. government, and U.S. industry. Its domain is technology with broad

applicability to missions in space. While it devotes some of its effort

directly to current missions, it concentrates on long-term, high-payoff

research and technology development to provide the knowledge, opportunities,

alternatives, and capabilities needed to satisfy future national space objectives and support the Nation's economic growth and defense. Its formulation

requires extensive consultation with the other NASA program offices, the

Department of Defense, and the aerospace industry to ensure that their needs

are identified. Many of its projects are conducted jointly with other program

offices and the Department of Defense to facilitate transfer of the technology

developed.

A. Mission

The mission of the Space R&T program is to conduct effective, productive

research and technology programs that contribute materially to continued U.S.

leadership and security in space. Success depends on commitment to advancing

the technology base and to maintaining technical strengths in the scientific

and engineering disciplines required for future national programs in the

exploration and exploitation of space. Advances in the technology base are

essential for conceiving and designing advanced spacecraft for scientific and

applications missions, providing low-cost access to space through Shuttle

enhancements and orbital transfer concepts, supporting a permanent human

presence in space through evolutionary growth of the Space Station, and

serving projected long-term needs in military and commercial uses of space.

B. Mission Objectives

To accomplish its mission, the Space R&T program emphasizes the maintenance of a technically disciplined base of expertise, facilities, and

knowledge and on generating advanced technology options. The program's

mission objectives are to:

o Support the development of NASA missions in space and the space activities of industry and of other government agencies

o Maintain NASA centers in positions of strength in critical space technology areas

o Ensure timely provision of new concepts and advanced technologies

o Utilize the strengths of universities in conducting the NASA Space R&T

program.

I. Support for Development of Missions

lhe Space R&T program involves technical staff and facilities that are

national resources valuable not only in the performance of NASA missions, but

also to other government agencies and U.S. industry. It supports the space

user community in areas in which it possesses recognized technical excellence,
particularly those in which maintenance of the technology base is its unique

or principal responsibility. In supporting users, it augments the existing

store of experience and data to the benefit of subsequent research and

development programs. This involvement with the user community will be

continued.

The planning of space R&T will take into consideration the needs of both

current and planned space programs. For example:

o Space Station--technology programs focused on and supportive of the

initial configuration will be completed, and activities to provide the

technology base for evolutionary concepts will be expanded.

o Launch vehicles--a technology base in propulsion, aerothermodynamics,

and structural concepts and materials will be provided for heavy-lift

cargo vehicles and advanced Earth-to-orbit vehicles.

o Orbital transfer vehicle--a joint program with the Office of Space

Flight will supply demonstrated technology for an aero-assisted orbital

transfer vehicle.

o Space exploration and exploitation--joint programs with the Office of

Space Science and Applications will continue to address the technology

needs.

Effective support to the Department of Defense (DOD)in satisfying its

needs for space systems requires understanding of its requirements and coordination of plans with it. Consequently, steps will be taken to reestablish

effective interactions via the DOD-NASA Aeronautics and Astronautics

Coordinating Board (Space Research and Technology Panel) and the Air ForceNASA Space Technology Interdependency Group. Also, NASA plans to formulate

with DOD joint R&T programs relating to that agency's Strategic Defense

Initiative, including programs to provide advanced space transportation and an

entry research vehicle.

The needs of industry in space technology will require several forms of

response: the seeking of means to conduct joint NASA-industry projects;

development of technologies that may be needed for commercial uses of space, a

new initiative of the Administration; and encouragement of industry to use

NASA ground and space facilities in areas of mutual interest. To gain the

best use of both government and industry resources, information will be

exchanged and mutual support will be achieved through bilateral and multilateral reviews of NASA's programs and industry's Independent Research and

Development plans, performance, and results.

The concluding step in the advanced research and technology development

process is the transfer of technology to users. To facilitate that transfer,

the Space R&T program will expand its reporting, using existing reporting

mechanisms such as technical publications and presentations at technical

symposia and conferences; increase its use of conferences sponsored by the

Headquarters and the field centers in both broad and specific technical areas;

and expand its cooperative and co-sponsorship arrangements with other NASA

program offices, other civil government agencies that encourage industrial

participation, and the Department of Defense. Through visits and other means,

Vll-2
personnel in Headquarters and the field centers will exchange regularly with

industry reports on program progress and accomplishments.

2. Maintenance of NASA Centers' Strengths

The strength of NASA's field centers in critical areas of space technology

is an essential element in the Agency's ability to satisfy the Nation's needs

for advanced space systems. The institutional base provided by the centers

has been a national resource since NASA was established. To maintain and

strengthen the centers' technical capabilities requires continuous assessment

of their personnel, facilities, and programs.

The most important factor in the strength of the field centers is the

competence of their technical staffs, maintained by ensuring that each

center's mix and balance of skills match its assigned programmatic responsibilities and that its work environment will attract and hold the best of newly

graduated scientists and engineers. Dual career ladders are maintained to

provide promotions for members of the technical staff who prefer to remain

researchers rather than to become managers. To stimulate creativity further,

the regular professional staff is augmented through grants to visiting

scientists and with researchers on temporary appointments and postdoctoral

fellowships.

Production of technical results of the highest quality also requires

acquisition and maintenance of state-of-the-art facilities and laboratory

equipment. The Space R&T program's facilities and equipment, now mostly

ground based, are becoming increasingly space based or transportable to space

for experiments and tests in the space environment. The in-space facilities

and equipment constitute a unique resource available for government and

industry use, just as NASA's wind tunnels serve aeronautics needs.

Because available resources are limited, planning the maintenance of the

field centers' strengths involves major choices and compromises. NASA cannot

and should not expect to establish and maintain a center of strength or

excellence in every area of space R&T. However, NASA cannot afford to eschew

knowledge in any discipline vital to missions in space and, therefore, must

choose in which areas it wishes each of its centers to be a "center of

excellence," a "center of technical competence," or merely a provider of

"technical cognizance." Preliminary views on technology areas in which the

research centers should have excellence or competence are given in subsection

a. below. Those views are derived from the results of advisory committee

reviews, knowledge of the capabilities of the individual field centers, and

recognition of which technologies will require emphasis during the next

decade. Technologies that will receive priority include those for:

o Large, flexible structures and their control

o Space power systems

o Launch vehicle and space propulsion systems

o Entry technologies

o Space operations.

VII-3
The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology has institutional responsibility for the three research centers and supports the space flight centers in

areas essential to the Space R&T program. It distributes the work of the

Space R&T program according to the capabilities for specialized research

established at each field center. Allocating the work in that manner permits

assignment of the most qualified researchers to each project, optimal use of

research facilities and equipment, and avoidance of duplication of effort.

The field centers reinforce their expertise by collaborating with industry and

university researchers. The priority research areas listed for the centers in

subsections a. and b. below represent current emphases and possible future

directions.

a. Research Centers

The research centers will continue to be sustained and strengthened as

centers of excellence or competence in fundamental space disciplines as

indicated below.

(1) Ames Research Center

o Maintain excellence in entry aerothermodynamics, thermal protection

system materials, computational physics, and large scientific

computational facilities

o Maintain competence in life sciences and infrared detection systems

o Strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence and computer

science and application

(2) Langley Research Center

o Maintain excellence in spacecraft materials, structures and their

dynamics, and atmospheric sciences

o Maintain competence in space electronics, including electronics for

remote sensing, control systems, and data systems

o Strengthen technical competence in concepts and system analysis for

space vehicles, teleoperation, robotics, and large space structures

for antenna systems

(3) Lewis Research Center

o Maintain excellence in space power systems, including photovoltaics, fuel cells, and energy storage devices

o Maintain competence in electric propulsion and communications

sjstems, components, and devices

o Strengthen competence in liquid rocket systems.

VII-4
b. Space Flight Centers

To support flight development programs and operations, the space

flight centers have developed various levels of expertise in the technology areas listed below.

(I) Goddard Space Flight Center

o Information systems

o Data handling and sensors

o Laser communications

o Thermal management

(2) Jet Propulsion Laboratory

o Guidance, control, and navigation

o Sensors and instruments for space observation

o Photovoltaics, energy storage, and thermal-to-electric conversion

o Teleoperator and autonomous systems

o End-to-end information systems

(3) Johnson Space Center

o Thermal management

o Human factors and life support

o Fuel cells

o Flight controls

o Software development

o Data management systems

(4) Marshall Space Flight Center

o Structures, materials, and dynamics

o Chemical propulsion systems

o Electric power systems.

3. Provision of New Concepts and Advanced Technologies

In helping to ensure the continuing preeminence of the United States in

space, the Space R&I program must, in addition to supporting current and

Vll-5
planned missions, ensure timely provision of technology to enable the orderly

development of new space concepts and mission capabilities. With primary

responsibility for maintaining and expanding space research and technology,

the Space R&T program is the sole or principal sponsor in some discipline

areas. In those areas particularly, the Space R&Tprogram plans to identify

and support research on innovative concepts and on subjects that provide

opportunities for high payoffs. An objective is to allocate 3_ percent of the

program's available resources to technologies for missions with launch dates

more than 15 years in the future. Another objective is to establish strong

capabilities to perform systems analysis of space missions in order to provide

systems concepts and perspectives to guide the Space R&T program. In

identifying needs and opportunities at the systems level, the program will

address, for planning purposes, growth capabilities for permanent human

presence in space, lunar bases, space transportation systems, advanced space

energy systems, planetary missions, commercial space activities, in-space

capabilities to conduct engineering research, and, in conjunction with DOD,

the Strategic Defense Initiative.

4. Utilization of Strengths of Universities in NASA Research

The Nation's universities are an important source of technical understanding, new concepts, and trained technical personnel for space research and

technology. Currently, 12 percent of the space R&T budget goes to the

universities. The research centers will be encouraged to increase their

cooperation with universities and university consortia, thereby creating

"national centers of excellence." Also, special equipment grants will be made

to upgrade university equipment, and the universities will be given access to

NASA's specialized equipment and facilities.

The Space R&T program is planning to engage several universities in

year-round programs of classroom study, systems analysis, colloquia, and

interaction with NASA centers focused on concepts and technologies for

advanced missions and systems.

C. Program Plannin 9 and Direction

To provide the technologies that are critical to or strongly affect

mission capability, cost, and productivity, the Space R&T program uses a

variety of mechanisms for ensuring that its activities are comprehensive and

that priorities are established. Those mechanisms ensure a match between the

program's technology thrusts and the capability needs of users.

1. NASA Space Systems Technology Model

The NASA Space Systems Technology Model is a compilation of anticipated

NASA system and program requirements, technology trends, and forecasts for

space technology. It is a reference for use in identifying technologies

required for future missions, planning and assessing space research and

technology programs, and forecasting the availability of technology for use in

mission planning. The system technology needs and requirements it presents do

not constitute official agency plans. However, it contains a broad menu of

candidate and opportunity missions and programs unconstrained by current

funding expectations and, therefore, is a valuable source document for NASA's

long-range planning.

VII-6
The Model summarizes NASA mission and payload systems under consideration

for implementation. It identifies NASA program managers and includes system

and program objectives, start and launch dates, and system-level performance

requirements. It also contains an overview of trends, and it forecasts the

availability of space technology. It quantifies current and projected

capabilities in the form of figures of merit for each technology discipline of

interest. It compares the projected capabilities with future system needs and

highlights critical technologies needed for near-term and far-term space

missions that are under consideration.

The Model's data base is updated annually and is maintained in two forms,

printed reports and computer files. In printed form, it occupies three

volumes that, although intended primarily for use by NASA mission planners and

technologists, is also available in a limited number of copies to serve the

needs of space technologists in industry, the universities, and other U.S.

government agencies. The computer files reside in the VAX computer system at

NASA Headquarters. Those files contain more complete information than the

reports do on mission and payload systems and technology trends and forecasts.

Access to the data base in the VAX may be requested from the Office of

Aeronautics and Space Technology by U.S. government agencies, industry, and

universities that have VAX-compatible remote terminals and can justify

adequately their need for access.

Although the data base currently is directed primarily at NASA systems and

programs, expansion to include other civil and commercial systems is planned.

Even now, trends and forecasts are drawn from throughout the U.S. space

community, both civil and military. In addition, the Air Force produces a

classified technology plan that provides comparable information for military

space systems.

2. System-Level .P1annin 9

To focus its systems research and technology development, the Space R&T

program divides systems into three classes: space transportation systems,

spacecraft systems, and large space systems. That categorization has the

additional advantage of providing a systems perspective for coordination and

integration of development efforts in the various technology disciplines. In

the system-level activities, technology requirements and opportunities for

planned and potential missions are identified, system-level analyses are

conducted to identify high-leverage disciplinary technologies and quantify

their impact, and disciplinary technology programs are developed.

a. Space Transportation Systems

Future transportation missions and vehicles fall into two broad

categories: Earth to orbit and orbital transfer. Vehicles in both

categories must be provided new capabilities by about the end of the

century so that they can supply routine, flexible, and low-cost delivery

and return of cargo and personnel to destinations such as the Space

Station, platforms in geosynchronous orbit, the lunar surface, and deep

space. Because of the planned permanent presence of humans in space and

the expected increase in space activity, systems that are reliable,

reusable, and economical to operate will be needed. Consequently,

VII-7
technology programs related to space transportation are focused on

increasing system performance and improving reliability, thus reducing

costs and increasing service life. The key technology areas are advanced

concepts, materials, and fabrication methods for structures; highperformance propulsion systems; techniques for predicting aerodynamic and

aerothermodynamic design and performance; and autonomous systems required

for guidance and navigation.

b. S_acecraft Systems

New technology will be required for spacecraft to perform both civil

and national security missions. The civil missions will include all the

areas of space science and applications, such as planetary exploration,

astrophysics, the Earth sciences, and communications. The missions and

systems expected to be the principal drivers of technology include

planetary and comet sample returns, mobile communications satellites,

Earth observing systems, large infrared observatories, and space-based

radar systems. To provide the technology required for such diverse

spacecraft in an affordable manner will be a real challenge.

Spacecraft will continue to grow much more complex physically and

functionally. They will require advanced detectors across the full range

of the electromagnetic spectrum, and many of them will require improvement

in the precision of their pointing to optimize the outputs of their

sensors. Substantial augmentations will be needed in their capabilities

for communications and on-board data processing and storage. Many of them

will have to have utilities that function autonomously. Systems analyses

of spacecraft have indicated that potential advances in technologies such

as those for spacecraft power and propulsion could double spacecraft

payload fractions by the mid 1990s. That gain could provide a very

beneficial increase in science return and spacecraft profitability; and it

could even be essential to the ability of the United States to remain

competitive with foreign countries conducting space programs.

c. Large Space Systems

In recent years, the development of technology for space platforms has

been concentrated on technology to permit efficient development and

productive use of the Space Station in its initial configuration. Now

that those planning and definition activities are approaching the point of

providing the baseline technology for the system, attention will be turned

to the requirements for evolving the Space Station and developing any

unmanned platforms that may appear to be needed by the turn of the

century. New technologies are expected to be needed in the following key

areas:

o Automation--artificial intelligence, human-machine interaction,

teleoperation, and robotics. A primary objective is to reduce

operating costs through automated control of key system functions.

o Information--advanced data systems, including data processing networks

and data storage devices. The principal aim is to incorporate VHSIC

(very high speed integrated circuit) technology into data processing

systems to ensure that the systems are compatible with projected

VII-8
advances in space platform systems and will permit their evolution as

technology advances.

o Energy management--photovoltaic generation systems and high-voltage

distribution and management systems. A program is being started in FY

1985 to develop technology for solar dynamic power generation to

support the Space Station program's needs, which are evolving toward

dynamic systems.

o Human capabilities--a broad discipline front including human factors;

extravehicular activity systems such as space suits, robotics, mobility

aids and devices, and work stations; crew facilities such as

environmental control and life support, personal hygiene, and waste

management; intravehicular activity systems such as work stations,

communications, and special facilities; and space operations, lhe main

objective is to develop system technologies that will increase human

productivity in functional areas where human involvement has the

greatest potential payoff.

o Many space systems will be much larger than their predecessors and

therefore will require an increase in fundamental understanding of

large space structures, especially of how to design, fabricate, and

deploy them. The Space Station, for example, will start as a structure

of modest size, but will grow through the addition of modules and

appendages through the 1990s. Specific technical challenges include

adaptive control, precision control of the shape of large structures in

space, and long-term stability of the systems in space. Because there

is a limit to the validity of ground-based experiments in development

of the technology in this area, a necessary part of the research will

be experimentation in space.

In addition to developing generic R&T, as discussed in the preceding

subsections, the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology develops focused

technology for selected programs. In 1985, it is conducting the focused

technology part of the advanced development program for the Space Station. In

doing so, it ensures both that the focus of its generic R&T program is proper

and that needed continuity is maintained from the technology development phase

through the demonstration phase. This cooperation between the two program

offices is expected to continue through the evolutionary phases of the Space

Station program.

3. Internal and External Coordination and Review

The Space R&T program plans, develops, and reviews its activities in

coordination with the other program offices, other government agencies,

advisory committees, and industry and university organizations. It has formal

agreements with the Office of Space Flight and the Office of Space Science and

Applications to promote coordination in specific areas such as spacecraft

technology experiments in space and life support systems. Several ad hoc

technical groups have been formed under those agreements for the purpose of

coordinating specific technology needs, programs, and results.

The formal agreement with the Office of Space Science and Applications,

the OASI/OSSA Coordination Memorandum of Understanding, was established to

Vll-9
improve the coordination that existed between the two offices and to provide a

framework for joint planning and program oversight. Improved coordination has

been sought in three ways: closer coordination of long-range planning to

anticipate technology needs and emerging options, more joint attention during

the annual Research and Technology Objectives and Plans (RTOP) cycle to ensure

a focus on high-priority programmatic needs, and more joint participation in

oversight and evaluation of the technology development efforts of both

offices. The agreement calls for the creation of six joint technology plans--

in communications, sensors, planetary, astrophysics, life sciences, and

Shuttle payload experiments. The plans compare the Office of Space Science

and Applications' mission requirements with the Office of Aeronautics and

Space Technology's technology programs. Following discussions between the two

offices, the Office of Space Science and Applications will provide a

prioritized list of technology requirements, and then the Office of

Aeronautics and Space Technology will respond by describing how it will

support the items on the list in its technology plan.

