Special Issue on Seventy Years of Aerospace Research and Technology Excellence at NASA Glenn Research Center
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26, Issue 2
This special issue of the Journal of Aerospace Engineering provides a comprehensive review of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) at Lewis Field research and technology development during the last 70 years. It reflects the past, celebrates the advancements, and provides some insight into the future direction of aerospace research at GRC. The articles in this issue are grouped according to GRC’s core competencies and disciplines so they can be referred to readily. These areas encompass air-breathing propulsion; in-space propulsion and cryogenic fluids management; communications technology and development; power, energy storage, and conversion; materials and structures for extreme environments; and physical sciences and biomedical technologies in space. This introductory paper provides the background of the GRC facility and outlines the progress of its research from GRC’s inception to the present day.
NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland, and at Plum Brook Station near Sandusky, Ohio, has more than 70 years of history in leading advanced research and technology development to support NASA’s mission and address the nation’s needs. Since operations started in 1942, GRC researchers have made major technology contributions that pushed the frontiers of both aviation and space exploration. These breakthrough knowledge and technology innovations have enabled the United States to assume a leadership position in the world aerospace marketplace and have made a difference in our daily lives.
GRC’s history traces back to 1940, when the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) chose the site of the National Air Races, adjacent to the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, as the location for a new laboratory. This was the third laboratory that Congress had created under the NACA. (The first NACA laboratory, the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, was established in 1920 at Hampton, Virginia. The second laboratory, the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, was established in 1939 at Moffett Field in California.) The Cleveland laboratory was to focus on aircraft engine research in response to the need to improve the engines of U.S. fighter planes during World War II. Initially called the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (AERL), the Cleveland laboratory was authorized to open by the First Supplemental Appropriation Act of 1941, and it began operations in 1942 with a nucleus of 150 staff transferred from the Langley laboratory—primarily from the Power Plants Division. Under the leadership of Dr. George W. Lewis, the first manager of the AERL, research began on May 8, 1942; however, the laboratory was not officially dedicated until 1943 when the Power Plants Division completed its move from Hampton, Virginia to Cleveland.
During World War II, the AERL conducted research on improved fuel mixtures to reduce knock and foaming, piston engine cooling studies for military aircraft (including the B-29), and testing of the first U.S. turbojet engine in the Altitude Wind Tunnel and Jet Static Laboratory. It was also at this time that GRC’s world-class icing research began, initially to address the icing problems of military aircraft. The work expanded with the construction of the Icing Research Tunnel in 1944 to simulate the atmospheric conditions of an icing cloud. The research and technology advancement in the icing tunnel earned the AERL and industry team the prestigious Collier Trophy in 1946 from the National Aeronautics Association for an outstanding contribution in the development of thermal ice protection systems.
The AERL was renamed the NACA Flight Propulsion Research Laboratory in 1947 to reflect the expansion of its propulsion research area to all types of flight vehicles. On September 28, 1948, following the death of its director, George Lewis, the laboratory was renamed the NACA Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The NACA’s primary products were technical papers that documented findings from basic research and scientific investigations. Some of them were widely used and cited, and they continue to be used today, not only by industries but also as teaching materials in the classroom. The NACA laboratories—Lewis, Langley, Ames, and Muroc Flight Test Unit (forerunner of today's NASA Dryden Flight Research Center)—established U.S. leadership in flight research.
When the Soviet Sputnik 1 launch prompted the space race in October 1957, NACA Director Hugh L. Dryden urged the government to give the NACA a major role in any new national space programs. He argued that the agency had been increasing research related to the problems of space flight and noted that the Lewis Laboratory had developed a liquid hydrogen–fueled rocket that would make flights to the Moon possible. On October 1, 1958, a legislative act was passed, creating NASA, and the NACA laboratories were absorbed by NASA as research centers. The Cleveland laboratory’s name changed once again, this time to the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC). Edward R. Sharp, the laboratory’s director since 1947, led the transition of approximately 2,700 employees to NASA. He held the center director position until 1960.
