Photo credit: Kim L. Shiflett
National Aeronautics andSpace Administration
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 | FALL 2019
IN THIS ISSUE
2 I Research & Technology
3 I New Technology
4/5 I Behind The Scenes
6/7 I Innovative Insights
8 I Innovation Recognition
James Fesmire is the Senior Principle Investigator and Founder of the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at NASA KSC. Learn more on page 6/7.
Kennedy Space Center
Technology Transfer News
2NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center has
undergone renovations and upgrades to accommodate NASA’s
newest launch vehicles, the Space Launch System and the Orion
crew capsule. The newly updated pad will support the Artemis 1
mission, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that
will enable human exploration of the Moon and Mars. However,
to successfully send the first woman and next man to the Moon
and beyond, Pad 39B must mitigate a natural threat—lightning.
According to the Lightning Advisory Panel for America’s Space
Program, “Lightning—both natural and artificially-initiated or
‘triggered’ discharges—is still the primary weather hazard to
spaceflight operations.” Concurrently, Florida has been identified
by the National Lightning Detection Network as the state with
the greatest concentration of cloud-to-ground lightning flashes
per square kilometer, making lightning strike prevention a doubly
serious concern at the launch pads at Kennedy on Florida’s
Space Coast.
A lightning protection system is critical to the safety of the launch
vehicles and timeliness of launches at the Launch Complex 39B.
Kennedy’s launch vehicles, the Space Launch System and Orion
capsule, and the mobile launcher are assembled in the Vehicle
Assembly Building atop a crawler-transporter that travels to Pad
39B where the vehicles could sit for several weeks, leaving them
open to lightning strikes and ensuing damage. Technicians at
Kennedy continually monitor the launch vehicles at the pad for
signs of potential damage from induced electrical transits from
lightning events.
A lightning protection system has been adapted and upgraded
at Pad 39B as the space program has developed. Apollo era
systems utilized a bonded structure that drew current through
the structure. For the Space Shuttle, the system consisted of a
lightning mast at the top of the pad’s service structure with two
catenary wires, diverging currents into the ground.
Lightning Protection at Pad 39BThe fiberglass masts insulate the metallic tower structure from the lightning strike
protection system, which is housed at the top of the fiberglass masts.
Lightning Protection Towers at the Kennedy Space
Center Launch Site
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An upgrade to the lightning protection system was engineered and
installed ten years ago and features large cables strung between
three 594-foot-tall steel and fiberglass towers. These towers,
prominent in the skyline above the launch area, attract lightning
strikes. The system includes a complex interconnected grounding
system, with many metallic piping, raceways, and cable trays that
run in multiple directions from the cable and towers around Pad
39B. The fiberglass masts insulate the metallic tower structure
from the lightning strike protection system hardware and sensors,
which are housed at the top of the masts. This hardware includes
an analysis system that allows launch managers to track and
study the lightning strikes that do occur, helping prevent delays in
the launch schedule. There are now expansive databases of local
lightning data that can be utilized to predict and react to weather
patterns.
The lightning protection system prevents damage to the launch
vehicles, but there is still the matter of protecting individuals
who maintain and service the towers. The technicians who keep
the lightning protection system in working order have to be able
to access the system by climbing up the inside of the masts at
the top of the towers. A 100 foot vertical ladder runs through
the longitudinal center axis of the fiberglass masts which allows
for a service access at the top of the mast. This ladder, due to
its height, requires a fall protection system. The fall protection
system consisted of ladder skate and rail system, comprised of a
permanently installed fiberglass rail in the center of the ladder and
a skate within the rail that the technician can latch (tether) onto.
Engineers at the Kennedy were tasked with redesigning the fall
protection system because components of the system were
electrically conductive making them vulnerable to lightning strikes.
The new system is a more user-friendly, fully non-conductive fall
protection safety restraint system. The engineers designed and
replaced all of the components with electrically non-conductive
hardware, including bolts, screws, washers, ladders, and
platforms. The components were fabricated at Kennedy Space
Center’s machine shop. Engineers installed the new system in
the field. The installation in the top 100 feet of the inner shaft of
the mast on a 500-foot lightning tower required a great deal of
precaution and preparation.
