Partnering Opportunity for Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) vehicles Modular Assembled Radiators for NEP Vehicle (MARVL)

Background
NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is seeking information from potential partners to participate in a proposal development activity that addresses the technical objectives and development of technology elements associated with the Modular Assembled Radiators for NEP Vehicles (MARVL) project. The partnering opportunity is in response to an Early Career Initiative (ECI) sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD). The initiative promotes creative joint partnering within highly collaborative work environments between early career NASA technologists and world-class industry, academia, and other government organizations.

Work Details
The MARVL project aims to design and analyze a lightweight Primary Heat Rejection Subsystem (PHRS) targeting a Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP) capability. It involves developing modular radiator units that can be assembled in-space to produce the required total radiator area for the selected mission. The project will address four technical challenges related to PHRS installation and commissioning concepts, predictions of physical system behavior, high-temperature, lightweight, and damage-tolerant radiators, and reversible high-temperature fluid interface design. Potential partners are expected to provide expertise in fields such as radiative heat rejection systems, radiator design, fluid loop systems, multi-physics modeling and simulation, fluid interfaces, in-Space Assembly/autonomous robotic systems, and complex systems modeling and simulation.