The Space R&I program conducts similar coordination activities with the

Air Force and other defense agencies in technology areas important to their

missions. Two formal mechanisms have been established for both information

exchange and decision making. One mechanism operates through delegates of

NASA's Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology and the

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. The other operates

through the Space Research and Technology Panel of the Aeronautics and

Astronautics Coordinating Board. In addition, the Space Technology Interdependency Group provides a forum for identifying candidate interdependent

programs as a means for encouraging cooperative space technology programs

between the Department of Defense and NASA.

Advisory groups provide additional external coordination and review. The

two groups with the most interest in the Space R&T program are the Aeronautics

and Space Engineering Board of the National Academy of Engineering and the

Space Systems and Technology Advisory Committee of the NASA Advisory Council.

Both groups, and their subgroups, review the program and its plans and provide

recommendations on direction and content. To obtain further review and

coordination, the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology periodically

sponsors technology workshops involving representatives from industry and

universities. Also, through membership on the Advisory Group on Electron

Devices, it coordinates with the Department of Defense spacecraft technologies

involving sensors, electro-optics, solid state electronics, and

communications.

Universities have an additional involvement in the planning of the program

through the Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, which the Office of Aeronautics

and Space Technology, in conjunction with the American Society for Engineering

Education, conducts at the NASA field centers. Those summer sessions, usually

ten weeks long, permit the fellows to conduct research, systems design,

concept development, and feasibility assessment for selected disciplinary

topics. The program's purposes are to give college and university faculty

members an opportunity to deepen or broaden their research and teaching

interests, learn about NASA's space research and technology development

program, gain insight into the management of federal research and development,

and contribute their expertise to space research and technology problems of

interest to NASA.

VlI-IO
4. Assessment

The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology regularly conducts formal

assessments of its Space R&T program to ensure that it responds to the needs

of the space user community. The groups conducting the assessments are

composed of persons from both within and outside the Agency. The scope of the

assessments ranges from specific technology development programs to an

individual discipline or topic. Such assessments will be continued, and their

results will be used to modify the program and justify program augmentations.

D. Technology Objectives

The Space R&T program has a broad range of technical thrusts. The

principal ones are embodied in the technical objectives described below, which

support the program's goal and objectives and provide a basis for decisions on

funding, personnel, and facilities. The order in which they are presented

does not imply priority, and the listing is not all-inclusive. Many

activities not listed continue as valuable elements of the program.

1. Materials and Concepts For Thermal Protection

Concepts for thermal protection materials and structures will continue to

be crucial for advances in space transportation systems. A broad range of

future vehicles, each with its own unique aerothermal environment, is being

studied.

Several types of materials will be available for protection of vehicles

against temperatures of 2300 o F and above. Ablating materials are the least

desirable because they cannot be reused. However, they have been

characterized very adequately and do offer the advantage of protection against

extremely high temperatures. Advanced carbon-carbon composites that protect

against temperatures up to 3000 o F will be used in advanced vehicles,

especially on their leading edges, in their nose region, and on their control

surfaces. Advanced ceramics, similar to those used on the Shuttle orbiter but

more durable and resistant to higher temperatures, are attractive alternatives

for protection against higher temperatures.

Heat pipes will provide active thermal control in high-temperature

stagnation regions, especially on small manned vehicles with extremely sharp

leading edges and noses.

Aeroassist concepts under consideration for use in advanced orbital

transfer vehicles vary considerably in the rate of heat transfer they must

accommodate. The rate for the aerobrake concept and the ballute concept is

relatively low, but the aerobrake requires a durable, reusable thermal

protection material while the ballute material must be flexible. Aerocapture

vehicles will have high heat transfer rates and therefore may be protected

with high-temperature ceramics and metals, advanced carbon-carbon composites,

and ablating materials. Planned system studies of advanced vehicle

requirements and expected aerothermal environments will provide a clearer

understanding and permit thermal protection and aeroheating R&T to be

concentrated in areas promising the greatest payoff potential.

Vll-ll
2. Longer Life, Reusable Engines

High-efficiency, reusable rocket engines are a necessity for routine

access to space. They must operate reliably for many missions with minimal

maintenance and lowest reasonable cost. Therefore, technology must be

developed for critical concepts, components, procedures, and materials.

Advanced analytical methods must be established for explaining and quantifying

engine phenomena. The result should be viable options for development

programs to improve engine performance, life, reliability, and

maintainability.

Attention is being given to extending the life and performance of the

Shuttle's main engines. Increasing the number of missions the engines are

able to fly requires improvements in engine components and in analytical

techniques for predicting their aerodynamic, aerothermodynamic, and material

performance. Under development are diagnostic instrumentation and an ability

to identify incipient failures and to schedule engine maintenance so as to

cause minimum disruption to mission schedules. A heavily instrumented main

engine will be used in system-level testing to ensure that hardware embodying

advanced technology performs as intended and is ready for further development,

on a flight engine. The testing also will validate instrumentation and

provide data for use in checking analytical models. Other activities planned

for the near future are to finish modeling the fluid flow and rotor dynamics

of the engine; test improved rotary bearings, including those that operate in

oxygen; and evaluate heat resistant coatings for turbine blades and methods of

applying the coatings.

The technology of large, high-pressure, hydrocarbon-fueled booster engines

is being improved. Those engines can provide high system efficiency in highthrust booster stages because the high density of their fuel makes possible

the use of lighter weight tankage. Being investigated as a means for

improving the efficiency of boosters are dual-nozzle engines having a low

expansion ratio during flight in the atmosphere and a high expansion ratio for

operation in near vacuum.

3. Orbital Transfer Vehicle Propulsion and Aerobraking

A versatile, cost-effective, orbital transportation vehicle is essential

for exploitation of space orbits beyond those the Shuttle, advanced Earthto-orbit vehicles, and the Space Station will be able to reach. The planned

Orbital Transfer Vehicle will be reusable, space-based, and able to deliver

6,800 kilograms (15,000 pounds) to geosynchronous orbit. It will have growth

potential to permit delivery of large deployable structures and manned systems

to geosynchronous orbit. It will have a high-performance, variable thrust

propulsion system; cryogenic tanks capable of being refilled totally with

little loss of fuel; and aero-assisted braking for return to low Earth orbit

from higher orbits.

The propulsion system will include an engine that has a high chamber

pressure and burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, and will have a nozzle

with a large expansion ratio. Technology development is required for

concepts, component designs, and analytical techniques. Also required are

high efficiency pumps, improved nozzles with large uncooled skirts, and

development of diagnostic instrumentation and analytical techniques that will

VII-12
detect incipient failures and allow timely scheduling of corrective action.

Three companieshave been granted contracts for design studies of propulsion

systems for orbital transfer vehicles. By 1986, they will have completed the

concept definition phase and will have started to test critical subcomponents.

Then, each will design a test-bed engine and order componentsfor testing in

subsequent years.

The use of aero-assisted braking instead of propulsion braking to recover

reusable orbital transfer vehicles at low Earth orbit offers a potential for

increasing significantly the payload that those vehicles can deliver to

geosynchronous orbit. Technology development is needed for vehicle navigation

and control in an aerodynamically unpredictable environment; a low-weight

aerobrake, including a thermal protection system and control of backface

heating; and a system design that will permit servicing of the vehicle in low

Earth orbit and recovery of both the vehicle and a mannedcapsule from

geosynchronous orbit.

Technology development essential for low-loss refilling of cryogenic tanks

in zero gravity includes that for techniques to prechill the tanks, to

introduce fluids in such a way that the system being filled is vapor-free, and

to fill the tanks with a predetermined amount of fuel. Under development is

an experiment to be conducted in the Shuttle's cargo bay to investigate the

storage, acquisition, and transfer of cryogenic fluids under zero-gravity

conditions. The first flight is planned for the late 1980s.

4. High-Capacity Electrical Power Generation, Storage, and Distribution

Systems

The maximum electrical power available in spacecraft has been tens of

kilowatts, with power-to-weight ratios as low as 5 watts per kilogram and

costs as high as $1,500 per watt. However, research on photovoltaic cells and

arrays should provide by the late 1980s substantially greater power levels

and, at the same time, lower system costs and weights. The development of

arrays for solar electric propulsion systems is expected to demonstrate a

power-to-weight ratio of 66 watts per kilogram. Further development will

provide array outputs of I00 or more kilowatts, with a power-to-weight ratio

for high-performance silicon arrays of 300 watts per kilogram and with costs

reduced by a factor of 5 or more. Under study are improved photovoltaic

materials and better designs to provide cells and arrays with high concentration efficiency, lightweight structures, and the ability to maintain high

performance for long periods in the space environment.

For Space Station applications, solar dynamic power systems offer

potential advantages over other solar conversion systems, particularly for

power levels greater than 300 KW, because of their substantially smaller areas

and, therefore, their lesser need for station-keeping propulsion. Assessment

has been initiated of the possible use of such a system in the initial Space

Station. The critical technology areas are those for the receiver-storage and

concentrator subsystems, and those areas will be addressed in conjunction with

the system integration studies for the Station.

High-power systems generate substantial amounts of waste heat that must be

removed and radiated to space. They therefore require efficient thermal

management systems possessing high capacities and low vulnerability to

VII-13
meteoroid damage. For managing the heat inside spacecraft, cold plates will

be integrated into thermal, power, and data handling subsystems. Also,

removal of waste energy by use of heat pipes and by forced-convection (pumped)

two-phase fluid systems is being investigated. To be investigated for

radiating heat to space are liquid droplet and liquid metal belt radiators and

possibly additional concepts. For energy storage, both single-phase and

two-phase materials will be assessed.

In February 1983, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and

NASAcreated the Tri-Agency Space Nuclear Reactor Power System Technology

Program to advance technologies suitable for a space power system capable of

producing I00 kilowatts or more of power and of operating 7 years at full

power. Approximately 200 civil and military mission concepts were identified

in the initial mission definition phase of the program, and current studies of

civil and military mission needs and requirements are defining the desired

characteristics for the system from the user viewpoint. Three concepts for

the system are being investigated: an in-core thermionic system, a

lithium-cooled reactor (thermoelectrical energy conversion system), and a

low-temperature reactor using existing liquid-metal, fast-reactor technology

coupled with a dynamic (free-piston Stirling cycle) energy conversion system.

Special emphasis is being placed on nuclear safety in flight. The technology

assessment and advancementphase currently in process is expected to end in

1985 with the selection of a single system concept for investigation in the

ground test phase. The objective of that phase, which will last 3 to 4 years,

is to complete all activities needed before prototype flight units can be

assembled and qualified for flight testing.

Future large space systems will require power managementand distribution

at high voltages and possibly at high alternating current frequencies. They

also will need advances in materials resistant to elevated temperatures and

radiation, circuits, transmission lines, electronic components, switching

networks, high-speed switches, short-term energy storage, state-of-charge

indicators for batteries, autonomous operation, and control of interactions

between high voltages and the space environment.

Energy storage systems are a dominant factor in the weight, reliability,

and length of life of high-capacity space power systems. Technology is being

developed for systems based on nickel and hydrogen electrochemistry and for

regenerative electrolyzer systems for fuel cells. The objective is reliable

orbital systems able to store hundreds of kilowatts of e,ergy at high voltage

levels for use in the Space Station. Comparedwith a battery system, a

regenerative fuel cell system offers lighter weight and considerably more

operational flexibility. Acid and alkaline technologies are under

investigation for their performance and endurance characteristics in

connection with both the fuel cell and the electrolyzer elements of fuel cell

systems. Breadboard testing is leading to prototype development that is

expected to result in application in the 1990s.

5. Satellite Communications

Research and development for communications systems are centered on

components and technology to ensure U.S. preeeminence in satellite

communications and data transfer. The purpose of work currently in process is

to improve electron beam amplifiers, solid-state devices, and antennas. The

VII-14
results will be applied to communications satellites, intersatellite links,

deep-space exploration systems, and terrestrial terminals.

The work on electron beam amplifiers seeks to reduce the weight and cost

of microwave power amplifiers and to increase their operating lifetime,

efficiency, and linearity through research on multistage depressed collectors,

the surface physics of cathodes, and novel slow-wave circuits such as those

known as the tunneladder traveling wave tube. Scheduled for completion in

1986 is an experimental, 60-gigahertz, coupled-cavity traveling wave tube for

use as a spaceborne amplifier for intersatellite communications.

Research in solid state devices is concentrated on development of

monolithic microwave integrated cicuits, gallium arsenide field effect

transistors, IMPAIT (impact avalanche transit time) diodes, semiconductor

lasers, receivers with high signal to noise ratios, and passive devices.

Developments expected are an X-band solid-state transponder for use in deep

space by 1986, a 20-gigahertz monolithic microwave integrated circuit

amplifier, and a solid state laser with a power output of more than 200

megawatts by the late 1980s.

Antenna research will be directed toward development of antennas employing

multiple scanned beams to transfer data between orbiting vehicles and to relay

point-to-point comunications; multiple-use antennas for spacecraft; large

antennas for terrestrial and airborne mobile communications; computer modeling

techniques for antenna structures; and antenna testing facilities. Important

milestones in this program will be the testing of a 15-meter diameter antenna,

completion of a study of multiple-use antennas, and, in the late 1980s, start

of operations of the Antenna lechnology Laboratory.

6. Large Antenna Systems

Research is needed in the packaging of antenna structures, minimum sizes

for structural members, and methods for deploying and assemblying large

antennas. The large antennas will need to be light in weight and compact when

stored, but be able to maintain very stringent surface tolerances when

deployed. A 15-meter diameter, ground-based prototype of a hoop-column

antenna, a key element of structural research, is under construction. During

1985, it will be prepared for deployment and dynamic testing, which will be

followed in 1986 by electromagnetic characterization of the antenna surface.

Technology gained from the testing will be used to guide flight experiments

planned for initiation by 1989 to develop methods for controlling the

configuration of large flexible space structures and for investigating their

dynamics.

7. Space Teleoperation, Robotics, and Autonomous S_stems

Autonomous space systems will increase current capabilities for conducting

unmanned science experiments in space, provide for automated operation of

systems and devices on the Space Shuttle and Space Station, and reduce the

overall dependence of space systems on ground-based operations personnel. The

approach to be followed in developing autonomous systems is to develop and

apply artificial intelligence to planning, monitoring, controlling, and

diagnosing subsystem operations. In 1986, a rudimentary, closed-loop,

autonomous system is to demonstrate in the laboratory, in connection with the

VII-15
Voyager spacecraft, the capabilities listed above. Also scheduled for 1986 is

a major demonstration of an experimental automated controller for an advanced

life support system.

Research on teleoperations and robotics is focused on remote servicing,

assembly, and related manipulative tasks for maintaining and operating space

systems. The major activity planned for 1986 is to develop the final

technology elements needed for conducting two major technology demonstrations

in 1987. The technology element for the first demonstration is an

interactive, sensor-referenced, teleoperator control system using distributed

computing. The second is a machine vision and robot control system capable of

automatic acquisition and tracking of target bodies, integrated real-time

control of robot arms, and control of mobile platforms. The technology base

will be validated through a series of pilot experiments currently in process

to demonstrate progressively increasing levels of automation and autonomy of

remote systems. Those technology elements will free personnel to concentrate

increasingly on supervisory and other intellectual tasks and, therefore, will

increase the capability, efficiency, and economy of space-based human-machine

systems.

8. Space Information Management Systems

The purposes of this objective are to develop and apply technologies to

reduce the cost of deriving information from manned and unmanned space

missions and to increase the capabilities of space-based and ground-based data

systems. The resulting space information systems will provide more efficient

and effective transfer of data from sensors to users via intelligent,

autonomous systems. The approach to this objective includes development of

high-speed, wide-band optical networks; adaptive network nodes; radiation

hardened, very high speed integrated circuit processors; and optical mass

storage systems for spaceborne applications. Related technology must be

developed for optical information processors, image-based data and symbolic

processors for spaceborne systems, and data-base management systems.

9. Computer Science for Aerospace Applications

This technical objective seeks to understand the principles underlying

aerospace computing and the relationships and tradeoffs between algorithms and

computing architectures. It strives to apply the understanding gained to

development of computational concepts and system architectures with improved

reliability and performance for application to space operations. It is

focused on concurrent processing algorithms, software management, and

information management. Its results will be applied in computational physics,

image processing, flight systems, and ground-based, large-scale information

systems.

Concurrent processing research includes analysis of highly parallel,

single-instruction, and multiple-data stream computer architectures for

problems that can be vectorized. It also includes analysis of the more

complex, but potentially more promising, multiple-instruction and multipledata stream architectures. Parallel research on algorithms is developing

robust, numerically stable algorithms for solving sets of thousands of

simultaneous linear and nonlinear equations. A long-term goal of software

research is to develop by 1989 a support environment for software management

Vli-16
that will engender automatic extraction of measuresof software reliability

and quality during software development and modification. In 1986, the focus

of the research will be on development and validation of a dynamic cost model

for the life cycle of software. Research in managementof space information

will result in completion in 1986 of the design phase for a prototype set of

methods for gaining data-independent access to high-volume, distributed,

heterogeneous data bases.