During the 1960s and 1970s, LeRC conducted experiments and developed technologies in support of both the aeronautics and the space programs. In the early 1960s, the center pioneered and perfected the use of liquid hydrogen for propelling rockets. Liquid hydrogen rockets were used in the Mercury and Apollo missions, allowing the United States to win the race to the Moon. LeRC was also responsible for developing the upper-stage launch vehicle and managing the first successful launch of the Centaur rocket with its liquid hydrogen–fueled RL-10 engines. The development of the Centaur’s versatile RL-10 engines benefited from at least two areas of LeRC research: liquid hydrogen regenerative cooling and coaxial propellant injection. In addition, electric propulsion capabilities were strengthened by the construction of the Electric Propulsion Research Building and the Electric Propulsion Laboratories. Even until this date, these infrastructures represent an unparalleled national electrical propulsion test capability. In 1963, NASA acquired Plum Brook Station, located 80 km west of Cleveland, from the U.S. Army. The 2590 ha facility offered four large world-class facilities for the testing and evaluation of space propulsion and power. To enable ground research of microgravity effects in fluid physics and combustion science, the LeRC developed and completed a unique Zero Gravity Research Facility in 1966 that was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
In the mid-1960s, NASA also gave renewed attention to aeronautical research, which had been neglected after Sputnik. At LeRC, several new aircraft research projects were initiated to develop quieter engines and aircraft that could take off and land on short runways. LeRC also participated in planning a supersonic transport airplane to compete with the development of the Concorde by the British and the French, which was underway at that time. Despite cutbacks in space research, LeRC continued to develop technologies and testing for space applications. Examples include the invention of a depressed collector traveling wave tube (TWT) in 1972 and the launch of the Communications Technology Satellite (CTS; also called Hermes) on January 17, 1976, that carried a 200-W TWT amplifier (TWTA). This was the first communications satellite in the Ka-band, and it won NASA an Emmy award in 1988. The technology is used by the direct broadcast services industry today.
In the early 1970s, LeRC’s propulsion and power research was redirected toward terrestrial power and energy systems, such as wind turbine, solar cell, fuel cell, photovoltaic, and nuclear conversion systems, as the nation addressed the energy crisis. The new research areas built on LeRC’s unique capabilities in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, materials, chemistry, nuclear physics, plasma physics, and cryogenic physics. Many alternative power generation systems, such as wind turbine and photovoltaic, were developed and deployed around the country and to remote areas. These propulsion and power research areas, however, were refocused in 1977 to address NASA’s needs for aerospace applications after the DOE was established to address terrestrial applications.
In 1975, the Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee of the U.S. Senate directed NASA to initiate research to explore new fuel-saving technologies for aircraft. In the next decade, LeRC worked with industry partners General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to develop new engines with improved fuel efficiency and worked with Hamilton Standard to replace the turbojet with a much more efficient propeller: the advanced turboprop. The advanced turboprop fan was flown successfully in 1987 on a modified Gulfstream II aircraft, demonstrating a fuel savings of 20–30%, and won LeRC and Hamilton Standard another prestigious Collier Trophy. From these joint efforts, General Electric produced in 1983 the world’s most fuel-efficient and best-performing high-bypass turbofan engines that incorporated the new technologies into its latest engine designs, including the CF6-80E and later the GE90 engines. The work with Pratt & Whitney, although at a slower pace and with a focus on component technology instead of overall engine system, led to the development of the new energy-efficient geared turbofan engine later in 2007.
