NASA is interested in developing a facility to test nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) rocket engines. Current NTP engine designs are not expected to release radioactive fission products but, to protect…
Ended Awarded Last action
- Contract number
- NNS17AA26T
- Awardee
-
The University Of Southern Mississippi UEI M1K8LJAET5R1
- Awarding agency
-
Stennis Space Center
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Obligated
- $47,237
Award facts
- Contract value 100% obligated
- $47,237.00 Current and potential, with all options
- Completion date 100% complete
- Current and potential, with all options
- NAICS code
- 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- PSC
- R499 Support- Professional: Other
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
- Competition
- Full and Open Competition after exclusion of sources Negotiated Proposal / Quote
- Pricing
- Firm Fixed Price
- Place of performance
- John C. Stennis Space Center, MS 39529, USA
- Legislative mandates
-
- Service Contract Act FAR subpart 22.10
Award details come from SAM.gov/FPDS.
Transactions
| Action | Obligated | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Supplemental Agreement for work within scope | $0 | |
| Supplemental Agreement for work within scope | $16,522 | |
| Supplemental Agreement for work within scope | $0 | |
| Original award | $30,715 |
Description
NASA is interested in developing a facility to test nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) rocket engines. Current NTP engine designs are not expected to release radioactive fission products but, to protect the safety of the public and NASA personnel and comply with environmental regulations, a radionuclide capture system should be implemented. The thermal propulsion capture system (tpcs) is currently being defined for NTP engine testing at SSC (stennis space center). The tpcs is designed to totally contain all of the NTP hydrogen exhaust by reacting IT with oxygen to create steam which is condensed to liquid with a water cooled heat exchanger and stored in a tank. A secondary liquid nitrogen cooled heat exchanger condenses residual oxygen for storage in a tank at cryogenic temperatures. During testing of the NTP engine, hydrogen will be exhausted at the full flow rate for around an hour and during this time the tpcs will prevent any potential radionuclide release. After the test fire, the reactor will continue to generate heat so the engine is operated in a cool-down mode where hydrogen is injected at a slowly diminishing fraction of the full flow rate over several weeks. During the cool-down phase, IT will be uneconomical to continue to operate the tpcs because IT is sized for operation at much higher flow rates. Instead a regenerative radionuclide adsorption and disposal system (rraads) could be implemented to trap radioactive fission projects from the exhaust on demand before flaring the scrubbed hydrogen in the atmosphere. The purpose of this project is to perform technology development that will allow a radionuclide filtration system to be sized. To date, a system that can remove NTP radionuclides from hydrogen gas exhaust has only been implemented once. In 1971, the nuclear furnace 1 (NF-1) effluent capture system (ECS) demonstrated the potential for an activated charcoal filter to trap radionuclides from NTP exhaust. The results from the NF-1 project indicate that between about 60% to 99.99% of radionuclides were captured but inconsistencies in the NF-1 test results prevent the adsorption model used to size the ECS from being applied towards the design of the cool-down mode rraads. During this technology development project a radionuclide adsorption demonstration system (rads) will be constructed and tested to validate the adsorption model which will be used to design the on-demand radionuclide containment system that will be required for future NTP engine testing.
Quick answers
Who was awarded contract NNS17AA26T?
NNS17AA26T was awarded to The University Of Southern Mississippi by Stennis Space Center (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) on January 30, 2017.
How much is contract NNS17AA26T worth?
The government has obligated $47,237 on NNS17AA26T.
Is contract NNS17AA26T an order under another contract?
Yes. NNS17AA26T is a delivery order under NNS14AA17B, an indefinite delivery contract.
Was contract NNS17AA26T competed?
The extent of competition for NNS17AA26T was full and open competition after exclusion of sources.
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