10. Computational Aerothermodynamic Techniques for Entry Bodies and Rocket

Engines

Development of design optimization concepts for aerospace vehicle systems

requires an understanding of fluid flow and thermal physics. The following

major capabilities will be sought: techniques for predicting the radiative

and convective heating rates of orbital transfer vehicles using aero-assisted

braking and of other flight vehicles during flight in the atmosphere; methods

for estimating aerodynamic forces acting on bodies with a variety of shapes

and control surfaces during entry into the atmospheres of Earth, other

planets, and the satellites of planets; improved facilities for verifying

computational methods; and a complete and verified theory for flow conditions

in the rarefied atmosphere at low orbit altitudes and in spacecraft jet

plumes. Development and validation of computational fluid dynamics techniques

will provide more accurate predictions of flow phenomena and vehicle responses

too complex to be simulated in wind tunnels and other ground facilities.

Conditions encountered during ascent to orbit, in low Earth orbit, and during

reentry will receive special attention. Validation will be accomplished in

existing and new test and simulation facilities on the ground and,

increasingly, in flight research vehicles and with research-quality

instrumentation in the Space Shuttle.

11. Human Capabilities in Space

The Space Shuttle provides frequent opportunities for flying experiments

in space, and the Space Station will add a capability for extended duration

missions. Together, they will require a wide variety of intravehicular and

extravehicular activities for deployment, construction, assembly, maintenance,

satellite and vehicle servicing, and other tasks. Automation of operations

and system autonomy will need to increase continuously to reduce the costs and

complexity of ground support, lengthen system lifetimes, and enhance system

versatility. Also, technologies related to human-machine interactions and to

life support for long-duration operations will have to be advanced to support

and exploit fully the capabilities of humans in space.

An understanding of human capabilities and technology to enhance them is

needed in four areas: supervision and management of automated subsystems to

ensure optimal performance of the total system, including optimal division of

functions between humans and machines; teleoperation of remote systems from

spacecraft and Earth-based work stations, evolving toward telepresence (remote

operations with perception and dexterity); extravehicular activity during

construction and other long-duration operations, including trade-offs between

extravehicular activity and teleoperations; and performance and physical and

psychological well-being of humans performing repetitive tasks in confined

spaces in a hostile environment.

VII-17
The aims of human factors research are design criteria for allocating

functions between humans and automated systems; electronic displays and input

devices in crew stations--to increase reliability and operational capability,

decrease cost and weight, and provide interfaces for automated and autonomous

systems; work stations--to provide ground control of autonomous manned and

unmanned spacecraft; human-teleoperator interfaces--to increase operational

capabilities and reduce the cost of in-orbit assembly, maintenance, and

repair; tools and devices--to increase the operational capability of astronauts working in space suits; and habitability--to improve vibroacoustics,

food technology, and crew quarters. Flight experiments will be conducted to

help establish those design criteria.

12. Advanced Sensor Concepts

The sensor program provides technology in lasers, microwave tubes, and

infrared detectors for passive and active sensing of terrestrial, planetary,

and galactic environments. The research involved has general applicabilty in

sensing technology and is used in NASA's space science and applications

programs and in programs conducted by the Department of Defense and commercial

satellite operators.

Technology is under development for linear, infrared, and x-ray detectors;

large arrays of silicon, charge-coupled devices; broad-band radiometers;

synthetic aperture radars; solid state lasers; infrared and ultraviolet light

detection and ranging systems; _nd cryogenic coolers. Infrared detectors and

cryogenic coolers will be used in the Shuttle Infrared Telescope Facility and

the Large Deployable Reflector. Synthetic aperture radar technology will be

incorporated into the Shuttle Imaging Radar-D, and solid state lasers will

serve as sensors for Space Station light detection and ranging measurements.

The solid state laser and synthetic aperture radar programs are conducted in

cooperation with the Department of Defense.

13. Distributed, Adaptive Controls for Large Space Systems

As space structures become larger and more flexible, they will have to be

equipped with distributed, adaptive controls to maintain the structures'

desired configuration and stability. Modular structures incorporating

decentralized control may be used to permit adaptation during operation and

incremental modification as the structures grow.

Algorithms will be required for analyzing distributed controls for active

vibration damping, control during deployment, and attitude control. Various

types of adaptive controls will be evaluated for their ability to compensate

for large changes in the inertia of structures during deployment in space and

for mode and frequency changes caused by structural interactions. On-board,

real time, adaptive controls will require numerical procedures, compatible

with the structures' adaptive control algorithms, for analyzing memory, size,

and timing. The data base for the technology of distributed, adaptive

controls must provide high tolerance to uncertainties andto failures of the

many components distributed throughout large space systems.

VII-18
E. Current Program, New Directions, and Prog.ram Emphasis

The R&T program to satisfy the 13 technology objectives discussed in

section D. above has two parts. The first is discipline research in 8

advanced technology areas to provide the data base and understanding necessary

for creating new space concepts and for extending mission capabilities. The

second is systems-level analysis and research to identify high-leverage

technologies and to generate data critical to validation of advanced

technology for space applications.

1. Discipline Research

a. Aerothermodynamics

The objective of the research in this technology area is to develop

analytical and predictive techniques for the continuum, transitional, and

rarefied flow regimes, with emphasis on transatmospheric flight. Included

are bluff-body highly nonequilibrium-radiative flows that are altered by

catalytic wall phenomena and transition into highly expanding after-body

flows with turbulent separation; flows around complex, 3-dimensional

vehicles that react chemically and interact viscously; and free-molecular

flows that, diffusing forward over spacecraft from rocket plumes located

and directed astern, could contaminate payloads.

b. Materials and Structures

lhis technology area includes structures with large areas, the effects

of the space environment on materials, thermal protection materials, hot

structures, thermal-structural analysis, technology for generic mechanisms, and the combined effects of structural dynamics and controls.

c. Information Sciences

Included in this technology area are concurrent processing, optics,

tolerance to faults and radiation, electronics, sensing, computer science,

and automation to make space systems more autonomous and capable.

d. Space Data and Communications

Included are advanced techniques for processing information;

high-capacity, high-data-rate storage systems to increase the capabilities

of space and ground data systems; and advanced microwave and optical

communications.

e. Controls and Guidance

Included are Targe, flexible, precisely controlled structures;

integration of attitude control and energy storage functions in flywheels;

and precise pointing of large spacecraft.

Vli-19
f. Human Factors

Included are enhancement of astronaut productivity by improving

techniques for managing information and by providing extravehicular work

stations and telepresence.

g. Space Energy Conversion

Included are high-capacity power and thermal systems for the Space

Station, systems with high specific power and low weight for

geosynchronous-orbit and planetary missions, and thermal-to-electric

energy conversion for power systems incorporating lO0-kilowatt class

nuclear reactors.

h. Propulsion

Included are the life and performance of advanced, high-pressure,

cryogenic engine systems, with emphasis on component and integrated

diagnostic instrumentation techniques; space-based, throttleable, and

reusable orbital transfer engines; gaseous oxygen-hydrogen propellant

systems for use in the evolutionary Space Station and as auxiliary

propulsion for orbital transfer vehicles; and electric propulsion for

Earth-orbital and planetary missions.

2. Systems-Level Research

a. Space Systems Analysis and Studies

The objective of the space systems analysis and studies activity is to

quantify the key technologies required for space missions that will

provide direction and scope to the Space R&T program. The systems on

which the activity is focused and the key technology areas for each system

are as follows: transportation systems--aeroassisted braking and

maneuvering, thermal protection systems, and advanced cryogenic engines;

spacecraft systems--automonous systems, sensors, and precisely controlled

structures; and large space systems--assembly, deployment and control of

large space structures and evolutionary growth potential of the initial

Space Station, including architectures for distributed data systems,

automated and teleoperated systems, advanced life support systems, and

operational extravehicular activities. In addition, identification will

begin of technology development activities that can benefit from use of

the operational Space Station as a research facility.

b. Chemical Propulsion Systems

A heavily instrumented Space Shuttle main engine will be used as a

testbed to acquire systems-level data for use in evaluating advanced

technology components derived from the discipline research program on

propulsion. The systems-level data also will be used to validate

instrumentation and modeling techniques to be employed in predicting the

performance and life of propulsion systems. This program is being

conducted jointly with the Office of Space Flight, which will provide and

operate a nonflight Space Shuttle main engine as the testbed. The

VII-20
advanced technology componentsto be tested will be available in 1986, and

testing will start in 1987.

c. Space Flight Systems

This activity encompasses the design, development, and flight testing

of experiments and the development of special purpose, reusable, flight

research facilities for use in space. Current flight experiments support

a broad, ground-based program of discipline research in the following

areas: structures and controls--to validate technologies critical to the

design, analysis, test, and operation of large space structures (see newly

initiated program 3.b., Control of Flexible Structures, below); management

of cryogenic fluids--to enable in-orbit supply and resupply of cryogenics

to spacecraft and space platforms and in-orbit refueling of space-based

orbital transfer vehicles; and high-capacity heat rejection systems--to

verify the technology for 2-phase heat-pipe radiator elements for use on

the Space Station. The Orbiter Experiments program will continue to use

the orbiter as a test-bed in developing technology for advanced

transportation systems.

F. Planned FY 1986 Augmentations

Augmentation in FY 1986 is planned for the Space R&T programs described

below.

1. Automation and Robotics Technology

The objective of this program is to provide technology to increase,

through automation, the capabilities of systems and the productivity of humans

in space. The continually increasing scope and complexity of NASA's missions

rapidly are making the satisfaction of requirements with conventional technology and approaches unaffordable and, in some cases, unachievable. This

deficiency becomes particularly evident when the mission objectives for space

platforms are considered. The ability to meet the long-term challenges of

space missions requires a coherent approach to the automation of space

systems, using emerging and evolving technologies.

The degree of autonomy of space operations can be increased substantially

by systems able to perform remote manipulation and intelligent control in

space. Automation of space systems reduces mission costs, enhances scientific

and engineering mission capabilities and provides new ones not otherwise

attainable, and makes possible the evolution and optimization of the humanmachine role in space.

The major elements of technology involved in this program are sensing,

planning, decision making, and in-space operations with human-supervised and

autonomous systems. The program will integrate those basic technologies to

provide a basis for evaluating and understanding the tactical situation and

for exercising supervisory control over the remote manipulation and mobility

required. Major activities that will benefit from automation of operations

include maintenance and operations of ground-based systems and space platforms, in-situ operation of experiments, satellite servicing, assembly of

large space structures, repair and maintenance of space-based systems, and

remote operation of scientific payloads.

VII-21
Congress has displayed substantial interest in accelerating the dissemination of advanced automation technology to and in U.S. industry. The result of

its concern over international competitiveness was a search for a national

high-technology program that not only would serve as a highly visible

demonstration of advanced automation, but also would spur the dissemination of

that technology in the private sector. The program selected by Congress for

those purposes is the Space Station program, and this newly initiated

automation technology program is the principal R&T program contributing to the

satisfaction of those purposes.

2. Control of Flexible Structures

Successful operation of large space structures, such as large-area space

platforms and antennas, is dependent, to a large extent, on an ability to

control the static configurations and dynamic responses of the structures.

Large space structures have a high degree of flexibility and are subjected to

varied sources of loading, including non-uniform temperatures, docking,

deployment, pointing adjustments, and static and dynamic loads imposed by

normal operations aboard the structures. Consequently, the structures must be

equipped with active, positive controls that will prevent excessive static

deformation and will damp dynamic motions.

The objective of this program, therefore, is to develop in a timely

manner, consistent with NASA's overall space objectives, technology for

controlling the static configurations and dynamic responses of large space

structures. The program will consider a variety of structures, including

multibodied flexible arrays, supported mesh antennas, and joint-dominated,

deployable beams of a generic nature. It will concentrate initially on a

joint-dominated, slender, flexible beam. Beginning in 1985, it will develop

analytical methods and conduct ground-based experiments to characterize and

synthesize accurately the dynamic behavior of that type of structure and to

develop the control laws and methods required for controlling its

configuration and motion. Starting in 1989, three flight experiments will be

conducted on the Space Shuttle to validate ground-based testing and analysis

methods and to demonstrate damping, tip stabilization, and adaptive control

methods. Concurrently, other analyses and ground-based experiments will focus

on expanding newly developed technology for application to more complex

structures, such as multibody and 3-dimensional structures.

3. Orbital Transfer Vehicle Technologies

The objective of this program is to provide the technologies that are key

to the development of the space-based, reusable, Orbital Transfer Vehicle,

which is planned for use in the late 1990s. Those key technologies are for

advanced propulsion and aerobraking.

The objective of the program in propulsion is to develop technology for an

advanced space-based engine. The current program is analyzing and designing

components and instrumentation for technology development of components. To

provide for integration and system testing of technology concepts and

components developed under the base program, development of a full-scale

research engine is being planned.

VII-22
The objective for aerobraking is to develop technology to satisfy needs in

the key technical areas related to development of an aerobrake for the Orbital

Transfer Vehicle; namely, aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic environments,

brake structures, thermal protection material, and adaptive navigation and

guidance. To support the technology development program, the Office of

Aeronautics and SpaceTechnology and the Office of Space Flight are jointly

planning to develop and fly an aerobrake test vehicle. The test vehicle will

be deployed from and recovered by the Shuttle, and its entry trajectory will

create an entry environment similar to that the full-scale Orbital Transfer

Vehicle will experience. The test vehicle will be instrumented to provide

data that are essential to development of the Orbital Transfer Vehicle, but

cannot be obtained with ground-test facilities.

G. Proposed FY 1987 through FY 1991 Augmentations

The Following Space R&T programs are being considered for augmentation in

the FY 1987 through FY 1991 period.

I. FY 1987

a. Orbital Transfer Vehicle lechnologies

The orbital transfer vehicle technologies program will be augmented in

FY 1987 to add an aeroassist flight experiment and advanced engine

research. _hose augmentations will provide the technology base needed to

establish design, performance, and operational specifications for

development of a space-based, aeroassisted orbital transfer vehicle

currently planned for operation in the late 1990s. The Aeroassist Flight

Experiment will be conducted jointly with the Office of Space Flight and

will result in flight testing of an aerobrake concept in late FY 1991. It

will provide data on the aerobraking entry environment that heretofore

have been unobtainable and that are critical to development and validation

of aerothermodynamic prediction techniques and to verification of thermal

protection materials. The result from the advanced engine research

augmentation will be design and fabrication of engine-level components

that then will be evaluated in full-scale testbed engines.

b. Automation and Robotics

Augmentation of the automation and robotics program will increase

activity in the development of core technology (sensing and perception,

task planning and reasoning, operator interface, control execution, and

system architecture) and expand ground-based demonstrations and in-space

experiments. The program addresses both system automation of routine

housekeeping tasks and robotic technologies to extend the in-space

capabilities of humans. It proceeds through increasingly complex demonstrations as new technology products become available.

Selected in-space experiments will be conducted as necessary either to

explore phenomena that cannot be addressed suitably on the ground or to

validate ground-developed technology for applicability in space. Joint

programs with the mission program offices will be sought for ground

demonstrations as well as in-space experiments.

VII-23
.

c. In-Space Experiments

Two augmentations to the in-space experiments program are planned.

The first is to develop understanding of and technology to characterize

and accommodate the effects of the space environment on structural

materials, sensors, optical surfaces, protective coatings, and structural

dynamics. Environmental factors to be considered include plume impingement, atomic oxygen, and plasma ram and wake. The objectives of this

first augmentation are to characterize space environmental factors that

could damage long-term space systems, to develop and verify analytical

models for environmental interactions, and to validate technologies for

limiting the environmental effects. The second augmentation is to

determine the structural dynamic performance of large space systems by

using the Space Station as a testbed during its assembly and operation.

Objectives are to update predictive, ground-based, structural dynamics

models and techniques; flight test instrumentation needed for determining

the dynamic performance of space systems; provide guidelines for

instrumenting the Space Station's structure; verify structural dynamic

interactions during Space Station assembly; and identify the performance

of operational systems.

d. Enabling Technologies

This augmentation will provide enabling technologies for science and

applications systems and missions in the 1990s, including the Earth

Observing System, the Large Deployable Reflector, communications

platforms, and sample return missions to the planets. It will develop

components for use in the submillimeter spectrum, including detectors,

mixers, oscillators, and tunable so|id-state laser components. It also

will include laser materials research programs to develop material

alternatives and control technologies for large multifaceted surfaces.

FY 1988 through FY 1991

a. Entry Research Vehicle

Development of entry vehicles that make effective use of aerodynamic

forces to maneuver at high altitudes and Mach numbers will require major

advances in technology. Also, since those environmental conditions cannot

be simulated in ground facilities and are outside the flight envelope of

all existing vehicles, analytical prediction methods currently cannot be

validated. An entry flight research vehicle is being proposed as a joint

Department of Defense-NASA program. The entry vehicle would provide means

for assessiny advanced thermal protection materials, advanced structural

concepts, aerodynamic and aeroheating prediction techniques, and the

feasibility of using advanced adaptive navigation and guidance systems to

accommodate atmospheric uncertainties. Validation of trajectory analyses

that optimize various entry maneuvers will identify prediction and

performance deficiencies, providing insight into potential design

solutions for future vehicles.

VII-24
b. Liquid Oxygen-Hydrocarbon Research Engine

A high-pressure liquid oxygen-hydrocarbon engine offers significant

advantages over a liquid oxygen-hydrogen engine for the boost phase of

heavy-lift and advanced Earth-to-orbit vehicles. The high-density

propellant and the greater compactness of the liquid oxygen-hydrocarbon

engine permits reduced engine weight and vehicle base area. A reusable

engine with chamber pressures greater than 2,000 pounds per square inch

will require development of a new class of engine.

This planned augmentation will provide for engine-level testing of

component advances from the on-going technology activity. Engine-level

testing is required to validate advanced component and engine system

designs and unique reusability features associated with a liquid

oxygen-hydrocarbon engine. An engine research capability should make

possible the attainment of technology readine_ for this class of engine

by the mid 1990s.

c. Mars Sample Return Technologies

The currently envisioned mission strategy for a Mars sample return

mission will require acquisition of a significant number of critical

mission-enabling technologies. The mission strategy includes deployment

of payload elements by the Space Shuttle; in-orbit assembly of the full

system; in-orbit fueling and injection into a Mars transfer trajectory;

lander aerocapture and orbiter deployment; sample collection, launch, and

orbital rendezvous and docking; return-to-Earth transfer, aerobraking, and

Space Station rendezvous and docking; and Shuttle transfer of samples to

Earth's surface.