During the 1990s, LeRC assumed a lead role in the microgravity program as the program manager for fluid physics and combustion microgravity research. In 1992, the Space Shuttle (STS-50)/U.S. Microgravity Laboratory–1 (USML-1) mission put LeRC in the forefront of microgravity science, highlighted by the in-house–built surface tension–driven convection experiment, which was designed to study for the first time the basic fluid mechanics and heat transfer on thermocapillary flows generated by temperature variations along the free surfaces of liquid in microgravity. Almost every Space Shuttle science mission since then has had an experiment managed by the center, which has also conducted a wide array of experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). In addition, in 1993, LeRC developed and launched the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS). The technology was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1997. Also, the center’s ion propulsion and solar concentrator arrays technologies enabled NASA’s Deep Space 1 mission in 1998. On March 1, 1999, LeRC was renamed the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center in honor of Ohio Senator John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth (three times in 1962).
As NASA shifted its focus toward space exploration, as mandated by the Vision for Space Exploration in the 2000s, the resources for conducting research were reduced significantly. Aeronautics research was restructured to focus on in-house capabilities to advance knowledge in the fundamental disciplines of aeronautics and to develop technologies for safer aircraft and higher-capacity airspace systems. This reestablished NASA’s commitment to the mastery of core aeronautics competencies in subsonic (rotary and fixed wing), supersonic, and hypersonic flight; it also focused research in areas that are appropriate to NASA’s unique capabilities. In partnership with three other NASA centers—the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC)—GRC advanced research in aeropropulsion concepts, high-temperature materials, instrumentation, and control and health management technology to systematically reduce noise, emissions, and fuel consumption with improved performance. In space technology, GRC’s work was critical to making the nation’s vision for future space exploration a reality. For human space-flight systems, the GRC led the development of the Service Module of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, providing Orion with maneuvering capability (via the propulsion system), generating its power (via solar arrays), and keeping it cool (via heat-rejection radiators). GRC was also assigned with key roles in providing propulsion, power, and testing for the lunar lander, as well as supply power and communications technologies for lunar surface systems such as rovers, spacesuits, and the lunar base.
Current Status
As of today, near the end of 2012, GRC has more than 3,400 people, including civil servants and onsite contractors, working at two campuses. Lewis Field is situated on 140 ha of land and contains more than 150 buildings, including subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels and world-class research laboratories. Plum Brook Station has more than 2590 ha of land and houses large unique facilities that simulate the environment of space. Both locations enable NASA, other governmental agencies, and academic and industry partners from across the country to perform specialized research and testing. A highly skilled workforce of more than 1,500 scientists, engineers, and technicians conduct research and develop technologies that support all of the agency’s missions and major programs in six unique core competency areas:
1.
Air-breathing propulsion: The goals are to advance air-breathing propulsion for future aerospace vehicles; reduce energy consumption, noise, emissions, and cost in air travel; increase the use of alternative energy sources; and improve safety and expediency in air travel. The scope of this research includes variable engine cycles, advanced propulsion systems, component improvements, controls and dynamics, harsh environment sensors, electronics, instrumentation, health monitoring and management, materials and structures, power extraction and management, icing, fuels and propellants, acoustics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, aerothermodynamics, and plasmas.
2.
In-space propulsion and cryogenic fluids management: The goals are to advance spacecraft propulsion technologies and cryogenic fluid management; enable new mission capability; increase reliability, safety, and affordability; and reduce trip times. The scope of this research includes propellants, chemical propulsion, and electric propulsion (ion, Hall, and plasma), as well as nuclear propulsion, cryogenic fluids (oxygen, methane, and hydrogen) handling, characterization, storage, delivery, demonstration, and flight packages.
3.
Communications technology and development: The goals are to advance communications technologies, improves air traffic management communications, and improve navigation among satellites, aircraft, spacecraft, uncrewed vehicles, astronauts, robots, and ground systems. The scope of this research includes advanced antennas, integrated radiofrequency and optical terminals, software-defined radios, high-power amplifiers, and networking for high data rate communications.
4.
Power, energy storage, and conversion: The goals are to advance technologies for power generation, energy conversion and storage, and power management and distribution. The scope of this research includes solar power generation, batteries, fuel cells, regenerative fuel cells, flywheels, thermal energy conversion and heat rejection, radioisotopes, fission, power electronics, and power management and distribution.
5.