These improvements to the lightning protection system are the
latest of many innovative improvements that have been made
since the genesis of the lightning protection system at the launch
pads. Kennedy is dedicated to continuously improving safety and
efficiency for protecting astronauts and launch vehicles at the pad
as well as the technicians that maintain the equipment.
R E S E A R C H & T E C H N O L O G Y
4NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
SPEAR-heading a Cleantech Movement
Environmental Remediation Technology Commercialized to Remove PCBs from Sediments and Soils
ecoSPEARS Team MembersImplementing the
SPEARS Technology
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) have been a pervasive problem
in the environment for almost 100 years, since their development
in 1929. PCBs are a group of man-made chemicals used in
electrical equipment, hydraulic fluids, lubricants and plasticizers
in paints. PCBs have been released into the environment through
spills, leaks from equipment and improper disposal. PCBs were
produced from 1929-1977 and utilized by every industrialized
nation. As a result, PCBs are now the most widespread known
contaminant on earth, as they do not degrade naturally,
existing in virtually every major waterway where they poison
wildlife, habitats, communities, and people. PCBs are the most
widespread contaminants on earth, costing billions each year to
remediate from contaminated soil, sediment and groundwater.
The Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has linked
PCB contamination to cancer in humans and other adverse health
effects including severe acne, liver and digestive dysfunctions,
learning disabilities, and mental development disorders.
In 1979, because of health effects associated with exposure,
the Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of the
chemicals in the United States, however PCBs are still widely
used in developing nations around the world. The Stockholm
Convention requires Parties to phase out the use of PCB in
equipment by 2025 and ensure worldwide elimination of PCB by
2028. Though 83% of global PCB contamination remains to be
eliminated.
Due to a lack of sustainable technologies to remediate PCBs in
soil and sediment, Dr. Jacqueline Quinn, a NASA environmental
engineer focused on environmental chemistry research at the
Kennedy Space Center, invented a better way to solve this
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problem. Current remediation methods are cost-prohibitive and
destructive to the environment and pose significant threat to
people and wildlife.
Dr. Quinn has done a great deal of research in developing
methods for attracting and removing PCBs from surfaces coated
with contaminated paints or caulks –like those she found on old
launch structures and facilities. By combining this process with a
submerging capability, she has developed a system for removing
PCB’s from sediments in contaminated marshes, lakes, and
rivers.
The Sorbent Polymer Extraction and Remediation System
(SPEARS) technology is comprised of a series of hollow plastic
spikes, filled with a reagent that are placed in the bed of a body of
water, where PCB’s have been detected. The PCBs are attracted
to the plastic, causing them to migrate from the sediment, toward
the spikes and into the reagent. Once the site-specific PCB levels
are achieved, the spikes are removed and remediated on-site
through a proprietary green destruction process that destroys
the chemicals; also allowing the spikes and interior reagent to
then be cleaned and reused- making the SPEARS technology
versatile, inexpensive, and eco-friendly.
The SPEARS technology was introduced to the Rollins College-
NASA Entrepreneurship Scholar Distinction program – engaging
Rollins MBA students in researching NASA technologies as part
of their studies. Sergie “Serg” Albino, a Rollins College alum,
met Dr. Quinn in 2011 while he working on the RESOLVE Lunar
Rover Project at NASA, and became interested in Dr. Quinn’s
work with the SPEARS technology. An engineer by training, Serg
was naturally drawn towards the technology side of business
development when he became an advisor to the students in
L A B T O I N D U S T R Y
the Rollins-NASA program. When the SPEARS technology was
introduced to the Rollins-NASA program, it seemed like a natural
fit for Serg. For the SPEARS-related effort, Serg led the students
in a study focusing on sales/financial projections and marketing
strategies for the SPEARS technology, while he concentrated on
the manufacturing aspects of the SPEARS.