This augmentation will include development of required technologies in

automated rendezvous and docking; aerocapture and aeromaneuver; highly

autonomous telerobotics; surface mobility and manipulator dexterity; and

adaptive guidance, control, and route planning.

d. Lunar Base Technologies

A lunar outpost or lunar base program will require scientific and

technological research, including initiation of pilot plants to exploit

lunar materials. It is expected to depend initially on systems derived

from the Space Station and adapted to survive on the lunar surface. It

also is expected to evolve from being intermittently manned toward

supporting the permanent present of humans. The range of technologies and

the scale of research activities that will be involved include closed-loop

life support, transportation infrastructure (cislunar transfer systems and

surface mobility systems), extraction of oxygen and hydrogen, production

and management of eAergy, and extraction and fabrication of construction

materials.

VII-25

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VIII. AERONAUTICAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTENIS

A. Governmental Policies Establishing NASA's Role ........................... i

B. Goal, Strategy, and Objectives ........................................... 2

I. Goal ................................................................. 2

2. Strategy ......

3. Objectivesi_iiiiiiiiiiiiii.iii_iiiiiii_.___._.ii_i_ 23

a. Maintain Research Center Capabilities ............................ 4

b. Achieve Appropriate Levels of Disciplinary and Systems Research..5

c. Ensure Timely Transfer of Research Results to U.S. Aerospace

Industry ......................................................... 6

d. Ensure Appropriate Involvement of Universities and Industry ...... 6

e. Provide Development Support to Other Government Agencies and

to U.S. Industry ................................................. 7

C. Technology Objectives .................................................... 7

I. Computational Fluid Dynamics ......................................... 8

2. Aircraft Viscous Drag and Reynolds Number Effects .................... 8

3. Use of Advanced Materials to Minimize Structural Weight .............. 9

4. Advanced Control, Guidance, and Flight Management ................... I0

5. Improvement in Rotorcraft Productivity and Reliability .............. I0

6. Technology for Superior Military Aircraft and Missile Systems ....... II

7. Technology to Enhance Flight Crew Effectiveness ..................... 12

8. Exploitation of Modern Computers for Aeronautics Reseach ............ 12

9. Highly Integrated Propulsion-Airframe Systems for Enhanced

Performance ......................................................... 13

I0. Technology for Small Gas Turbine Engines ............................ 13

II. High-Speed Turboprop Propulsion ..................................... 14

12. Advanced Turbofan Research .......................................... 14

13. Aviation Safety ..................................................... 15

D. Current Program--New Directions and Emphasis ............................ 16

I. Advanced Turboprop Large-Scale Systems Research ..................... 17

2. Oblique Wing Technology ............................................. 17

E. Future Initiatives ...................................................... 19

1. High Speed Technology (Hypersonics) ................................. 19

2. Supersonic Cruise Technology ........................................ 21

3. Computational Fluid Dynamics ........................................ 21

4. Rotorcraft Systems Noise and Vibration .............................. 22

5. Advanced Fighter Aircraft Technology ................................ 22

6. Transport Aircraft Laminar Flow Technology .......................... 22

7. Small Engine Technology ............................................. 23

8. Superaugmented Rotorcraft Technology ................................ 23

9. Convertible Engine Propulsion Technology ............................ 23

10. Supersonic Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing Technology ............ 24

11. Composite Structures Technology ..................................... 24

FIGURES

Figure Vlll-1 Advanced Turboprop Program Plan .............................. 18

Figure VIII-2 Oblique Wing Research Aircraft Program ....................... 20

VIII. AERONAUTICAL RESEARCHANDTECHNOLOGY

This long-range plan for aeronautical research and technology development

describes work to be conducted by NASApersonnel and their academic and industrial associates. Their combinedexpertise is critical to NASA's ability to

satisfy the Nation's needs for aeronautical research and technology development. Also critical is NASA'sunique aeronautical test facility capability.

This plan emphasizes the preservation of and continuing development in both of

those critical areas as muchas it stresses the elements that constitute the

plan itself.

During 1984, the Aeronautics and SpaceEngineering Board of the National

Research Council conducted, at NASA'srequest, a workshop to identify technology advances that might be possible by the year 2000, assuming that adequate

resources are available. Participants in the workshop included representatives from industry, academe,and government. A Vehicle Applications Panel

conducted a follow-on study to evaluate more fully the combined effects of the

predicted technology advancesand to project advanced vehicles that might

result from them. The results from the workshop and the study are providing

the basis for a longer range, more visionary approach for NASA's research

program and facilities planning in aeronautics.

This plan addresses three principal subjects: governmental policies that

establish NASA'srole in aeronautics, the goal and objectives that guide

NASA's actions in accordance with that role, and the elements of NASA's

planned aeronautical research and technology development program.

A. Governmental Policies Establishing NASA's Role

NASA's role in aeronautics is broadly described in the National

Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, as amended. However, interpretations of

the Act°s meaning have ranged from limiting the Agency to conducting basic

inhouse research, following the NACA tradition, to working more closely with

industry, including more extensive funding of technology demonstrations. In

1982 the Office of Science and Technology Policy convened a group of senior

representatives from all government agencies with responsibilities in

aeronautics to examine the Nation's aeronautical research and technology

development policy and related matters. That examination clarified the

policy, delineated more clearly the roles of the participating agencies in the

process of technology development and application, and asserted again the

importance of aeronautics to the defense and economic well-being of the United

States. The group recommended:

o National goals that would ensure timely provision of a proven technology base to support development of superior U.S. aircraft and of a

safe, efficient, and environmentally compatible air transportation

system

o Government support, consistent with overall national priorities and the

availability of funds, for aeronautical research and technology

development and for demonstration of technology for military aircraft

o Continued maintenance of present organizational relationships, in

which:
The Department of Defense (DOD) funds, directs, and implements aeronautical technology development and demonstration programs for military

applications

NASA funds, directs, and implements aeronautical research and technology development and supports military aeronautical technology demonstrations

- NASA and DOD encourage transfer of aeronautical research results to and

within U.S. industry

- Both NASA and DOD manage, maintain, and operate aeronautical research,

development, test, and evaluation facilities

The Federal Aviation Administration, with NASA and DOD support, is

responsible for air traffic control and safety-related aeronautical

research and technology.

With the President's acceptance of those recommendations as U.S. aeronautical policy in November 1982, they became a base for NASA's long range plan for aeronautics.

B. Goal, Strategy,, and Objectives

I. Goal

The goal of the Aeronautics program is to conduct effective and productive

research and technology programs that contribute materially to the enduring

preeminence of U.S. civil and military aviation. That goal will require

maintenance of the capabilities of the NASA research centers, bold and imaginative program management, and greater involvement of NASA with others in the

research and development community.

2. Strategy

The principles underlying the aeronautics program plan are emphasis on the

initial steps in the research and development process, recognition of the

common civil and military utility of aeronautical technology, and capitalization on the synergism between aeronautical and space technologies and

capabilities. To avoid the confusion that often accompanies the somewhat

arbitrary partitioning of the research and development process, the following

definitions apply to the three activities that are the principal elements of

NASA's aeronautical research and development:

Disciplinary Research--research to increase knowledge of fundamental

physical phenomena and generate new concepts in primary aeronautical

technical disciplines

Systems Research--research in individual technical disciplines and in

technologies uniquely related to various general classes of aircraft to

increase knowledge of interactions among system components

Vlll-2
o Proof of Concept--investigations to determine the feasibility of

promising technical advances.

Twosubsequent steps in the research and development process will be given

secondary but important emphasis: technology demonstration and product development. Technology demonstration is concerned with advancedtechnologies for

which confidence must be established through demonstration of their technical

value. NASA'stechnology demonstration activities will be restricted generally to technology with potential military applications and will be coordinated

or conducted with DOD.

NASA engages in product development only in connection with military

systems, to provide technical and test support to DODand industry.

Most technology development is independent of potential applications.

However, when a particular type of aircraft tends to place greater demands on

technology than do others, development work is planned and, at times,

conducted jointly with potential users of the technology for that type of

aircraft. In fact, technical laboratories operated by DOD,the Federal

Aviation Administration, and private industry constitute important components

of the NASA research community, as do universities engagedin basic aeronautical research.

Devoted largely to technology development, NASA'sresearch facilities also

are used in development testing whenthey possess needed unique capabilities.

Data from development testing enhance the research data base and thus contribute to the primary research and technology program. Aeronautical research

facilities are used in tests on various space, launch, and entry vehicles. In

addition, the needs in a numberof aeronautics and space technology areas are

closely related; for example, high-temperature materials, aerodynamic heating,

secondary power, control, and guidance. Aeronautical research and space

research are synergistic.

3. Objectives

The Aeronautics program plan has the following five key objectives:

o Maintain the excellence of the NASA research centers in facilities,

computational capability, and technical staff

o Achieve appropriate levels of disciplinary and systems research at the

leading edge of technology in those areas critical to the continued

superiority of U.S. aircraft

o Assure the timely transition of research results to the U.S. aerospace

community

o Assure the appropriate involvement of universities and industry in

NASA's Aeronautics program

o Provide development support to the aeronautics activities of other

government agencies and U.S. industry.

VIII-3
The significance of those objectives and NASA'sapproach to achieving them

are described below.

a. Maintain Research Center Capabilities

A primary strength of NASA and its predecessor, NACA, in aeronautics

has been the institutional excellence of the Ames, Langley, and Lewis

Research Centers. Those centers possess most of the key aeronautical

research and development facilities in the United States. In addition,

their technical staffs comprise an unmatched pool of experts. The centers

not only conduct research themselves, but also coordinate the efforts of

peers elsewhere in government, industry, and academe. Their aeronautical

facilities, which have a replacement value of over $4 billion, are in most

instances unique special purpose research and test facilities essential to

the development of both commercial and military aircraft. An important

new facility, the National Transonic Facility, is becoming operational at

Langley; but many wind tunnels and engine test cells and their auxiliary

equipment are aging and in need of extensive rehabilitation. Consequently, the Facility Integrity Program has been initiated to provide

rehabilitation through a multi-year repair and replacement activity.

Existing facilities also are being enhanced through the Facility

Productivity Improvement Program, which is designed to provide a more

efficient test capability.

As computational methods have matured, they have become a powerful,

complementary partner to NAS&'s experimental facilities and have extended

NASA's basic ability to conduct research in a broad range of disciplines.

However, as computational codes have been developed to address increasingly more complex physical phenomena, they have pushed the current

state-of-the-art of computational capabilities. To ensure the continued

rapid advancement of computational methods, the research centers are

enhancing their computational capabilities by acquiring the world's most

advanced supercomputers. In the longer term, major advances in computational methods will require an evolutionary approach. The Numerical

Aerodynamic Simulation program will address those needs.

Full-scale implementation of the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation

program was initiated in 1984. When operational, in 1986, the system will

feature high-speed processing networks with work stations, graphics

capabilities, and long-haul, wide-band satellite communications links

between the research centers. The heart of the system, the world's most

powerful prototype high-speed processor, will perform up to 250 million

floating point operations per second (MFLOPS), approximately four times

the sustained operating speed of current computers. As the system evolves

to an extended operational capability, in early 1989, a newer, more powerful processor will provide up to 1,000 MFLOPS to a wider community of

users, as remote access is provided to industry, university, and other

government research laboratories. This national resource will be

upgraded continually to ensure that it will provide the computational

capability required to maintain U.S. leadership in this area.

The staffing of the research centers is being improved by adjusting

their mix of skills to maintain consistency with their defined areas of

research and by creating an environment designed to attract the best and

VIII-4
brightest of newly graduated scientists and engineers. Opportunities for

advanced education and training are provided, as are dual career ladders

that allow advancementthrough either managementor research. Staffs are

augmentedin critical areas with temporary personnel obtained through

postdoctoral fellowships, grants to visiting scientists, cooperative workstudy programs with universities, and intercenter personnel exchanges.

Because of limitations on both staff size and budget, the Aeronautics

program will distribute its resources to the research centers in accordance with the priorities this plan establishes for each of them. Since

each research center's capabilities usually are supplementedby supporting

or related capabilities at the other research centers, the centers' areas

of excellence are closely interrelated. For example, whenthe newly

modified 40x8Oxl20-foot wind tunnel at Ames Research Center becomes

operational, it will provide a unique capability for noise research that

will complementthe current noise prediction and analysis capabilities at

Langley Research Center. Similarly, the experimental and computational

capabilities being advanced in Lewis Research Center's turbine and

compressor research will be supported by the development of the

computational system and algorithms at Ames. All of the research centers

are national laboratories responsible for advancing fundamental

aeronautical disciplines. In addition, each has the following special

responsibilities:

0 Ames Research Center--flight research and technologies for commercial and military rotorcraft, powered-lift aircraft, and highperformance aircraft

o Langley Research Center--airframe technologies for commercial and

military transports, general aviation aircraft, and military highperformance aircraft

o Lewis Research Center--technologies of aeronautical propulsion and

power.

b. Achieve Appropriate Level s of Discipl inar_ and Systems Research

Increased emphasis will be placed on systems integration. To achieve

technological improvement, interactions among the individual components of

a vehicle, its subsystems, the flight crew, and its operating environment

must be understood. Technical disciplines must be interrelated in systems

research. For instance, aerodynamics sets the basic shape of an airplane,

while materials and structures technologies maintain the integrity of that

shape and minimize the airplane's weight. Similarly, propulsion systems

involve both fluid mechanics and structures. Flight controls interact

with the airplane's aerodynamic shape and structural response modes to

determine its flight Rerformance, handling qualities, and maneuverability.

Vehicle dynamics and integration of the airframe with the propulsion

system and weapons further control the design. Because all of those

elements interact and cannot be separated, all must be addressed when

seeking improved performance, increased durability, and reduced acquisition and operating costs for a total system.

Vlll-5
Systems research investigates those complex interrelationships to

provide understanding of the overall behavior of a system--be it an

engine, a complete aircraft, or a structural componentsuch as a large

composite wing span--and an understanding of the interaction of the system

or subsystemswith the environment, natural and man-made.

Technology goals and current program plans, including future initiatives, are described in sections C, D, and E of this chapter.

c. Ensure Timely Transfer of Research Results to U.S. Aerospace Industry

Rapid and unconstrained dissemination of research and technology

results that, though unclassified, are economically or militarily sensitive can allow exploitation by potential competitors or adversaries before

use by the United States. NASA endeavors to prevent such exploitation of

its results. At the same time, because the results are essential to the

productivity of the U.S. aerospace community, NASA maintains their free

flow to the extent that commercial competitiveness and national security

permit.

A second concern is that U.S. industry may not be aware of all technical advances, even unclassified ones, made outside the United States.

Therefore, the NASA centers have accepted responsibility for acquiring,

assimilating, and disseminating to U.S. industry information on relevant

technology advances made outside the United States.

To ensure rapid transfer of NASA generated technologies to industrial

application, emphasis is being increased on two important mechanisms:

active participation of industry in the Agency's research and technology

activities through contracted and joint programs, and timely dissemination

of results through workshops, conferences, and reports.

d. Ensure Appropriate Involvement of Universities and Industry

The universities participate in NASA's aeronautics research and

technology in several ways. Faculty members serve on advisory committees

that help formulate and critique NASA programs. With their students, they

participate in basic research programs, generally in close collaboration

with personnel at the research centers. The resulting contacts give

visibility to NASA and its programs in the universities and direction to

academic research activities. They also stimulate the transfer of ideas

and talent between the universities and the research centers.

The principal mechanisms for university participation are NASA grants

and contracts that foster collaboration between personnel at the research

centers and faculty and graduate students at the universities. Increased

use of those mechanisms is planned. Another kind of arrangement to enlarge NASA's academic interface will include formation near Ames Research

Center Of the Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, which will

be an analog of the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and

Engineering at Langley Research Center. Similarly, two or more centers of

excellence in computer science and its aerospace applications will be

established. The purposes of the Institute and the two centers of excellence will be to focus academic expertise in computer science and

Vlll-6
applications critical to aerospace and to develop a group of young

aerospace engineers highly proficient in computer technology.

With regard to industry participation, the principal purpose of NASA's

Aeronautics program is to develop technology that can be incorporated

expeditiously and economically into new vehicle designs. For that purpose

and to ensure that the program's projects include consideration of both

technology needs and technology opportunities, program planning and

execution are undertaken in close coordination with senior management,

program and project leaders, and technical specialists in U.S. industry

and the Department of Defense.

Aeronautical systems research must be a cooperative endeavor between

NASA personnel and their counterparts in industry, since much of the

understanding of system requirements and integration problems resides in

the latter. Thus, an important feature of the Aeronautical program is

research performed by industry with NASA funding and technical

collaboration.

e. Provide Development SuRport to Other Government Agencies and to U.S.

Industry

Although devoted primarily to the conduct of research and technology

development, NASA's technical staff and facilities also aid government and

industry in the development of new aircraft. In providing support, NASA

augments its own store of experience and data to the benefit of its

subsequent research and technology development activities.

C. Technology Objectives

%echnology objectives, established to provide a framework for decisions on

funding, personnel, and facilities, represent areas for long-term emphasis.