Materials and structures for extreme environments: The goals are to advance materials, structures, and mechanisms for aerospace systems subjected to extreme environments and to enable high-performance, long-life, lightweight aerospace systems in aircraft engines and space propulsion and power systems. The scope of this research includes the development of advanced materials based on an in-depth understanding of microstructure-property-performance relationships, new structural and robust mechanism concepts, the development of physics-based and engineering computational tools and predictive capabilities, and testing and evaluation in a very broad range of extreme conditions.
6.
Physical sciences and biomedical technologies in space: The goals are to advance physical and biomedical systems to enable sustainable exploration of space and to enhance safety, extend mission duration, and reduce the potentially harmful effects of space. The scope of this research includes life support, fire safety, crew health monitoring and support, space resource utilization, and thermal management.
Now that the Space Shuttles have been retired (since July 2011), NASA is turning to the private sector to supply U.S. crew transportation to the ISS. In addition, NASA is reshaping its mission with a focus on space exploration that will build on new technologies, as well as proven capabilities to expand the reach into the solar system, including to new destinations such as asteroids and Mars. In aeronautics, NASA is driving technology breakthroughs for cleaner, safer, and more efficient aircraft and accelerating the nation’s transition to the next-generation air transportation system (NextGen). GRC’s core competencies and its world-class research and technology development efforts continue to play key roles in supporting the agency to advance the exploration of the solar system and beyond while maintaining U.S. global leadership in aeronautics. This effort also contributes to economic growth and national security by developing technology for safe, superior, and environmentally compatible U.S. aircraft propulsion systems.
NASA and GRC are investigating the integration of uncrewed aircraft systems into the National Airspace System and the validation of complex aviation systems. NASA with GRC as the lead also is helping airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to understand the effect that alternative fuels and biofuels will have on the operation of jet engines and on the environment. Recent research led by GRC, in collaboration with LaRC and DFRC, demonstrated for the first time that particulate emissions from jet engines burning renewable biofuels were greatly reduced in comparison with those from engines burning today’s jet fuel. Examples of aeronautics success include (1) developing advanced materials that were recognized for enabling the GEnx engine, which was certified by the FAA to power the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner; and (2) achieving a world record for high-temperature silicon carbide–integrated circuit operation at 500°C—for more than 5,000 h—which is a giant leap past the less than 10 h of operation previously demonstrated. Also, in collaboration with General Electric and the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions, and Noise (CLEEN) program, GRC research completed evaluations of multiple advanced open-rotor blade sets that showed significantly reduced noise and improved efficiency. This generated the first direct comparison between an advanced open-rotor and a geared turbofan, and the data were shared with the international community.
GRC is also tackling a unique safety problem caused when ice crystals at high altitudes in certain kinds of weather lead to engine power loss, flameouts, or damage. Using research aircraft equipped with unique instruments to conduct flight campaigns, GRC and its international partners are studying when and where these ice crystals form, as well as how large and numerous they are. First-of-their-kind engine ground tests and simulations will then be conducted in recently upgraded test facilities that can recreate the ice crystal characteristics measured during the flight campaigns to finally identify what causes these ice crystals to form. NASA research results will help the FAA to develop new safety rules related to engine icing and will help aircraft and engine manufacturers to meet those new rules, enhancing safety while increasing capacities.
On the space technology front, GRC is driving advances and developing and maturing broadly applicable technology in areas such as in-space propulsion; robotics; space power systems; deep-space communications; cryogenic fluid handling; and entry, descent, and landing, which are essential for exploration beyond low Earth orbit. GRC’s recent accomplishments in electric propulsion and radioisotope power systems are noteworthy. GRC has designed, built, tested, and delivered to the Department of Energy and Lockheed Martin three advanced Stirling convertors that have demonstrated a six times improvement of specific power over the current state of the art for radioisotope power systems. NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) long-duration test article has demonstrated thruster life of more than 2.5 times required for deep space missions and a 1.75 times expansion in the thruster throttle range and mission applicability. The thrust-to-power ratio also was improved by 20%. An independent technology maturity assessment validated that the NEXT ion propulsion system has achieved TRL 6 and has adequate maturity for transition to flight. In the communications area, GRC led the development of the software-defined radio test bed on the ISS—the Communication, Navigation and Networking Reconfigurable Testbed (CoNNeCT)—which will enable the development of the next generation of communications, navigation, and networking technology. Another success is the delivery of high-power, high-efficiency TWTAs for the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission that transmitted images at a much higher data rate.