Based on the results of the research, Serg Albino and R. Ian
Doromal founded ecoSPEARS and attained the exclusive rights
to manufacture and sell SPEARS in 2017. ecoSPEARS is an
early stage clean technology company, envisioning a world where
every human being has access to clean water, clean food, and
clean air. The company’s mission is to protect human health
by ushering in the carbonless future of environmental cleanup.
Albino and Doromal have since gone on to raise $2.5 million in
the company’s seed round of funding, led by Kirenaga Partners,
LLC, and are soon entering their next round of capital raising to
grow their team and operations.
The company has expanded upon the original NASA technology,
adding two additional solutions to remove PCBs and other
persistent organic pollutants from the earth, expanding their
remediation medium to include sediment, soil and groundwater.
The ecoSPEARS technologies utilize cost-effective and
environmentally friendly solutions, which require far less energy,
virtually no water, and produce fewer environmental disturbances
reducing the total carbon footprint of the remediation efforts by
up to 90%.
6NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S
Corrosion Engineering LaboratoryBeachside Atmospheric Test Site
Kennedy Space Center’s launch facilities are located within 1000
feet of the Atlantic Ocean. Salt from the ocean combined with the
heavy lift launch vehicles’ acidic rocket exhaust make corrosion
protection a high priority. For these reasons, Kennedy maintains
state-of-the-art corrosion protection capabilities.
NASA has been dealing with corrosion since the inception of
the Space Program in 1962, in part, because NASA launches
from the most naturally corrosive environment in North America
– Florida’s east coast. Numerous corrosion failures of materials
and coatings during the Project Gemini human space flight
program led to the establishment of a Corrosion Engineering
Laboratory that featured a beachside atmospheric exposure test
site near the launch pads. At this site coupons were coated and
exposed to the harsh environment beginning the evaluation of
long-term protective coatings for their use on carbon steel, which
was and is still used for launch structures and ground support
equipment at NASA.
In the 1980’s, corrosion conditions at the launch pads became
even more severe by the presence of hydrochloric acid in
the exhaust of the solid rocket boosters used to launch the
Space Shuttle. Kennedy acquired salt fog and electrochemical
accelerated corrosion techniques to be used in testing and
The Corrosion Engineering Laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is a network of people, equipment, and facilities that provide engineering services and technical innovations in all
areas of corrosion for NASA and external customers.
Jerry Buhler Materials Engineer, Eliza Montgomery Senior PI, and Elizabeth Barrios Pathways Intern
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019 I NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
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B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S
evaluating metal alloys and corrosion protective coatings.
Lately, the Corrosion Engineering Laboratory has been
researching and developing new technologies including
a smart coatings additive, based on microencapsulation
technology, specifically designed for corrosion control.
Kennedy’s Corrosion Engineering Laboratory is a
network of people, equipment, and facilities that provide
engineering services and technical innovations in all areas
of corrosion for NASA and external customers. The lab
consists of a Beachside Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site,
a Coatings Application Facility, and an Indoor Corrosion
Laboratory. In addition, the Corrosion Engineering
Laboratory works within the larger NASA Engineering
Directorate to include other
capabilities for performing both
chemical and physical analysis
on coatings and materials, non-
destructive evaluation methods,
and testing, such as tensile, shock,
and vibration. The Beachside
Atmospheric Corrosion Test Site
has provided over 50 years of
information on the long-term
performance of these coatings and
many different types of materials.
The Corrosion Engineering
Laboratory is a multiuser facility that
serves all NASA Centers, various
Department of Defense and other
government agencies, private
companies, and educational institutions. “Our laboratory
not only tests samples for resistance to corrosion. We
act as an environmental test site for metals, polymers,
and even the coatings for the launch vehicles and the
core stage foams used for thermal protection of Space
Launch System vehicle. We test components to all sorts
of timelines, depending on the specification for flight
or ground support”, says Eliza Montgomery, Principle
Investigator for corrosion research at Kennedy.
“Our work in the Corrosion Engineering Laboratory
ensures that the coatings and materials tested at our sites will withstand
the Launchpad or mission lifetime conditions and keep our people safe.”