The level of emphasis may differ from center to center, and the total amount

of effort will depend on the funding and manpower available. The order in

which the objectives are presented does not imply priorities, and it should

not be assumed that activities not included will be abandoned. The objectives

are as follows:

o Bring external and internal computational fluid dynamics to a state of

practical application for aircraft and engine design

Significantly reduce aircraft viscous drag over the full speed range

and improve understanding of Reynolds number effects at transonic

speeds

o Minimize structural weight through use of advanced materials for civil

and military aircraft engines and airframes

o Provide advanced control, guidance, and flight management technologies

to improve performance and operation of future aircraft

o Improve by 100 percent the productivity and reliability of rotorcraft

for military and civil application

VIII-7
o Ensure availability of technology for superior military aircraft and

missile systems

Enhance flight crew effectiveness in advancedcockpit and air traffic

environments that include advanced automation, display, and control

techniques

o Exploit modern computers in solving computationally intensive aeronautical problems

o Exploit the full potential of techniques for enhancing performance

through highly integrated propulsion-airframe systems

o Advance the technology for small gas turbine engines to a level

comparable with that for large turbine engines

o Establish the technical feasibility of high-speed turboprop propulsion

o Advance design technologies for subsonic transport engines to improve

their fuel efficiency and durability

o Increase aviation safety through improvement of crash- and fireworthiness, protection from meteorological hazards, and aircraft

systems.

NASA's approach to those objectives follows.

I. Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics has been identified as one of the major tools

required for addressing a wide range of aeronautical analysis and design

problems. It enables analyses, both to expand understanding of fundamental

flow physics and to provide easy-to-use methods for creating synergistic

designs and conducting performance analyses of increasing complexity and

completeness. Major gains in computational aerodynamics during the next

decade are expected to result from increased emphasis on fundamentals such as

advanced algorithm development, computer-aided geometric modeling, generation

of 3-dimensional adaptive grids, turbulence simulation, and modelling of

3-dimensional flow for complex configurations. The rapid progress being made

is expected to provide advanced design tools that will yield, for aircraft and

engines, preliminary designs that are much closer to final configurations than

current preliminary designs can be. The result will be greater economy in

wind tunnel and test rig activities and, at the same time, superior products.

The Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation system will support directly the

objectives of computational aerodynamics and will provide pathfinding

capabilities to advance understanding of aerodynamics.

2. Aircraft Viscous Dra 9 and Re_/nolds Number Effects

Reduction of ai.rcraft drag is a major factor in progress toward aircraft

design goals such as increased range and speed, decreased fuel consumption,

and decreased weight and volume. As other sources of drag are being reduced,

viscous drag is becoming an ever increasing fraction of total drag. One

technique for reducing wing-skin friction drag is laminar flow control. That

Vlll-8
technique may provide a reduction of 80 percent; however, it has not yet been

proven feasible for day-to-day aircraft operations. Maintaining laminar flow

at supersonic speeds also is plausible. It could reduce total aircraft drag

by as muchas 30 percent and, at the sametime, reduce surface temperatures.

Research areas that should prove fruitful in reducing viscous drag include

maintenance and reliability of laminar flow control systems; active control of

laminar instabilities; and optimization of passive techniques (such as use of

pressure gradients and passive bleed) for maintaining laminar flow.

Concerted effort also is under way to reduce drag due to turbulent skin

friction. This work, which consists primarily of modifying the geometry of

aircraft surfaces, is applicable to fuselages as well as to wings. Someof

the more promising techniques being developed are passive ones such as

large-eddy breakup devices and longitudinal surface striations (riblets) that

manipulate and control the turbulence to reduce its scrubbing action on

aircraft surfaces. Reductions projected for fuselage skin friction are up to

30 percent for subsonic speeds and up to 15 percent for supersonic speeds. A

pacing item in developing concepts for reducing drag caused by skin friction

is lack of understanding of turbulence physics. Further understanding of the

complexities involved will be provided by advances in computational fluid

dynamics and test techniques.

Differences in the Reynolds numbers from full-scale and wind tunnel tests

often introduce inaccuracies that seriously compromiseaircraft design. The

new National Transonic Facility provides a full-scale Reynolds numbertesting

capability, effectively eliminating the potentially costly errors arising from

extrapolation from data obtained in tests that previously could be conducted

only in low Reynolds numbertunnels. The National Transonic Facility and the

Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation system will form a powerful combination

providing a synergistic analysis and design capability heretofore not available for synthesis of advanced aircraft configurations. A result will be

increased emphasis on the complementary interaction of experimental testing

and computational simulation.

3. Use of Advanced Materials to Minimize Structural Weight

Advanced materials that reduce the structural weight of aircraft contribute significantly to increases in the overall performance and efficiency of

the aircraft. Consequently, NASA's materials and structures program addresses

structural concepts and analysis methods to exploit the increases in strength

and stiffness and the reductions in density that advanced materials can

provide. The program also addresses material constituents and processes that

can improve durability by increasing fatigue resistance and tolerance to

damage and high temperatures.

Research to improve the structural performance of aluminum will continue.

Rapid solidification and. improvements in basic metallurgy processes for

aluminum powders are under investigation, and superplastic forming techniques

will be developed for fabricating geometrically complex structural components.

Materials with higher strengths and stiffnesses and lower densities will

be provided by development of lithium-aluminum alloys, strengthening with

dispersed silicon carbide particles, and reinforcement with whiskers. The

primary objectives of NASA's composites activities are to improve the

Vlll-9
toughness of the composites, to develop structural concepts that exploit the

advantages of composites, and to understand failure mechanisms that limit

structural performance. Increases in their tolerance to flaws and damage will

improve their durability and impact resistance and therefore, increase their

safety.

NASA's approach to improving aircraft engine structures is to increase the

durability of hot-section superalloy components and to continue research on

hot-section ceramic components. The ceramics research will focus on identifying critical processing variables that affect reliability, developing methods

to measure variables that affect reliability, developing methods to measure

the growth of cracks that occur, and nondestructive evaluation methods for

monitoring the population and the propagation of small cracks. The superalloy

research will use a newly developed, high-temperature structures laboratory to

study the behavior of turbine blade material and burner liner hardware under

realistic aerothermomechanical loading conditions. That research will be

supported by research on thermal barrier coatings that are non-corroding, and

will be paralleled by continual development of specialized structural analysis

techniques designed to predict the detailed history of the stress-strain

deformation of engine components over an entire mission cycle.

4. Advanced Control, Guidance, and Flight Management

Advanced concepts applied to flight management, control, display, and crew

station interfaces can provide designs for aircraft systems able simultaneously to follow planned flight paths more accurately and to perform functions

that are crucial to the safety of flight. As dependence on digital fly-bywire control systems increases, system reliability requirements drive the

applicable technology toward a high degree of fault tolerance. Improvement in

operational efficiency requires better techniques for flight path management

in conjunction with improved air traffic control. The approach that will be

followed is to develop methods for fully integrating flight-crucial controls

and guidance functions; identify alternative system architectural concepts;

establish emulation-simulation and physical testing techniques for advanced

digital systems; and develop advanced concepts for display, information, and

flight path guidance systems. Strong emphasis will be placed on advancing the

technology for management of dynamic, fault-tolerant systems and for highly

reliable computer systems able to support complex interacting functions.

In close cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA will

conduct research to improve capabilities for defining and executing efficient

and safe flight paths in the congested terminal area under adverse weather

conditions and to ensure that advanced aircraft features can be accomodated by

the evolving national airspace system. Other research will exploit the

synergistic benefits from integrating advances in aerodynamics, structures,

propulsion, and digital electronics to obtain revolutionary changes in

configuration concepts and thereby provide major gains in fuel savings and

reductions in direct operating costs and weight.

5. Improvement in Rotorcraft Productivity and Reliability

Rotorcraft technology is relatively immature and therefore presents a

broad range of disciplinary, component, and systems research challenges.

Because of the complexity of rotor aerodynamics and dynamics and the resulting

VlII-IO
vehicle aeroelastic, stability, and control problems, there are opportunities

for major gains in performance, flying qualities, and all-weather operating

capabilities, and in reducing vibration and noise. The program's focus will

be on system improvements such as a TOO-percent increase in speed and range,

world-wide self-deployment capability, 50-percent decrease in noise and

vibration, 25-percent reduction in mission fuel requirements, and lO0-percent

increase in payload capacity. Those advances will increase significantly the

operational capabilities of both civil and military rotorcraft. Key factors

for both civil and military rotorcraft are low vibration and noise, high

payload capacity, productivity, economy, speed, agility, self-deployability,

and adverse weather capability--with the last four factors being particularly

important for military applications.

The planned program will concentrate on critical technologies, with special emphasis on improving fundamental understanding and analytical prediction

methodologies. The research approach will use ground-based experimentation,

simulation, verification through flight tests, and development of certification criteria for advanced rotorcraft concepts with regard to performance,

controls, propulsion, structures, guidance, and navigation. Technology development tasks for the next generation of rotorcraft will include establishment

of a data base for large transport and heavy-lift rotorcraft; evaluation of

circulation-control rotor concepts, such as the X-wing for high-speed

rotorcraft; and refinement of tilt-rotor technology for civil and military

applications.

The program also will investigate aero-acoustics to provide design tools,

methodology, and substantiation of the data base in order to achieve

improvements in rotorcraft designs that will reduce external noise by 5 to 10

decibels, increase hover efficiency by 10 percent, and increase cruise

efficiency by 20 percent. Analytical prediction methods and a comprehensive

data base on rotor parameters affecting performance and noise will be

important factors, as will the establishment of criteria for structuring

small-scale aero-acoustic model tests and the accurate projection of results

to full-scale designs.

6. Technology for Superior Military, Aircraft and Missile Systems

Evolution and development of advanced concepts for high-performance

military aircraft and missiles provide the technology foundation upon which

the Department of Defense and industry develop better weapon systems. The

High Performance Aircraft program is aimed at generating technology advances

for high-speed aircraft and missiles, including powered-lift aircraft with

vertical or short takeoff and landing capabilities, supersonic cruise and

maneuver aircraft with conventional or short takeoff and landing characteristics, and hypersonic cruise aircraft. Emphasis will continue on improvement

of analytical and experimental techniques to acquire the data base necessary

for developing high-performance vertical or short takeoff and landing aircraft

capable of operating from a variety of bases.

Analysis, simulation, wind tunnel tests, and tests using remotely

controlled, free-flight models will be continued on fighter aircraft embodying

new concepts to improve their controllability at high angles of attack, during

stall departure, and in spins. Analyses and simulations will be emphasized

over the next several years to improve high-altitude, low-speed combat

VIII-11
maneuverability. A cooperative analytical and experimental program with

industry is in process on concepts for high-performance supersonic aircraft

and missiles. Methods for analyzing the aerodynamics of supersonic vehicles

will be refined and applied to promising unconventional configurations.

Research on hypersonic air-breathing vehicles will continue to evaluate

concepts for integration of turbojets and ramjets. Wind tunnel tests of

advanced concepts will parallel the development of aerodynamic prediction and

performance codes. In addition to those research and technology base activities, flight test programs are under way in cooperation with the Air Force,

Navy, and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a variety of concepts

for advanced high-performance aircraft.

7. Technology to Enhance Flight Crew Effectiveness

Cockpit automation is being increased through more use of electronic

displays and information input devices. Consequently, the crew's role is

becoming more one of management and less one of attitude control. Automation

promises increased economy, safety, and capacity for aerospace systems.

However, a new body of technology is needed for system interface designs to

enhance the overall capability and reliability of the crew-cockpit system.

Lack of that technology has forced designers to be very conservative in their

use of automation and advanced cockpit systems with capabilities far beyond

those of conventional electromechanical devices. NASA's human factors program

plans to develop guidelines for the use of automated cockpit systems,

electronic displays, and information input and output devices. The Federal

Aviation Administration is especially interested in such activity, since it

needs the results for use in developing methods for certifying advanced

electronic cockpit systems.

For that research, NASA has installed at the Ames and Langley Research

Centers full-mission, transport-aircraft simulators based on advanced

technology. Research in process includes a study of the effects of increased

automation on crew performance and an evaluation of cockpit display of traffic

information. Plans include studies of crew interactions with computers and

intelligent systems and allocation of functions between crews and automation.

8. Exploitation of Modern Computers for Aeronautics Research

The long-term computing requirements for aeronautics research require a

thousand times the capability that current commercial computers can provide.

Consequently, the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology's computer

science program is striving to provide a technical foundation for developing,

understanding, and exploiting advanced computing architectures and

methodologies. The key to achieving the required performance is successful

exploitation of high degrees of parallelism in computation and effective use

of knowledge-based techniques for specifying problems and analyzing results.

Little is known about the technologies involved, but their importance is being

increasingly recognized throughout the high-performance computing community.

Parallel hardware architectures, distributed operating systems, and concurrent

algorithms and software are all vital elements of this effort. An important

aim is to understand the interplay between advanced architectural concepts and

the performance properties of algorithms. Algorithmic complexity, time-space

tradeoffs, convergence properties, numerical accuracy, and human productivity

are the major performance metrics. The principal objective is to provide

VIII-12
sufficient computational capability by the year 2000 that routine design

procedures will include detailed 3-dimensional analysis of aeronautical

vehicles and their performance, and will provide detailed understanding of

internal and external flow phenomena.

The airborne environment is sufficiently unique that it calls for specific

consideration. Computational systems for use in it in the future will depend

on high-integrity, distributed systems whose critical characteristics will

include extraordinarily high reliability, integrated systems consisting of

processing sites with widely varying capabilities, and real-time distributed

processing. The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology's research is

addressing software reliability through empirical studies, and is focused on

developing a coherent, integrated operating system for airborne distributed

processing systems.

9. Highl _ Integrated Propulsion-Airframe Systems for Enhanced Performance

Favorable integration of aircraft propulsion and airframe systems provides

important savings in fuel and direct operating costs by reducing interference

drag. The reduction potentially can produce a value as low as three percent

of total drag. Drag reduction is particularly important for military aircraft

because it has a direct influence on range, payload, and other performance

characteristics that determine combat capability. Therefore, the Aeronautics

research and technology program has under way the Propulsion-Airframe

Integration program to improve performance and reduce losses associated with

integration of advanced propulsion systems with airframes. The approach will

be to develop technology, analytical codes, and design methodologies and to

extend the experimental data base for inlets, nozzles, and propellers.

Experimental and theoretical studies will develop an understanding of the

complex flow phenomena associated with propulsion systems in advanced

configuration aircraft.

Concepts are under study to reduce drag, enhance wing lift, and incorporate thrust vectoring and reversing to reduce landing and takeoff distances.

Proper contouring of nacelle pylons and cleaner nacelle installations can

reduce interference drag significantly. Use of advanced, unconventional

configurations integrating nacelles, pylons, and wings is expected to reduce

skin friction drag enough to lower total drag an additional one to three

percent. Analytical techniques are being developed for predicting the interactions of nozzles and afterbodies; nacelles, pylons, and wings; turboprop

propulsion systems, nacelles, and wings; and inlets and forebodies. Generic

2-dimension and 3-dimension viscous codes will be developed for analyzing and

optimizing the integration of both turboprop and turbofan engines with

airframes.

I0. Technology for Small Gas Turbine Engines

The quality of small turbine engines is very important to many types of

aircraft, including general aviation aircraft, commuter aircraft, helicopters,

cruise missiles, and military trainers, as well as to many related ground

applications. Projections indicate that advances in small gas turbine engines

will reduce the fuel consumption of small fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters

by 40 percent and increase the range of cruise missiles substantially.

Improvement of component efficiencies is expected to provide a gain of 15 to

VIII-13
20 percent and regeneration an additional I0 to 15 percent, with ceramics and

intercooling providing a final 10 to 15 percent. The efficiencies of small

engine components currently are 8 to 10 percent less that those of large

transport engine componentsbecauseof scale and Reynolds number effects and

manufacturing limitations associated with factors such as relative surface

finish, fillet size, and minimumthickness. Also, design techniques for large

componentsare inadequate for predicting accurately the performance of small

components; and manufacturing cost constraints prevent someaerodynamics and

turbine cooling techniques used in large engines from being applied to smaller

engines. Therefore, a newtechnology base specially adapted to the requirements of small gas turbine engines will be developed for use in improving

small engine performance to levels similar to those of large subsonic

transport engines.

II. High-Speed Turboprop Propulsion

Technological advances in turboprop propulsion can provide large gains in

fuel efficiency and operating economy for civil and military transport

aircraft. Compared to turbofans of the same technological level, turboprops

have the potential to reduce fuel use by 15 to 30 percent. Realization of

that potential will require establishment of several interrelated technologies

involving design of single- and counter-rotation propellers, reduction of

cabin noise, integration of propulsion and airframe, and integrity of

mechanical systems.

Small-scale research spanning five years has produced a good understanding

of advanced propellers (propfans) suitable for use at cruise speeds as high as

those of modern turbofan transports. The research also has produced a good

understanding of the efficiency of, and the noise created by, multibladed

propellers with thin, swept blades operating at high power and high tip Mach

numbers. The next task is to build large-scale propellers and test them in

laboratories, wind tunnels, and, ultimately, at cruise flight conditions for

the purpose of investigating their structural, dynamic, and acoustic characteristics that cannot be resolved in subscale tests.

The objective is to create both an experimental data base and analytical

methodology to advance all the technologies critical to application of

high-speed turboprops. The program encompasses both single- and counterrotation propellers and their drive systems, wing and aft-fuselage mounted

engines, tractor and pusher thrust orientations, and a range of other

parameters such as cruise Mach number, power loading, and tip speed. The

resulting array of technology options will allow the U.S. aerospace industry

to produce fuel-efficient, high-speed turboprop aircraft for both civil and

military applications.

12. Advanced Turbofan Research

Because fuel cost has become the major portion of the direct operating

cost for subsonic transport aircraft, fuel efficiency is the principal design

criterion for advanced subsonic turbofan engines. The Energy Efficient Engine

program has demonstrated a 15-percent improvement in fuel efficiency through

advances in technologies for turbofan components and systems. Some of those

advances currently are being incorporated into development programs for new

VIII-14
and derivative engines. For even greater gains in fuel economy, a new technology base will be required. Advanced concepts for engines incorporating

improvements in both component and thermodynamic efficiency offer an additional 15-percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Fundamental discipline research will provide basic information and

understanding needed for developing high bypass ratio turbofans with high

efficiency components and high overall engine pressure ratios. It will be

focused on improvement of lightweight and high-temperature materials; improvement of structural design techniques; computational fluid dynamics to describe

3-dimensional viscous flow fields in turbomachinery, including heat transfer

and turbine cooling; and fiber optics for use in transferring information.

