Thursday, November 09, 2023 03:30PM

You're invited to attend

 

Liquid Hydrogen at the Intersection of the New Space and Energy Age

 

by

 

 

William Notardonato

 

Thursday, November 9
3:30 - 4:40 p.m.
Weber SSTIII Classroom 1

 

 

About the Seminar
A new era of space exploration is happening with the transition of activities from government control to a mix of commercial and government solutions. To ensure a robust future in space, this transition must be sustainable economically. Simultaneously, there is a transition in transportation and energy systems away from carbon intensive fuels to more sustainable, carbon free solutions. Hydrogen has a critical role to play in both the space and energy industries, but technical challenges need to be addressed before full scale implementation can occur.
Eta Space is developing energy efficient cryogenic fluid management technologies to enable the new space and energy age. Currently funded to develop advanced hydrogen propellant depots on Earth, in low Earth orbit, and on the Moon, Eta Space engineers are solving these technology challenges around hydrogen liquefaction, storage and transfer. This presentation will summarize past developments in liquid hydrogen systems, discuss challenges with implementation of large scale hydrogen use in the new space and energy area, and present an overview of Eta Space technology solutions that address these challenges. At Eta Space, we are fueling future exploration in space and on Earth.

 

About the Speaker: 
Dr. William Notardonato is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Eta Space LLC, a new space company that specializes in cryogenic propellant technologies for the emerging space sector and solutions for energy efficient storage of liquid hydrogen for terrestrial applications. Eta Space is developing highly efficient modular hydrogen liquefaction and storage systems for Lunar and terrestrial use, LH2 servicing solutions for long duration UAV’s and other transportation systems, and zero-gravity cryogenic fluid management technologies for orbital propellant depots.

Prior to joining the private sector, Dr. Notardonato was a Senior Principle Investigator at the Cryogenic Test Laboratory NASA Kennedy Space Center. He became an internationally renowned expert in cryogenic refrigeration, LH2 storage and transfer, and in-space cryogenic solutions. Dr. Notardonato has led or participated in a number of cryocooler and refrigerator developments, and created the concept of Integrated Refrigeration and Storage (IRAS) to provide direct cryogenic refrigeration into the liquid storage region of a cryogen. IRAS provides the capability for zero loss storage and transfer or liquid hydrogen as well as in-situ liquefaction and propellant densification. Dr. Notardonato served as Principal Investigator and Project Manager on the GODU LH2 project that demonstrated 18 months of zero boil-off, no-vent transfers and tanker offloads, and densification to slush conditions a 33,000 gallon batch of LH2. The project was so successful in demonstrating zero boil off of LH2 that NASA has incorporated the technology into the new 1.4 million gallon LH2 sphere being constructed at LC-39B for the Artemis Program. Prior to joining the CTL, William was a Space Shuttle Operations Engineer, servicing the Fuel Cells System with supercritical hydrogen and oxygen. Dr. Notardonato earned his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Florida and he has published over 50 papers in the field of cryogenics and space exploration and holds 4 patents for related work.