GRC’s efforts in fluid physics and combustion science research and in understanding how microgravity and near-zero gravity affect the associated phenomena continue to lead the agency’s journey in using the ISS to pursue new knowledge and to develop technology to sustain human presence in space. In 2011, GRC successfully provided project science support and science leadership to perform eight combustion and fluid physics experiments on the ISS that provided new scientific knowledge and new life images: Capillary Channel Flow, Capillary Flow Experiment-2, Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-6, Smoke Point in Coflow Experiment, and the Structure and Liftoff in Combustion Experiment.
Despite funding ups and downs over the last 70 years, GRC has worked to maintain its leadership in research and innovation. GRC’s innovative researchers and technologists are consistently recognized for their contributions to scientific advancements and technology transfer. More than 809 patents have been issued to LeRC/GRC employees and partners since 1970, with 271 issued since 2000. These patents are currently available for licensing in power, communications, electric propulsion, combustion, instrumentation, materials, and coatings. Some of the technologies developed throughout the years have been transferred to industry and have made an impact on our daily lives.
GRC has won 114 R&D 100 awards, called the Oscars of Innovation. These awards, which recognize and celebrate the top 100 technology products of the year, have been granted since 1962. Over the years, GRC has won more R&D 100 awards than all the other NASA centers combined. In fact, GRC is ranked fourth for the most number of awards won by any organization in the world. GRC’s advanced aeropropulsion technologies and their impact on aerospace industries resulted in three prestigious Collier Trophy awards; also, GRC’s communication technology won NASA its first Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, as well as induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame. The Federal Research Laboratories Consortium bestowed GRC with three Excellence in Technology Transfer awards in the last 5 years for its success in technology transfer and commercialization of an atomic oxygen coating, communications antenna, and flexible solar array technologies. Over the last 5 years, GRC has won an average of nine awards per year from the NASA Inventions and Contributions Board, and over the last 15 years, GRC has received six NASA Software of the Year awards and four NASA Government Invention of the Year awards. GRC researchers continue to disseminate their research outcomes in peer-reviewed journal publications, conference proceedings, and technical reports. The quality of these publications was evident in that 10 received technical societies’ Best Paper awards in 2012 alone. The numbers and quality of their publications remain one of the factors that are considered for GRC career promotions.
Future Direction
GRC’s core competencies are critical for enabling next-generation transportation systems that are faster, more environmentally friendly, more fuel efficient, and safer. The advanced technologies in power, propulsion, communications, and material and structures are needed to enable the exploration of the solar system. Using the ISS as a test bed for physical science, combustion science, and life support technologies development, as well as for enhancing the knowledge in understanding the impact and effects of reduced gravity environment, will enable humans to remain in space for the long term. NASA and GRC will continue to pursue high-risk research in collaboration with academia, industry, and other government agencies. GRC also will bridge the gap between low-Technology Readiness Level (TRL) work being conducted at universities and higher TRL work being conducted by industry—focusing on the areas as only NASA can. GRC’s researchers will need to take more advantage of the multiple core competencies available at the center to foster more multidisciplinary collaboration and to drive advancements that cannot be achieved by a single competency. One can expect that the major scientific and technological breakthroughs of the future will come largely from a completely different concept, a fundamentally different design, or a multifunctional and integrated approach. In addition, with the rapid advancement in computing power and with the decreases in funding for large-scale experimental testing, it is critical that GRC researchers pay more attention to nurturing the capabilities of advanced simulation and modeling tools, especially for physics-based modeling and multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization, and apply them through the life cycle of technology development.