Improvements in techniques for predicting flow fields and in methods for

analyzing advanced materials and structures will provide turbomachinery having

higher speed, greater efficiency, and less weight. Analytical predictions

that are more accurate will reduce the time and cost of development testing,

and better understanding of system dynamics and control will allow each engine

to provide maximum performance without exceeding its limits or encountering

nonrecoverable stall. The net result will be engines with higher performance,

lighter weight, and lower development and operating costs.

13. Aviation Safety,

The objective of the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology's aviation

safety and operating systems research program is to increase the safety of

flight for all types of aircraft. Research related to meteorological hazards

is one major activity under that program. It is focused on the detection and

avoidance of severe storm hazards such as lightning strikes, wind shear,

turbulence, and icing, as well as on the effect of those hazards on aircraft

encountering them. Emphasis is on airborne detection of those hazards and on

incorporating their characteristics into pilot-training and engineering

simulators. Also to be pursued more vigorously is development of analysis

techniques for determining the effects of weather on aircraft performance and

the degradation that weather hazards such as lightning can inflict on advanced

technology flight systems and materials. The resulting knowledge will permit

the design of aircraft better able to withstand many of the hazards of

encounters with severe weather.

Research is under way to develop aircraft with greater crash-worthiness in

order to reduce fatalities and trauma injuries from crashes. Data from a

full-scale crash test conducted in 1984 is providing information needed to

analyze the failure mode of many aircraft cabin components affecting human

survivability. The results will allow the design and development of cabin

structures having greater crash-worthiness and fire resistance.

Past research on aircraft stall and spin concentrated on using models and

full-scale aircraft to develop an experimental data base. Emphasis now is on

development of analytical techniques for predicting aircraft stall and spin

characteristics and on establishing reliable design methods. Future research

will focus on designs for twin-engine aircraft and extension of single-engine

prediction methods and modifications to the twin configuration. It also will

include development of methods to analyze separated flow on 3-dimensional

VIII-15
wings, automatic spin prevention systems, and the effects of advancedairfoil

designs on resistance to stall and spin.

Flight managementand humanengineering research will exploit advances in

electronic technology to establish new concepts in flight station design that

will provide safer and more efficient system operation. Becausethe flight

station is the place where the pilot must interface with virtually all

aircraft systems and the air traffic control system, development of the flight

station should precede design of the rest of the aircraft. Of primary concern

is howmuchautomation is needed and howmuchis optimum. Alternative control

and display devices, formats, procedures, and modeswitching to optimize

flight station design will be assessed for their effect on crew performance.

D. Current Program--New Directions and Emphasis

The elements constituting the current program reflect the need to continue

work in the basic aeronautical disciplines and in systems research, maintain

specialized facilities essential to aeronautical research, and develop technology of high potential payoff to the Nation.

The emphasis of fluid and thermal physics research will continue to be on

cryogenic testing at high Reynolds numbers and reduction of turbulent drag.

Additional emphasis will be given to advanced applications of computational

aerodynamics to investigate vortex flows and to model geometrically, and

generate grids for, complex aircraft configurations. The Numerical

Aerodynamic Simulation system will make possible the solution of heretofore

intractable problems in computational fluid dynamics and other areas of

computational physics.

Materials and structures activities will be concentrated on light alloy

metals, new composite materials, and the crash dynamics of composite

structures. Improved and new manufacturing and forming processes will permit

the production of structures that have very high strength, are light in

weight, and are smooth and without waviness, thereby enhancing the possibility

of achieving high-aspect-ratio lifting surfaces having natural laminar flow.

Research in controls, guidance, and human factors will focus on the flying

qualities of aircraft with highly augmented controls; methods for validating

fault-tolerant systems; human factors connected with automation of crew

stations, including crew information generated by computers and displayed on

electronic displays; development of technology to improve the fidelity of

simulations; and improvement of aircraft capabilities to define and execute

efficient and safe flight paths under adverse weather conditions in congested

terminal areas.

The major areas of emphasis in computer science will be concurrent

processing architectures, algorithms, and techniques to support the Agency's

computational physics research. The research base for this critical area will

be provided by the universities and the two computer science research

institutes mentioned earlier, the Institute for Computer Applications in

Science and Engineering at Langley Research Center and the Research Institute

for Advanced Computer Science near Ames Research Center.

VIII-16
In propulsion, emphasis will be on advanced turboprop systems, technology

for small turbine engines, and technology for engines for general aviation and

commuter aircraft.

Rotorcraft research will stress the reduction of noise and vibration, the

unsteady aerodynamics of rotors, and flight research to investigate the X-wing

rotorcraft.

High-performance aircraft research will concentrate on flight at high

angles of attack; vectored thrust aircraft; maneuverable, supersonic cruise,

short takeoff and vertical landing aircraft; hypersonic propulsion; structures

and configuration aerodynamics; and propulsion-airframe integration. Effort

also will be made to increase the performance and durability of turbine engine

hot sections. NASA and the military will flight test the Advanced Concepts

X-29 Forward Swept Wing demonstrator aircraft in the 1985 through 1987 period

to determine the value of advanced technologies for use in designing the

next-generation tactical fighter.

The emphasis of subsonic aircraft research will be on significant reductions in viscous drag; advanced composites and metallics for lightweight

primary structures; flight management and active control systems; optimization

of interactions between aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and controls;

and improvement of the interaction between the aircraft and its environment,

natural and manmade.

Technological progress during the past year has permitted work to accelerate on two programs that were new initiatives in last year's Aeronautics

plan. Those programs and how they relate to the technology objectives

described in Section C of this chapter are described below.

i. Advanced Turboprop Large-Scale Systems Research

As shown in Figure VIII-l, this program will provide for flight testing,

by as early as 1987, of a large-scale advanced propeller to evaluate and

correlate its structural integrity and acoustic characteristics. Neither

factor can be addressed adequately in the small-scale model tests that have

laid the foundation for this flight testing. A second major activity will be

the large-scale, proof-of-concept testing of a unique, counter-rotating,

unducted-fan propulsion system that will provide an additional 5- to 8-percent

increase in fuel savings while eliminating the need for a high-power gearbox.

A 9-foot diameter advanced propeller integrated with a flight-worthy nacelle

and semispan wing will be tested in the 40x80-foot leg of the 40x80x120-foot

low-speed wind tunnel at Ames Research Center, and then will be mounted on the

wing of a modified Gulfstream II testbed aircraft and flown over a wide range

of flight conditions up to and beyond the propeller's high-speed design point.

Subsequent flight tests will evaluate aircraft system modifications to achieve

cabin noise and vibration levels equivalent to those of modern turbofanpowered aircraft. In addition, the unducted-fan propulsion system will be

ground tested, using a modified R404 engine as a research testbed.

2. Oblique Win 9 Technolo_

The objective of this program is to extend the data base for oblique wing

technology through flight demonstration and validation at transonic and

VIII-17
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VIII-18
supersonic speeds. NASA's investigation of the oblique wing configuration has

covered many years, starting with concept development and continuing with a

technology program that has included wind tunnel tests; simulations; lightweight, low-speed flight tests; and aircraft design studies. The results show

that, for missions requiring a long-endurance or long-range flight segment in

combination with a supersonic flight segment, the oblique wing configuration

has lower overall drag and structural weight than either a conventional

variable-sweep wing or a fixed wing.

For the flight demonstration and validation tests, NASA's existing F-8

digital fly-by-wire test aircraft will be modified to include an oblique wing

and its associated systems. As shown in Figure VIII-2, the program will be

carried out in three phases. Phase I will be a competitive preliminary design

phase to determine the general size and configuration for an aeroelastically

tailored composite oblique wing and its pivot assembly. It also will provide

the details and tradeoff information needed for completion of the "design to"

specifications. Phase II will include detailed design, fabrication, aircraft

modification, and flight qualification testing. Phase Ill will be the flight

tests. The results of this program will provide a design option for future

civil and military applications.

E. Future Initiatives

The initiatives described below are planned augmentations to the current

aeronautics research and technology development program that will facilitate

realization of the technology objectives listed earlier. They update and, in

some cases, replace the initiatives in last year's plan. Some of them will be

proposed as adjustments to current programs described in Section D of this

chapter, some are proposed as new program elements, and others will be

conducted within the Research and Technology Base funding line of the budget.

Initiation of these proposed activities will depend on future budget levels

and program priorities.

i. High-Speed Technology (H_personics)

Augmentation of this technology area will place primary emphasis on

advanced air-breathing propulsion systems; but significant efforts in aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics, materials, and structures also will be included.

The research program will be a long-range one to develop a broad technology

base applicable to hypersonic cruise and accelerator vehicles and ultimately

to develop a recoverable hypersonic research airplane. Studies of engine and

aircraft systems will be conducted to define the needs and requirements for

flight demonstrations. Because the technological status is quite different

for various speed regimes, distinct efforts will be devoted to each of the

Mach 0 to 6, Mach 6 to 12, and greater than Mach 12 regimes. Research in the

Mach 0 to 6 regime will set the stage for a research aircraft in the Mach-6

class. For Mach numbers up to 12, emphasis will be on propulsion; demonstration is anticipated of missile-size propulsion at Mach 7 and, later, at Mach

12. Research for Mach numbers greater than 12 will address key questions

about the maximum practical speed for air-breathing propulsion and the difficult task of achieving high performance in propulsion systems and vehicles

operating in the extremely difficult conditions involved.

Vlll-19
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VIII-20
2. Supersonic Cruise lechnolog_

As a focused program in NASA, development of supersonic cruise technology

has been dormant since FY 1982. This new initiative will place primary emphasis on establishing multidisciplinary research programs to develop critical

technologies and on starting a companion program dedicated to technology

integration. Critical technologies are those for advanced propulsion systems,

the aerodynamics of laminar flow, aerodynamic configurations, high-temperature

materials and structures, and the technology of advanced controls. Work

related to advanced propulsion systems will include determining the feasibility of the supersonic fan concept and assessing the turbine bypass-engine

concept for supersonic cruise applications. Special emphasis will be placed

on technology for high-temperature materials; and research will be initiated

on components for variable geometry propulsion systems, including inlets,

nozzles, and noise control devices. In structures and materials, a broadbased program will investigate lightweight, temperature-resistant materials

for airframes and, for new materials, efficient structural designs. Aerodynamic efficiency will be increased by fuselage shaping, wing-body blending,

planform designs that minimize drag due to lift, and favorable integration of

the propulsion package. Systems integration studies will focus on interdisciplinary methods for integrating technologies to ensure that the full

synergistic benefits of each technology advance are realized in the aircraft

design process.

3. Computational Fluid Dynamics

The planned augmentation in this technology area will further the development of the methodology and applications for computational fluid dynamics,

expanding the solid foundation now in place within NASA and the aeronautics

community. It will ensure that applications of computational fluid dynamics

to important problems are at a level commensurate with the high level of the

computational capabilities that are emerging. The Numerical Aerodynamic

Simulation system, scheduled to become fully operational in late 1987, will

bring to the Nation the most advanced computational capabilities available.

Augmentation of the computational fluid dynamics area has the objective of

ensuring that the Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation system's capabilities are

used fully to maintain U.S. preeminence in aeronautics. The principal

objectives of the augmentation are to tap more completely the knowledge and

expertise that exist throughout the U.S. computational fluid dynamics

community, and to ensure the increasing involvement of the computational fluid

dynamics user community. The augmentation will facilitate the development of

applications of computational fluid dynamics focused on important

3-dimensional flows dominated by viscous flow; aid in developing pathfinding

simulations of the fundamental physics of unsteady flows; initiate development

of techniques for performing integrated multidisciplinary analyses; and apply

the concept of expert systems to automating the development of computational

fluid dynamics analyses. The principal focus will be development of a

capability for calculating the steady and unsteady viscous flows around

complete aircraft with complex configurations--including the flows around

engine inlets, exhaust plumes, and attached and separating stores for both

cruise and maneuvering flight.

VIII-21
4. Rotorcraft Systems Noise and Vibration

This augmentation will support cooperative work by three NASA centers to

develop methodology for creating low noise, low vibration designs for helicopters that will be acceptable to the community, have low vibration, and have

low detectability (in military applications) without significantly sacrificing

performance. It will make use of NASA's unique facilities in carrying out

four principal tasks: fundamental aeromechanical experiments on 4-bladed

rotors to provide empirical and theoretical predictions; investigations of

innovative concepts, including tilt-rotor concepts; development of an extensive data base on rotor aeromechanics and aeroacoustics for use in predictions

and in validation of theory; and exploration of the high-speed flight

limitations of rotors.

5. Advanced Fighter Aircraft Technolo_

Evolving technologies, most notably those for high thrust-to-weight

engines and thrust-vectoring controls, provide a potential for a revolutionary

increase in the capabilities of advanced fighters. Achievement of that

increase in a timely fashion will require a focused program of technology

development to accelerate development and integration of the key enabling

technologies. That program will have to build on and expand NASA's current

program to develop technology for flight at high angles of attack. It also

will have to capitalize on opportunities for configuration integration, which

promises unprecedented levels of sustained supersonic performance and vehicle

maneuverability and agility throughout the envisioned air-combat flight

envelope. Its major elements will be development and validation of technologies related to: the design, control, and integration of propulsion systems,

including studies of engine cycles, design of multi-axis vectoring nozzles,

and investigation of performance, stability, and control of integrated inlets,

engines, and nozzles; flight dynamics and control, including high-angle-ofattack technology development and in-flight evaluation using the F-18 High

Alpha Research Vehicle, of airplane configurations, including in-house and

contracted technology-integration studies to determine the performance,

sizing, and sensitivities of candidate configuration concepts; and

experimental and analytical methods for configuration integration, including

tests in wind tunnels and ground facilities, development and application of

new analytical integrity methods, and development of design methods and

concepts for integrated flight control systems.

6. Transport Aircraft Laminar Flow Technology

The objective of this initiative is to develop concepts for achieving

laminar flow over the wing and tail surfaces of transport aircraft and for

validating those concepts sufficiently that U.S. aircraft manufacturers will

consider their use in future production aircraft. Laminar flow potentially

can reduce fuel consumption by 20 percent. The proposed approach is to

design, build, and test a hybrid laminar flow control system. The concept for

the hybrid System _s to employ active suction over the leading edge portion of

the wing to initiate laminar flow that then is maintained by favorable

pressure gradients over the wing box structure, resulting in laminar flow over

a substantial portion--up to 80 percent--of the wing's surface area. Initial

concepts for a test aircraft will be evaluated and the most desirable concept

will be selected. Manufacturers of transport aircraft are expected to play a

VIII-22
major role in the program, including commitmentof significant resources to

support technology development. Their anticipated activities are aircraft

design and modification, flight hardware design and fabrication, and flight

test support.

7. Small Engine Technology

This initiative has the objective of providing the technology base needed

to secure for U.S. manufacturers preeminence in small engines by giving them a

technical advantage in the market for future civil and military small engines.

Its focus will be structural ceramics for turbine engines and technology for

small turbine engine components and for multi-fuel rotary engines to be used

in the 1990s in business, commuter, helicopter, and general aviation aircraft

and in auxiliary power units. Technology to be developed includes that for

reliable ceramic components such as turbine blades, abradable seals, vanes,

combustor liners, and coatings made of silicon carbide, silicon nitride, and

zirconia. Technology areas that are key to success in developing a highly

advanced, ceramic, adiabatic, rotary engine are stratified-charge combustion;

heat-resistant materials for use in components having low ability to reject

heat; tribology for seals, bearings, and lubricants; and turbocharging and

turbocompounding.

In the development of core components, emphasis will be on defining,

quantifying, and developing design methodologies to minimize adverse sizerelated effects and on developing unique concepts for using advanced materials

to overcome those size-related limitations on system performance. Verification testing will be conducted on annular, reverse flow combustors and dual

and centrifugal compressors and turbines.

8. Superaugmented Rotorcraft Technology

This augmentation will address two related needs: that of the civil

sector for a helicopter able to operate at remote sites and to provide

emergency medical services, and that of the Department of Defense for a

single-pilot light helicopter. The planned approach is to achieve an allweather operational capability by developing and evaluating technology for

integrating flight controls, propulsion controls, and guidance systems. The

project will take advantage of and be complementary to the Army's Advanced

Rotorcraft Technology Integration program; make use of analyses, simulation,

and flight tests in a modern Army test helicopter; and exploit existing

microelectronics technology. It will seek concepts for integrating flight

propulsion controls; apply active controls; develop and evaluate multispectral

imaging concepts to provide a zero-visibility approach, landing, and taxi

capability; and develop design criteria for integrating control, guidance, and

navigation systems, with emphasis on the interface between the pilot and the

integrated system.

9. Convertible Engine Propulsion Technology

This augmentation's objectives are to develop and evaluate technology for

integrated flight- and propulsion-control systems for rotorcraft with convertible engines and to experimentally evaluate maturing concepts for advanced

convertible engines. Planned work has for its foundation the results of the

Convertible Engine Systems Technology program conducted by NASA and the

Vlii-23
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. That program explored the concept

of engines able to operate in both the turbofan mode and the turboshaft mode,

and the applicability of such engines to rotary wing and vertical-takeoff-andlanding aircraft such as the Folding-Tilt Rotor, X-Wing, and lilt-Fan

aircraft.

This augmentation will fund research on integration of controls in the

engine test facility at Lewis Research Center that was used in the Convertible

Engine Systems Technology program. Later, the Defense Advanced Research

Projects Agency will furnish an advanced convertible engine to which the

controls technology that has been developed will be applied. The success of

the integration of flight and propulsion controls will be evaluated by

correlating engine test data with flight simulator data. Studies in process

to define concepts for advanced convertible engines will be coordinated with

related Department of Defense and industry programs.

