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By NASA
1 Min Read 2024 NESC Technical Update
Annual Report of NESC Technical Activities
On behalf of the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC), I am pleased to provide you with the 2024 NESC Technical Update. This annual report summarizes the technical work, engineering advancements, and knowledge capture efforts we made in FY24. With support provided by members of our NASA community from across the centers, we focused our efforts on performing value-added independent testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA’s high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success.
This report contains summaries of technical assessments requested by our stakeholders and the technical bulletins and innovative techniques that resulted from that assessment work. Several of the NASA Technical Fellows provide summaries of accomplishments in their respective disciplines, and expertise drawn from across the Agency is featured on the Center Pages.
We appreciate the opportunity to share our progress and highlight the accomplishments of our technically and culturally diverse, multidisciplinary, multigenerational teams. All NESC knowledge products are available at nasa.gov/nesc. As always, we value your feedback and engagement. Thank you for your continuing support of the NESC.
Timmy R. Wilson
Director, NASA Engineering and Safety Center
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By Space Force
Under Secretary of the Air Force Melissa Dalton visited Virginia Tech Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 875 to discuss national defense challenges and strategies.
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By Space Force
History was made on Aug. 16, as six Space Force students out of basic military training became the first Guardians to graduate technical training at the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins uses a hammer to get a drive tube into the ground to collect a pristine soil sample during a nighttime simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 16, 2024. Surviving and operating through the lunar night was identified as a top-ranked 2024 Civil Space Challenge, and tests such as these help NASA astronauts and engineers practice end-to-end lunar operations. NASA/Josh Valcarcel This spring, NASA published a document overviewing almost 200 technology areas requiring further development to meet future exploration, science, and other mission needs – and asked the aerospace community to rate their importance. The goal was to better integrate the community’s most pervasive technical challenges, or shortfalls, to help guide NASA’s space technology development and investments.
Today, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) released the 2024 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking document, integrating inputs from NASA mission directorates and centers, small and large industry organizations, government agencies, academia, and other interested individuals. STMD will use the inaugural list and annual updates as one of many factors to guide its technology development projects and investments.
“Identifying consensus among challenges across the aerospace industry will help us find solutions, together,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free. “This is the groundwork for strengthening the nation’s technological capabilities to pave the way for new discoveries, economic opportunities, and scientific breakthroughs that benefit humanity.”
The integrated results show strong stakeholder agreement among the 30 most important shortfalls. At the top of the list is surviving and operating through the lunar night, when significant and sustained temperature drops make it difficult to run science experiments, rovers, habitats, and more. Solution technologies could include new power, thermal management, and motor systems. Second and third on the integrated list are the need for high-power energy generation on the Moon and Mars and high-performance spaceflight computing.
The inputs received are already igniting meaningful conversations to help us and our stakeholders make smarter decisions. We will refine the process and results annually to ensure we maintain a useful approach and tool that fosters resilience in our space technology endeavors.”
Michelle Munk
Acting Chief Architect for STMD
Highly rated capability areas in the top 20 included advanced habitation systems, autonomous systems and robotics, communications and navigation, power, avionics, and nuclear propulsion. Beyond the top quartile, stakeholder shortfall scores varied, likely aligning with their interests and expertise. With many shortfalls being interdependent, it emphasizes the need to make strategic investments across many areas to maintain U.S. leadership in space technology and drive economic growth.
STMD is evaluating its current technology development efforts against the integrated list to identify potential adjustments within its portfolio.
“This effort is an excellent example of our directorates working together to assess future architecture needs that will enable exploration and science for decades to come,” said Nujoud Merancy, deputy associate administrator for the Strategy and Architecture Office within NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.
The 2024 results are based on 1,231 total responses, including 769 internal and 462 external responses. Twenty were consolidated responses, representing multiple individuals from the same organization. Once average shortfall scores were calculated for each organization, STMD grouped, totaled, and averaged scores for nine stakeholder groups and then applied pre-determined weights to each to create the overall ranking. In the document, NASA also published the ranked results for each stakeholder group based on the 2024 feedback.
The rankings are based on the numerical scores received and not responses to the open-ended questions. NASA anticipates the qualitative feedback will uncover additional insights and more.
NASA will host a webinar to overview the ranking process and results on July 26, 2024, at 2 p.m. EDT.
Register for the Stakeholder Webinar “Communicating our most pressing technology challenges is a great way to tap into the abilities across all communities to provide solutions to critical problems,” said Dr. Carolyn Mercer, chief technologist for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
To learn more about the inaugural civil space shortfall feedback opportunity and results as well as monitor future feedback opportunities, visit:
www.nasa.gov/civilspaceshortfalls
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By Space Force
Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna and Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, deputy chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber and Nuclear, delivered remarks at the Joint Women's Leadership Symposium in Arlington, Virginia, June 26 and 27.
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