As for each of GRC’s core competencies, their future directions and research focus are as follows:
1.
Air-breathing propulsion: Concepts and technologies will be investigated for (1)variable-cycle propulsion systems that can enable affordable supersonic flight over land; (2) alternative propulsion systems such as turboelectric and variable-speed rotors for subsonic transports that will make an order-of-magnitude impact on the pollution reduction, safety, fuel burn, self-healing, mutifuncational, and energy-harvesting materials capabilities of these systems; and (3) distributed engine control. The air-breathing propulsion systems impact environmental and performance goals for all air vehicle transportation systems.
2.
In-space propulsion and cryogenic fluids management: Efforts will focus on electric, chemical, and nuclear propulsion systems for future robotic and human exploration missions; biological systems modeling to improve performance and minimize processing; nontoxic and liquid oxygen/liquid methane (LOx/LCH4) propulsion technologies for reaction control engines (RCE) and main propulsion thrust class; and environmentally friendly rocket propulsion: nontoxic propellants and propulsion systems for long-duration space and planetary missions.
3.
Communications technology and development: Efforts will focus on large deployable antennas, Q-V-W band communications, ultrawide-band wireless communications, gigabit-per-second software-defined radios, quantum entanglement, tunable receivers for reconfigurable radios, superconducting quantum interference filter microwave amplifier, nanoscale devices, disruption-tolerant and cognitive networking, and communications and navigation capabilities during blackout (reentry).
4.
Power, energy storage, and conversion: New technologies will be explored and developed in power generation, energy storage and conversion such as radioisotope power, flywheel energy storage, advanced batteries, advanced fuel cells, superconducting turboelectric systems to enable missions for deep space, planetary surface power, long-life satellites, and all-electric aircraft.
5.
Materials and structures for harsh environments: Effort will continue to focus on leading the agency in increasing the temperature capability of aerospace components to enable green aircraft power and propulsion, in-space and rocket propulsion systems, and future Mars entry, descent, and landing. Multifunctional structures, active structures, long-life mechanical systems, physics-based modeling, and high-temperature materials including nantotechnology and compositie materials will be emphasized.
6.
Physical sciences and biomedical technologies in space: NASA’s exploration strategy entails missions to asteroids, orbiting moons, and planets—including Mars. All these require sustained exposure to microgravity and to other space environment effects. This competency will continue to play a critical role in developing and demonstrating new technologies to mitigate the effects of this exposure and to enable these missions (e.g., advanced life support, fire safety, crew health and performance, and vehicle external systems). Bioengineering, countermeasures, computational simulation, and advanced medical capabilities are also needed.
Summary
This special issue of the Journal of Aerospace Engineering provides a comprehensive review of NASA GRC’s research and technology development in several core competencies during the last 70 years. It reflects the past, celebrates the advancements, and provides some insight into the future direction of aerospace research at GRC. It also helps GRC to accomplish one of NASA’s charters based on the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 by providing “for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination of information concerning its activities and the results thereof.” The accomplishments documented here are a testimony to the dedication, passion, and competence of all GRC employees, as well as of the GRC’s partnerships with U.S. industries, universities, and other government institutions. As GRC scientists, engineers, and support staff celebrate 70 years of experience and accomplishments, their distinctive enthusiasm for new challenges continues. Their expertise and efforts will continue to push the frontier, explore the unknown, and lead the technology revolution to enable NASA missions and to meet the needs of the nation. There is no doubt that the passion, innovation, ingenuity, and commitment for excellence of NASA’s and GRC’s employees and partners will power GRC’s leap into its next great chapter of research and innovation, bringing all the discoveries and benefits to everyone here on Earth.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 26 • Issue 2 • April 2013
Pages: 197 - 201
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 10, 2012
Accepted: Dec 10, 2012
Published online: Mar 15, 2013
Published in print: Apr 1, 2013
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