The tasks included in this augmentation are expansion of the control

methodology for conventional helicopters so that the methodology is also

applicable to rotorcraft powered by convertible engines; contracting for

definition of integrated-control modes and for development of flight

simulations; testing the integration of control systems with an advanced

convertible engine at Lewis Research Center and with flight simulations at

Ames Research Center; and testing promising concepts such as those for a

torque converter and cross shafted, shared power systems.

10. Supersonic Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing Technology

This initiative's primary objective is to develop, in a broad ground-based

program, supersonic short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) technology for

use in selecting the most promising concepts for development of a flight

vehicle. A secondary objective is to obtain for propulsive-lift aircraft the

cruise data base needed for a new generation of high-performance fighters able

to operate from a variety of surfaces, including damaged runways and the decks

of small ships. The research will emphasize development, fabrication, and

test of small- and large-scale models and propulsion components; development

and test on a large-scale aircraft model of a nearly full scale, flight-like,

ejector-augmentor propulsion system with vectored core thrust; modification of

an existing engine for use in demonstrating on the ground a concept for an

advanced STOVL propulsion system; development of methodology for evaluating

leading supersonic STOVL concepts and propulsion systems; and computational

analyses of the cruise performance of propulsive-lift configured aircraft.

11. Composite Structures Technology

The focus of this augmentation will be the key technologies needed for

effective use of composites in highly loaded airframe structures. Special

attention will be given to concepts that exploit the high structural efficiency of composites, are amenable to cost-effective fabrication, and can tolerate

damage. Examples of approaches to achieving more effective composite

structures are wound structures and pultruded sections (sections formed by

pulling composite matrix through shaping dies). So that a broad range of

structural concepts can be explored and unique fabrication capabilities will

be applied, industry participation will be sought. The work under this

augmentation will provide a focus for the tough resins, processing science,

VIII-24
and structural mechanics research being conducted in the composite materials

community. It is expected to provide a technology base that will lead in the

early 1990s to a new thrust in large composite primary structures.

VIII-25

_:i!_i_!i

_

ORIGINAL PAGE IS

OF POOR QUAL/I'y

IX. INSTITUTION

A. Goals and Objectives ..................................................... i

B. Manpower ................................................................. 1

C. Faci|ities ............................................................... 4

D. Automatic Data Processing ................................................ 4

TABLE

lable IX-1 ................................................................... 2

FIGURES

Figure IX-I. .. 3

Figure IX-2.__i__i______i..i_5

Figure IX-3 .................................................................. 7

IX. INSTITUTION

A. Goals and Objectives

The Office of Management plays a leading role in the formulation of goals

and objectives for the Agency. The eight goals listed in Chapter IT, "Summary

and Perspective," and subsidiary objectives for each of them were originally

adopted in 1983 after a series of discussions with Headquarters office heads

and the directors of the NASA field centers. Those goals and objectives were

distributed to all employees to provide a focus for planning and concentrating

effort. They are to be updated periodically. The first review, in 1984,

resulted in updating the Space Station goal, restating the work-force goal,

and revising the objectives extensively.

Two of the goals, the first and eighth, are particularly applicable to

management of the NASA institution. The first seeks to create an environment

and provide the tools that will encourage and enable NASA's high-quality,

integrated work force to achieve and maintain excellence.

The eighth goal recognizes the need within NASA for management and

employees to participate in improving quality and enhancing productivity,

thus reducing costs. Development and application of advanced technology and

management practices help to increase significantly both NASA and national

productivity. This goal also encompasses management practices that provide

incentives for contractor productivity and quality, with emphasis both inside

and outside NASA on a team approach and modernization.

NASA's plans for people, facilities, and computers and other equipment are

aimed at meeting those two goals.

B. Manpower

In FY 1983, NASA started augmenting its scientist and engineer work force

with an infusion of recent graduates. The objective is to staff the Agency

with sufficient scientists and engineers possessing the latest skills and

knowledge in areas essential for conducting the Agency's current and emerging

programs, including advanced data processing and computation.

Although ceiling constraints inhibited progress on that objective during

FY 1984, the scientist and engineer complement continued to increase as a

percentage of the total work force from 51.6 percent to 51.7 percent. The

current scientist and engineer population of 10,900 (down from last year's

11,000) is expected to grow to approximately 11,500 by the end of FY 1989.

That build-up is within a stable ceiling of roughly 21,000 for NASA's total

permanent work force. Table IX-1 shows the hiring dynamics underlying that

projection, including the emphasis on recruiting recent graduates and the part

to be played by graduates from the cooperative education (co-op) work-study

program. Figure IX-1 shows the expected effect on the age distribution of the

scientist and engineer complement.

Continued success in increasing the scientist and engineer base will

depend on factors such as budget and manpower authorizations; the levels of

federal pay and benefits; and the state of the economy, especially in the

aerospace sector. To meet the challenges of the 1980s, as the Nation pursues
TABLE IX-I. SCIENTIST AND ENGINEER HIRES

FY 1978-1981

FY 1982-1983

FY 1984-1985

FY 1986-1989

NUMBER HIRED PERCENT FRESH OUTS

1,800 55

1,050 77

900 65-70

4,000-4,500 65

PERCENT CO-OPS

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its declared policy of continued leadership in space and aeronautics, NASA

must maintain a stable technical work force with up-to-date skills.

C. Facilities

New priority was assigned in FY 1983 to improvement and construction of

facilities as a means to enhance the NASA institution. Emphasis is being

placed on the following:

o Current activities

- Provision of manufacturing, testing, launching, and landing facilities

to support 24 flights per year of the Space Shuttle

- Activation and repair of large aeronautical facilities

- Construction and upgrading of the antenna systems of the Deep Space

Network

- Preservation and enhancement of aeronautics and space technology

facilities

o Planned activities

- Expansion of the capabilities of payload processing facilities

- Continued improvement of aeronautics and space technology facilities

- Improvement in the efficiency of Space Transportation System

production.

After FY 1989, the program is expected to emphasize facilities to support

24 flights per year of the Space Shuttle, additional payload processing facilities, unique large aeronautics facilities, and augmentation of facilities to

permit them to support the Space Station.

D. Automatic Data Processing

The objectives of NASA's computer systems management are to:

o Ensure that the best computer tools for NASA's use in carrying out its

missions are available at the right time and at the lowest cost

o Foster the use of computer systems to increase management productivity

o Advance computer and computer-related technology for the benefit of

NASA and the Nation.

The program offices and the Office of Management jointly develop an annual

plan for acquisition of automatic data processing equipment. Figure IX-2

displays the annual value of acquisitions from FY 1980 projected through FY

1989. The largest planned acquisition is a powerful computer facility,

Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation, to be installed at Ames Research Center (see

chapter III. Aeronautical Research and Technology).

IX -4
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A significant indication of the Agency's effort to meet research and

development needs by exploiting advancing technology is its plan for expanding

and upgrading its base of Class VI computers (supercomputers). Figure IX-3

shows that plan through FY 1989.

NASA will upgrade its computational capability continually and is

arranging a program with the National Science Foundation under which it will

transfer to the Foundation, for distribution to universities, serviceable

Class Vl computers that are being replaced with computers having greater

capabilities. The Agency thereby will serve as a permanent source of highspeed computers for the academic community. Currently, in response to a

request from Congress, Lewis Research Center is preparing for such a transfer.

An initiative in the President's Reform 88 program established the

Automated Information Management program. That program combines administrative data processing, telecommunications, and office automation into a

comprehensive system of computer-based tools to handle a variety of tasks. It

ensures not only maximum information exchange, but also great flexibility for

accommodating growth and changes in needs. In developing its strategic plan

for automated information management, NASA established in 1984 a council to

provide program direction and policy. The council includes representatives

from each Headquarters program office, the Office of the Comptroller, and each

field center.

NASA also has developed an A_ency-wide equipment management system, lhe

system was installed at two field centers during 1984 and will be placed in

operation at the remaining field centers during 1985.

A study expected to lead to an Agency-wide payroll-personnel system was

initiated in 1984. Its results, including the recommendations it develops,

will be presented to NASA management about June 1985.

IX-6
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IX-7

ORIGINAL PAGE IS

OF POOR QUALITY

reviations

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X. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ACCESS

ACTS

ADPE

Adv

AMPTE

ASTRO

Atm

ATS

AXAF

Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures

Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

Automatic Data Processing Equipment

Advanced

Active Magnetospheric Tracer Explorer

Space Shuttle payload using the Spacelab igloo

Atmosphere

Advanced Technology Satellite

Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility

CDR

COBE

CPU

CR

CRAF

CSD

CTS

CY

Critical Design Review

Cosmic Background Explorer

Central Processing Unit

Counter-Rotation

Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby

Contract Start Date

Communications Technology Satellite

Calendar Year

DE

Der Veh

DMS

DOD

DSN

EASE

ECLSS

EMU

EOM

ERBS

ET

ETR

EUVE

EVA

Dynamics Explorer

Derived Vehicle

Data Management System

Department of Defense

Deep Space Network

Experimental Assembly of Structures in EVA

Environmental Control and Life Support System

Extravehicular Mobility Unit

Environmental Observation Mission

Earth Radiation Budget Satellite

External Tank

Eastern Test Range

Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer

Extravehicular Activity

FFRFF

Flt

FLTSATCOM

FY

Far Field Range Free Flyer

Flight

Fleet Satellite Communications

Fiscal Year

GEO

Giotto

GOES

GP-B

GRO

Geosynchronous Orbit, Geostationary Orbit

European Space Agency comet mission

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

Gravity Probe-B

Gamma Ray Observatory

HC

HF

ICBM

ICE

IML

Hydrocarbon

High Frequency

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

International Cometary Explorer

International Microgravity Laboratory
IMP

IMPATT

Incl

IOC

IPS

IRR

ISEE

ISPM

IUE

IUS

KSC

LAP

LEO

LFC

LM

LOTV

LOX

MDM

MFLOPS

MOPS

MOTV

MOO

MPESS

MSAT

MSL

NACA

NASA

NASCOM

NOAA

OAST

OMV

OSS-1

OSSA

OSTA

OTV

P

P/A

PAM

PAM-A

PAM-D

PDR

P/L

Prop

PTA

Interplanetary Monitoring Platform

Impact Avalanche Transmit Time

Inclination

Initial Operational Capability

Instrument Pointing System

Interface Requirements Review

International Sun-Earth Explorer

International Solar Polar Mission

International Ultraviolet Explorer

Inertial Upper Stage

KennedySpace Center

Large-scale AdvancedPropeller

Low Earth Orbit

Laminar Flow Control

Long Module

Lunar Orbit Transfer Vehicle

Liquid Oxygen

Multiplexer Demultiplexer

Million Floating Point Operations

Millions of Operations Per Second

MannedOrbital Transfer Vehicle

Memorandumof Understanding

Mission Peculiar Experiment Support

Mobile (communications) Satellite

Material Science Laboratory

Per Second

Structure

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics

National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration

NASACommunications(Network of Leased Communications

for Operational Data Flow)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology

Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle

Space Shuttle pallet carrying Office

experiments

Office of SpaceScience and Applications

Office of Spaceand Terrestrial Applications

with Office of SpaceScience to form

and Applications)

Orbital Transfer Vehicle

Services

of Space Science

Pallet

Propulsion Avionics

Payload Assist Module

Payload Assist Module (Atlas Class)

Payload Assist Module (Delta Class)

Preliminary Design Review

Payload

Propeller, Propellant

Propeller Test Assessment

(combined in 1982

Office of Space Science

X-2
R&D

R&T

RFP

RTOP

SDLV

SDR

SE&I

SIR

SL

SLS

SM

SME

SMM

SR

SRB

SRL

SRR

SS

SSME

ST

Sta

Std

STDN

STDS

STOL/STOVL

STOVL

STS

Sunlab

Syncom

TDRSS

TOPEX

UARS

UDF

VAFB

VHF

VHSIC

VLF

VLSI

WTR

XTE

ZPB

Research and Development

Research and Technology

Request for Proposal

Researchand Technology Objectives and Plans

Shuttle Derived Launch Vehicle

System Design Review

System Engineering and Integration

Shuttle Imaging Radar

Spacelab

Spacelab Life Sciences

Short Module

Solar MesophereExplorer

Solar MaximumMission

Single-Rotation

Solid Rocket Booster

Shuttle Radar Laboratory

System Requirements Review

SpaceStation

SpaceShuttle Main Engine

Space Telescope

Station

Standard

Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network

Space Tracking and Data System

Short Takeoff and Landing/Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing

Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing

SpaceTransportation System

Igloo-pallet Spacelab for study of the sun

A commercial communications satellite

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

Topography Experiment for OceanCirculation

Upper AtmosphereResearch Satellite

Unducted Fan

VandenbergAir Force Base

Very High Frequency

Very High Speed Integrated Circuit

Very Low Frequency

Very Large Scale Integration

Western Test Range

X-RayTiming Explorer

Zero Pre-Breathe (suit)

X-3
I
iii_!_!!i;i_i!i!_!_ _

• >

_: !_!_i_:_;ii_ _

7 ̧ ̧ ̧ ̧_L.,_7M ̧

Xl. INDEX

Acoustic Containerless Experiment System ............................. 111-77,78

Active Cavity Radiometer ............................................. 111-39,42

Active Magnetospheric Tracer Explorer ............................. 111-41; VI-6

Advanced Communications Technology Satellite ...... 11-3,10; 111-58..61,63,64,82

Advanced Concepts X-29 Forward Swept Wing .............................. VIII-17

Advanced Launch Vehicle .................................................. IV-34

Advanced Rotorcraft Technology Integration ............................. VIII-23

Advanced Solar Observatory ................................. 11-5; 111-11..13,15

Advanced Systems ................................................... 11-16; VI-7

Advanced Technology Satellite ..................................... 111-56,58,60

Advanced Transportation ................................................. IV-5,6

Advanced Turboprop ......................................... I-I; 11-25; VIII-18

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer ................................ 111-52

Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility ...... 11-5; 111-2,8,9,11,13,15; IV-30;VI-3

Aeroassist Flight Experimeqt ............................................ Vli-23

Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (National Research Council) ..... VIII-I

Aeronautics Policy Study ................................................. 11-23

Aft Cargo Carrier .................................................. IV-32,34,37

Air Traffic Control System ............................................... 11-25

Antenna Far Field Test Range ............................................ 111-64

Apollo ............................................ 11-6; 111-17,27,30,70; IV-21

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project ................................................ IV-21

Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures .......... IV-19

Asteroid Flybys ......................................................... 111-30

Astre .................................................. 11-6; 111-8,17,21,22,30

Astronomy Survey Committee (National Research Council) ................... 11-21

Atlas (Expendable Launch Vehicle) ........................................ IV-15

Atlas-Centaur (Expendable Launch Vehicle) .......................... IV-II,16,17

Atlas ICBM ............................................................... IV-17

Atmosphere Explorer ..................................................... 111-40

Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy Experiment ................... 111-40,42

Automated Information Management .......................................... IX-6

Big Bang ............................................................... 111-6,7

Bioprocessing Experiments System ........................................ 111-77

Cassini ................................................................... 11-6

Centaur ................................... 11-21; 111-23,24; IV-3,8,11,12,32,37

Charge Composition Explorer ............................................. 111-41

Coastal Zone Color Scanner .............................................. 111-43

Coma Atmospheric and Elemental Sampling and Return ................ 11-6; 111-29

Comet Atomized Sample Return Observer ................................... 111-20

Comet Giacobini-Zinner .................................................. 111-19

Comet Halley (See Halley's Comet)

Comet Nucleus Sample Return ....................................... 111-19,33,34

Comet Rendezvous ........................................................ 111-30

Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby ...................... 11-6; 111-20,25; VI-6

Comet Wild 2 ............................................................ 111-25

Communications Technology Satellite .................................. 111-56,58

Computational Capability Plan ............................................. IX-7

Computational Fluid Dynamics .......................................... VIII-8,9

COMSAT........................................................... 111-60; IV-31
Concorde ................................................................. 11-27

Continuous Flow Electrophoresis ............................ II-11; III-71,74,78

Controlled Ecological Life Support System ......................... II-22;III-56

Convertible Engine Systems Technology ............................... VIII-23,24

Cosmic Background Explorer ............................. II-5; III-7; VI-3,4,6,7

Cosmic Ray Experiments Program ....................................... III-11,15

Crew and Life Support ..................................................... IV-6

Crew Systems .............................................................. IV-5

Data Management System .................................................... V-11

Deep Space Network ...................................... III-81; VI-1,2,5; IX-4

Deep Space Relay Station .................................................. VI-8

Delta (Expendable Launch Vehicle) ..................................... IV-16,17

Direct Satellite Sound Broadcasting ..................................... III-62

Directional Solidification Furnaces ..................................... III-78

Doppler Lidar ..... ,................................................. III-38,39

Drop Tower .............................................................. III-76

Drop Tube ............................................................... III-76

Droplet Combustion Experiment ........................................... III-78

Dynamics Explorer .............................................. III-40,41; VI-6

Earth Observing System .................................................. VII-24

Earth Radiation Budget Experiment ................................. II-7; III-39

Earth Radiation Budget Satellite ........................................ VI-3,6

Electromagnetic Containerless Processing System ......................... III-77

Electromagnetic Levitator ............................................... III-78

Electrophoresis Equipment Verification Test ............................. III-78

Elemental Composition and Energy Spectra of Cosmic Ray Nuclei ............ III-8

Energy Efficient Engine ................................................ VIII-14

Environmental Control and Life Support System ............................. V-11

Equatorial Laboratory ................................................... III-45

Expendable Launch Vehicles ......................................... II-1; III-2

Experimental Assembly of Structures in Extravehicular Activity ........... IV-19

External Tank ............................................................ IV-lO

Extravehicular Activity ........................ IV-7,19,20,24,25,30,33,37; V-li

Extravehicular Mobility Unit ....................................... IV-I0,20,30

Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer ........................................ II-5; Vl-3