- Eliza Montgomery
8NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
James E. Fesmire Senior Principal InvestigatorCryogenics Test Laboratory
I N N O V AT I V E I N S I G H T S
Cryogenics Test Laboratory Liquid Hydrogen Storage Technology
The Cryogenics Test Laboratory at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) provides cryogenic expertise, experimental testing, technical standards development, prototype construction and practical problem-solving for technology
development with research institutions and commercial partners.
As the new Race for Space continues to gain momentum,
innovators at the Kennedy Space Center are working to design
new processes and build new equipment to facilitate exploration
beyond low-Earth orbit. Chief among these efforts is the
development of the world’s largest liquid hydrogen (LH2) storage
tank. Construction of the tank at Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B
where the newest manned space vehicle, the Space Launch
System, will launch, is well underway.
The original LH2 tank was built in the 1960’s for the Apollo
Program. The tank, located near 39B, was designed as an
850,000 gallon storage sphere comprised of a stainless steel
inner vessel vacuum jacketed with four foot thick perlite
insulation, encased in a carbon steel outer shell. LH2 is stored
in this tank prior to being loaded into the launch vehicle. While
the design was state-of-the–art at the time, the boil-off rate
(evaporation) of a full tank of LH2 waiting to be loaded into the
launch vehicle was still at a loss of over 600 gallons per day and
without any capability for managing the state of the liquid.
James Fesmire, senior principal investigator at the Cryogenics
Test Laboratory, and team provided consultation on the
specifications and design of the new LH2 tank for the Space
Launch System. James and team leaders Bill Notardonto and
Adam Swanger had been researching and testing new cryogenic
storage technologies including high performance thermal
insulation systems and integral refrigeration systems with the aim
of achieving full control of the liquid storage for both economic
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I N N O V AT I O N I N S I G H T S
With the new tank and it’s high
performance thermal insulation system
based on glass bubbles technology,
the hydrogen losses due to boil-off
will be very low. This means that less
liquid hydrogen will have to be trucked
in from the liquefaction plant 800 miles
away, less number of tanker off-loading
operations, and more operational
flexibility to meet the space launch
mission objectives. And with the
potential addition of a refrigerator unit,
the boil-off losses will be zero and future
rocket engines can be designed to take
advantage of super-dense LH2.
- James E. Fesmire
and environmental savings as well as advancements in safety and
capability. Built on about 20 years of research and development,
and after testing a number of approaches, the team produced
practical field demonstrations of high performance LH2 storage
technologies, including new capabilities for liquid densification
and minimum boiloff losses (zero boiloff, if so desired, is a
simple side benefit of the new technology). The team proved this
concept with a 33,000 gallon test tank with an internal cooling
coil and an integrally connected external refrigeration system.
This approach provided direct removal of heat energy and proved
that full control of the liquid, including densification or zero boil-
off, can be sustained by the test system
indefinitely with an economical electrical
power input—roughly $0.15 in electricity
saved $1.00 in hydrogen during testing.
“By using a cryogenic refrigeration
system for liquid hydrogen storage, it is
possible to provide total control over the
state of the fluid by first minimizing the
heat gain from the ambient environment
with a high performance insulation
system, and then counteracting the
remaining heat intake into the tank by
the refrigeration system,” according
to Fesmire. “The new tank will feature
two major updates: using glass bubbles
instead of perlite power in the vacuum
jacket of the tank and the use of the
integrated refrigeration system to
remove heat from the tank. Based
on test demonstrations, LH2 losses
through boiloff can be reduced by as much as 46% based just
on the new insulation system alone. This performance level will
be especially important for the new liquid LH2 tank that will hold
1.25 million gallons and must be ready for a burst of launch
loading operations after long periods of dormancy.”
Developing a Full Control LH2 Storage System has the potential
to alter all future designs and specifications related to space
craft design and launch. With the capability to densify the liquid
hydrogen and eliminate boiloff, there will be less wasted product
and more on-board propellant for space flight.
10NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
Letter from the Chief Technologist“And as we renew our commitment to lead in space, let’s go with
that’s articulated today: that we can achieve it; that Americans can achieve anything that we put our minds to. Faith in the extraordinary ingenuity and capability of the men and women of NASA and America’s space enterprise, and their ability to meet those challenges if given the resources and the support to do it. And especially faith in the courage of the men and women who are now, and those who will join, the storied ranks of American astronauts—that next generation of restless pioneers that will carry American leadership into space. It’s extraordinary to think of the heroes that will be forged in our renewed commitment to space.” – Vice President Michael Pence
technical challenges to achieve the goal of a sustainable return to the surface of the Moon. We will build on six decades of leadership in space and our work in low-Earth orbit to pave the way to the
and establish sustainable exploration with our commercial and international partners. NASA is pursuing an ambitious program to explore our solar system and beyond. Key priorities include a Mars Sample Return mission, launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and a robust program of Earth observation. In addition, our transformative aeronautics technology research is making air travel safer
American ingenuity and innovation will be critical to the development of new technologies necessary to achieve NASA’s important missions. As NASA undertakes an integrated technology research and development effort, a common technology taxonomy is more important than ever. For this reason, the 2020 NASA Technology Taxonomy was created as an important update to the Technology Area Breakdown Structure (TABS) from the roadmaps of previous years.
The 2020 Taxonomy is an update to the 2015 TABS. This new edition builds on previous releases and the insight from subject matter experts from across the Agency. The 2020 Taxonomy has expanded the total number of technology areas to 17 and consolidated other areas. to a structure that aligns technology areas based on technical disciplines. The updates also include
The technology Taxonomy is key to NASA’s ability to manage and communicate its technology portfolio by providing a structure for articulating the diverse technologies relevant to NASA’s mission. Together, NASA and its partners in other government agencies, international space agencies, academia, and industry, will pave the way to new frontiers in space and aeronautics.
Douglas TerrierChief Technologist
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019 I NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
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https://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/taxonomy/index.html
12NASA’S KENNEDY SPACE CENTER I VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 I FALL 2019
I N N O V AT I O N E X P E R I E N C E
YOUR IDEAS MATTERThe ideas and innovations that you develop on your job can have a profound effect on the global community. You can submit new your inventions by submitting a New Technology Report to the Technology Transfer Office (https://invention.nasa.gov). These new technologies may be transferred to entrepreneurs, industry or academia, where they will produce commercial products and services that will have a substantive economic benefit as well as a technological advancement. Many ideas have already been generated by Kennedy Space Center employees and transferred to industry by the Technology Transfer Office and are stimulating the global economy. These includes several technologies currently being developed and marketed by Florida based companies and universities. If you have an idea or innovation and want to submit a New Technology Report, we are here to help. For further information contact one of our New Technology Representatives or stop by the Technology Transfer Office in Room 3054 of the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF).
Kennedy Tech Transfer News is the magazine of the Technology Transfer Office at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
This magazine seeks to inform and educate civil servant and contractor personnel at Kennedy Space Center about actively participating in achieving NASA’s technology transfer and partnership goals.
https://technology-ksc.ndc.nasa.gov
Please send suggestions or feedback to the editor.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John F. Kennedy Space CenterKennedy Space Center, FL 32899www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy
www.nasa.gov
SP-2020-01-138-KSC
Innovation is a fundamental part of our work here at the Kennedy Space Center. The Office of the Chief Technologist has teamed up with the Technology Transfer Office and SBIR Office to create the Innovate Everyday Display in the Central Campus Head Quarters building.
Make sure to stop by the table to get information on Technology Transfer Resources, SBIR information and Chief Technologist Sponsored Innovation Without Boundaries!
Innovate Everyday
David MakufkaKSC Technology Transfer Program Manager321-867-6227 [email protected]
Mikaela McShaneTechnology Transfer News Editor321-861-1851 [email protected]
New Technology Representatives:Megan Victor ([email protected])Meredith Reeves ([email protected])