F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle ....................................... VIII-22

F-I04 Aircraft .......................................................... III-76

Facility Integrity Program .............................................. VIII-4

Facility Productivity Improvement Program ............................... VIII-4

Far Field Range Free Flyer .............................................. III-59

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Explorer ....................... II-5; III-10,14,15

Float Zone Experiment System ............................................ III-77

FLTSATCOM ................................................................ IV-17

Fluids Experiment System ............................................. III-77,78

Folding-Tilt Rotor ..................................................... VIII-24

Forward Swept Wing ..................................................... VIII-17

Free-Flying Experiments Carrier ......................................... III-76

Galileo ................................. II-6,15; III-17..19,21..24,30,33; VI-6

Gamma Ray Observatory ............................ II-5; III-6; IV-19,31; VI-3,7

Xl-2
General Purpose Computer................................................. IV-14

General Purpose Furnaces................................................ III-78

General Purpose Rocket Furnaces......................................... III-72

Generic Tool Kits and Training for Extravehicular Activity ................ IV-5

GeodynamicExperimental OceanSatellite ................................. III-40

Geopotential ResearchMission ..................................... II-8; III-44

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite ........... III-2; IV-17; Vl-6

Geostationary Platforms .......................................... III-58; IV-27

Geotail Laboratory ...................................................... III-45

Get-Away Special (Payloads) ............................................. III-65

Giacobini-Zinner Encounter.............................................. III-21

Giotto ......................................................... III-18,29; Vl-6

Global Positioning System................................................. VI-7

Global Scale Atmospheric Program........................................ III-38

Global Weather Experiment............................................... III-38

Gravity Probe-B..................................... II-5; III-9,10,14,15; Vl-3

Great RedSpot.......................................................... III-23

Ground Networks....................................................... VI-2,4,6

Halley's Comet.............................................. III-8,21,22; IV-14

Heavy Nuclei Collector .................................................... II-5

High Energy Astronomy Observatory ............................. II-5; III-2,6..9

High Gradient Furnace System............................................ III-77

High PerformanceAircraft .............................................. VIII-11

High Throughput Mission ........................................ II-5; III-13,15

Hitchhiker .......................................................... IV-5,14,37

Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope............................................ III-8

Hubble SpaceTelescope................................. III-2,4,5,10,11; VI-2,7

Imaging Spectrometer Observatory eeoeoooeejooei_,,oeooBooooo,eooeoeeo° III-40 42

Inertial Upper Stage ooaeeoooQees,eeoee.eooeeeeeeeeo*eeoeeo°e°'°°°°e°°e° IV-8 11

Infrared Astronomical Satellite eeooeoooeoea,_aoI¢oolome_eomeaae II-5; III-6 ' 8 ' 9

In-- Orbit Assembly and Storage eeeeooeeoooeeeooeeQooeeooeooleeoeeae°°*ee°°°I IV-5

Instrument Poi nting System Ill-_" IV-12 14

Intelsat oe_eeeeoo_eeoee_e_eee_oee_oeeoeee_o*eee_oee_eooe_ee 111-56 60; IV-17

International Astronomical Union 111-22

International Cometary Explorer .................... 11-6; 111-17,19,21,30, VI-6

International Council of Scientific Unions 111-38

International Halley Watch ee.oeeeeeeeoo_e_oe4_ee_o_o_e_oe_e_eeeeee_eee 111-22

International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project ....................... 111-39

International Solar Polar Mission ................... 11-6; 111-2,21,23,24; Vl-6

International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program ............. 11-8; 111-45; VI-7

International Sun-Earth Explorer ...................... 11-6, 111-21,40,41, VI-6

International Ultraviolet Ex pl orer ....................... 11-5, " 111-2,5, " VI-4,6

Interplanetary Monitoring Platform VI-4 6

lon Mass Spectrometer 111-22

lon Release Module 111-41

Isoelectric Focusing Experiment 111-78

Joint Endeavor Agreement III-65 68 71

KC 135 Aircraft III-76

Kepler Mission III-31

Xl-3
Laminar Flow Control .................................................. VLII-8,9

Landsats ............................. 7; •

........ II- 111-36,37,52, IV-31, VI-3,6

Large Deployable Reflector ...................... 11-5, • 111-11..13,1 5; VII-18,24

Laser Geodynamics Satellite ..........................

.................... III 40 Learjet Aircraft

Leasecraft ........................................................ 111-76

Life Sci .... FI_ ......................................................... VI-3

ences ght Experiment Program ................................. 111-52

Life Sciences Space Station Experiment Module ........................... 111-55

London Economic Summit .................................................... V-IO

Long Duration Exposure Facility ................................... 111-7; IV-30

Lunar Geoscience Observer .......................... -.o.*o 11-6, III 20,27,30 32

Lunar Orbit Transfer Vehicl_ ......................... '

• ................... IV-36

Lunar Orbiter ........................................................ 111-17,30

Magnetic Field Explorer ................................................. 111-44

Magnetic Field Satellite ....................................... 11-8, III 40,44 Maneuvering Vehicl " -

Mannable Station e ....................................................... IV-5

......................................................... IV-23

Manned Maneuvering Unit . . .

......................................... IV-I,30; V-8

Manned Orbital Transfer Vehicle ....................

.................. IV-36..38 Mariner Mark II ......................

Mar i ....................... -19 25 32 33 ners ........................... III , ,26, ,

Ma Aerono Obse ............................ 111-17,24,28,30 rs my rver .............

Ma oscie Cli 1 Obse ................................. 111-20,31

rs Ge nce and mat• ogy rver .......................... I I

...... I -55 Mars Observer

II 6; 111-17 20 21 24 25 30 Mars Orbiter ...................................... - ' ' ' ' ,

.............................................................. VI-6

Mars Sample Return Mission ................................... 111-32,34; VII-25

Mars Surface Mobility and Sample Return ................................. 111-19

Mars Surface Network Observer .................. • •e • eml • eoooeoooe...• l III 20,31

Materials Experiment Assembly ............................ II-Ii, 111-71,78

Materials Processing Center (MIT) ............ " ....

........................... 111-68

Materials Processing Instruments ........................ 111-78

Material Processing Systems ................

s ............................................ 111-77

Materials Science Laboratory ............................................ 111-78

Measurement of Air Pollution from Shuttle ............................... 111-36

Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Research Program ........................ 111-39

Mission Peculiar Experiment Support Structure ............................ IV-15

Mobile Satellite .................................................. 111-58 59 61

Module Exchange Mechanisms ' '

"'•'''lOooeeloee.oeeeeeooooDeeo.eee.ee.e.e,.Oe•olV__ 5 Monodisperse Latex Reactor

Multi Mission Spacecraft .................................... II-ii, 111-71 78

................................................. IV-30

Multiple Mainbelt Asteroid Orbiter-Flyby ............................ 111-20,32

Multiplexer Demultiplexer Pallet ..................... i IV 14,15 ip ................ - Mult oint Plasma Laboratory ............................................ 111-46

Multispectral Linear Array Sensor ....................................... 111-37

Multispectral Scanner ............................................. 11-6; 111-36

NASCOM (NASA Network of Leased Communication Services) .................. VI-I,7 National

National

National

National

National

National

Microgravity Laboratory ........................................ 111-67

Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board ..... VIII-I

Research Council's Astronomy Survey Committee ................... 11-21

Research Council's Space Applications Board .................... 111-12

Scientific Balloon Facility ..................................... 11-15

Space Strategy ................................................... 11-1

XI-4
National Transonic Facility .................................... 11-30; Vlll-4 '9

Near-Earth-Approaching Asteroid Rendezvous Observer .................. III-20,32

III-38 39 40 43" VI-4 6

Nimbus ................................................. ' ' ' '

Numerical Aerodynamic Simulation ........................ VIII-4,8,9,16,21, IX-4

Aircraft VIII-20 Oblique Wing Research .........................................II-7" III-43

Ocean Color Imager ................................................ '

Ocean Topography Experiment .............................................. III-3

Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle ........... I-i, II-12,18; IV-3,18,23,24,31,32; V-11

Orbital Refueling System ................................................. IV-19

Orbital Services ......................................................... IV-31

Orbital Transfer Vehicle .................... II-17,18,21; IV-4,23,24,30,35..37;

V 8 11" VII-2 12 20 23

- ' ' ' ' "" VII-21

Orbiter Experiments .....................................................

Orbiter Vehicle ......................................................... III-7_

Orbiting Astronomica_ Observatory__i___i_ III-I0 OSS-1 ........................... III-42

Particle Cloud Combustion Experiment .................................... III-78

Pathfinder Missions ....................................................... VI-6

Modules IV-8 12 17 23 Payload Assist ........................................... ' ' '

Payload-of-Opportunity Standby (Hitchhiker) Carriers ................ IV-5,14,37

Pinhole Occulter Facility ...................................... 111-11 '12 '14 '15

II 6" Ill 18 19 21 30 31

Pioneer Venus ......................................... - ' - ' ' ' '

II 6" Ill 14 19 21 23 30 81; VI-6 Pioneers oooooooooeooooeooooooomeoeeoeoooooooe " m - $ ' _ ' '

Planet-A Mission ........................................................ Ill-18

Planetary Observer Class (Spacecraft) .................... 11-6; III-19,25,27,32

IV-6 23 24

Platforms ........................................................... ' '

Polar Laboratory ........................................................ III-45

(Hearth Report) V-4

Project Management Study ................................ iii 60

Proof of Concept Technology Program .....................................

Integration VIII-13 Propulsion-Airframe ........................................

Ill-17 30

Ranger ............................................................... '

Remote Manipulator System ............................................. IV-19 '30

Remote Ocean Observing System ........................................... III-42

Reusable High-Energy Upper Stage .......................................... IV-5

Roentgen Satellite ................................................. II-5; III-6

II-26; VIII-1U 11 17 22 Rotorcraft ............................................. ' ' '

Satellite Services ............................................. IV-5 '6 '27,30 '33

III-20 33

Saturn Flyby and Probe ............................................... '

II-6" III-20

Saturn Orbiter .................................................... '

Saturn Rocket System ..................................................... IV-22

III-42 43

Scatterometer ........................................................ '

Science Research Council of United Kingdom ............................. III-2,5

Launch Vehicle) IV-16 17

Scout (Expendable ..................................... I_ 9

Search for Extrate rrestrial Intelligence ..................................

III-2 36 38 40

Seasat .......................................................... ' ' '

Senior Interagency Group for Space ........................................ V-12

Shuttle (See Space Shuttle) ....

Shuttle-Centaur ............ __._i_.i_ii_20_ iii:i;_2;_i2._i4

Assist Module III-33 Shuttle-Centaur Payload ...................................

Vehicle IV-35 Shuttle Derived Launch ...........................................

Xl-5
Shuttle

Shuttle

Shuttle

Shuttle

Shuttle

High-Energy Laboratory ....................................... 111-14,15

Imaging Radar ..................................... 11-7; 111-37; VII-18

Infrared Telescope Facility .......................... 111-11,15; VII-18

Orbital Flight Test .............................................. IV-12

Payload of Opportunity Carrier (Hitchhiker) ................. IV-5,14,37

Shuttle Production and Capability Development Program .................... 11-13

Single Axis Acoustic Levitator .................

Skyl ......................... 111-78

ab ...... 9; 72; 32; ...................................... II 111-2, IV-21, V-9

Small Helium-Cooled Infrared Telescope .....................

• m Boa.coo.come 111-8

Solar Constant Variation Instrument

................................... 111-39,42

Solar Corona Diagnostics Mission ............................ 11-5; 111-10,14,15

Solar Magnetic and Velocity Field Measurement System ..................... 111-8

Solar Maximum Mission ................. II-5; 111-4,5,39; IV-19,30,31,33; VI-3,6

Solar Mesosphere Explorer ....................................... 111-40; VI-3,6

Solar Optical Telescope ........................

Solar-Pointed Laboratory ...... " ...................... 111-7,12

.......................................... 111-45

Solar Seismology Mission .................................... 11-5; 111-10,14,15

Solar System Exploration Committee ....... 11-6,20; 111-18,21,23,27,29,31..34,51

Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor ...................... 111-8,39,42

Solar Wind Laboratory ................................................... 111-45

Solid Rocket Boosters .......................

Sol, S C i ........................... IV-9 i0 d urface ombustion Exper merit ..................... II-

................ I 78 Space Adaptati Syndrome

Space and Eart_nprogram ...................................... 11-8; 111-47,49

''ee'eoom'oeo'o_.eio.eooeoloe,e_ee.meeoea.oeoeoeeo.ll_3

Space Applications Board (National Research Council) .................. 111-2

Space Biology Program ..... "" "

Space Network ............................................ 111-48

Space Pl ........................................................... VI 2,3 asma Laboratory

................................................. 111-42

Space Plasma Physics .................................................... 111-40

Space Processing Applications Rockets ................................ 111-70,71

Space Science Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration...lll-2,16,22,25,32

Space Shuttle ................................... 11-1,3,6,7,10..13,18,21,29,30;

111-2,5,8,9,20,22..24,32,36,39,40,43,47,50,52..54,59,61,63..67,69..72,75,

77..80; IV-3..5,7..12,14,16,1_..25,27,29..32,34..37; V-7,9; VI-I..3,6;

VII-I,I0..13,15,17,20,22,23,25; IX-4

Space Shuttle Main Engine ................................................. IV-9

Space Station ........................................... 11-2,3,5,9..15,18..23;

111-5,8,9,11,12,32,34,42,43,46..50,52..55,58,59,61,63..67,79,80; IV-2,4,5,

10,17,18,20..25,27..32,34..37; V-I..5,7..12,14; VI-2,7; VII-1,2,7..9,

12..15,17,18,20..22,24,25; IX-I,4

Space Station Mission Synthesis Workshop ................................... V-9

Space Station Task Force ....................................... 11-14; V-4,5,12

Space Station Technology Steering Committee of Space Station Task Force..V-13

Space Systems Technology ModAl

..................................... I-2; VII-6,7

Space Telescope ................................ 11-5; 111-5,8,82; IV-30; VI-2,3

Space Telescope Science Institute ........................................ 111-5

Space Tracking and Data Network ................................. e.,•.. VI-1,2,5

Space Tracking and Data Systems ................................... V-14; VI-I,8

Space Transportation System ........................... 11-1,3,12,13,18; 111-47;

IV-I..5,7,8,18; V-1,4,7,11,13; Vl-3; VII-7; IX-4

Spacecraft Systems .............

Spacelab ..... " ......................................... VII-8

.................................................... 11-5,7,11,13;

111-7,8,11,13,14,41,42,43,52..54,77,79,82; IV-3,5,7,8,12,14; V-9; VI-2,3

Spacelab I ....................................... • .o...e • ..o 111-8,40 .42,53,73

XI-6
Spacelab 2 .................................................... 111-7,8,41,42,53

Spacelab 3 ..................................................... III-40,49,53,78

Spacelab 4 ........................................................ III-49,50,53

Spacelab Flight Services ................................................. IV-15

Spacelab Igloo Pallet System ............................................. IV-14

II-10; III-63

Spartan .......................................................... II-5; Ill-13 15

Starprobe .......................................................

STOL/STOVL, STOVL ........................................................ II-26

Strategic Defense Initiative .................................... IV-35; VII-2,6

Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment ................................ III-40

Surveyor ............................................................. III-17,30

Syncom Satellite ........................................................ III-56

Task Force on the Scientific Uses of the Space Station ..................... V-7

Technical Exchange Agreement ............................................ III-68

Teleoperator Maneuvering System .......................................... IV-18

Teleoperator Retrieval System ............................................ IV-32

Tether System ............................... II-7,13; III-43;IV-3,5,10,11,27,29

Thematic Mapper ................................................... II-7; III-36

Three-Axis Acoustic Levitator ........................................... III-78

Tilt-Fan ............................................................... VIII-24

Tilt-Rotor ............................................................... II-28

Titan ............................................................... III-27..29

Titan Probe and Radar Mapper ................................... II-6; III-20,55

Topography Experiment for Ocean Circulation .............. II-7; III-38,43; Vl-3

Tracking and Data Acquisition System for the 1990s ........................ VI-8

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ............................ II-15,16; IV-7,11

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System ............ III-13,61,63; VI-1..3,5..8

Transfer Orbit Stage ....................................... III-32; IV-12,32,37

Tri-Agency Space Nuclear Reactor Power System Technology Program ........ VII-14

Tropical Oceans/Global Atmosphere Experiment ............................ III-38

Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope ............................................ III-8

Ulysses ............................................................ III-2,21,23.

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite ..................... II-3; III-2,41, VI-3,7

Uranus Flyby and Probe ............................................... III-20,33

Vapor Crystal Growth System .......................................... III-77,7_

Vehicle Applications Panel .............................................. VIII-I

Venera Probe Missions ................................................... III-31

Venus Atmospheric Probe Observer ..................................... III-20,31

Venus Balloon Experiment .................................................. VI-6

Venus Radar Mapper ........................... II-6; III-17,20,21,23,24,30; VI-6

Very Large Scale Integration .............................................. VI-8

Very Long Baseline Interferometry ............................. II-5; III-13..15

Viking ..................................................... III-14,17..19,30,31

Voyagers ............. II-6,15; III-14,16,18,19,21,23,24,28,29; VI-1,5,6; VII-16

Wisconsin Ultraviolet Spectropolarimeter ................................. III-8

World Climate Research Program .......................................... III-38

World Ocean Circulation Experiment ...................................... III-38

X-15 ..................................................................... II-29

X-Ray Timing Explorer ....................................... II-5; III-I0,14,15

X-Wing ................................................................. VIII-24

X1-7