An apparatus called a "pneumatic stinger" has been developed to enable a first spacecraft, operating under remote control, to grasp a second spacecraft that is in orbit or other unpowered flight. The pneumatic stinger, which is mounted on the first spacecraft, is inserted in a...

FoilSim is a computer program that calculates and graphically depicts information on flows of air around airfoils of various shapes. Although it is useful primarily as a teaching tool to enhance mathematical and scientific curricula, it was derived from "real-life" flow-computing software of...

Servomotor drive manufacturers agree that the performance of today's digital drive is largely determined by the performance of its feedback device. Clearly, previous feedback solutions, such as resolver technology and conventional encoders, no longer meet the increasing market demands for higher...

Current proposed shapes for single-stage-to-orbit vehicles like the Lockheed-Martin X-33 and VentureStar reusable launch vehicle have extremely large base areas when compared with previous hypersonic-vehicle designs. As a result, base drag - especially in the transonic flight regime -...

Version 1.4 of the Launch Vehicle Loads Analysis for Preliminary Design (VLOADS 1.4) computer program calculates in-flight launch-vehicle structural loads (that is, spacecraft-launching rockets) for preliminary design. The program can also be used to calculate structural loads in upper stages and...

A magnetostrictive linear-translation mechanism has been designed to function as a micropositioning device at any temperature from ambient down to the temperature of liquid helium (about 4 K). Still undergoing development at the time of reporting the information for this article, this...

Wiring is a major deliverable in just about all electromechanical equipment. From airplanes to semiconductor capital equipment, the key component tying together all of the technological innovations in these machines is the wiring. Until recently wiring system design has merely been an afterthought, the...

When a problem such as breaking bellows couplings threatens to halt a machinery production line, it is necessary to look beyond the obvious. In an application in which the coupling works on a Heidenhain encoder for an X-Y table that positions circuit boards, representatives of the user company and...

The Automated Test Monitor computer program provides for continuous monitoring of the operations of a complex system (e.g., a spacecraft). This program implements a rigorous analytic (instead of an ad hoc) technique that prescribes exactly how to express requirements for the operation of...

The Mission Planning Graphical Tool (MPGT) computer program provides a mouse-driven graphical representation of data on a spacecraft and its environment, for use in planning a space flight. MPGT is designed to be a generic software tool that can be configured to analyze any specified...

The figure shows a prototype of a magnetostrictively actuated mechanism that would rotate an optical filter wheel for a high-performance infrared camera or telescope. Typically, a high-performance infrared instrument and its filter wheel are operated inside a cryogenic system. In conventional practice, the...

Low-voltage high-current loads requiring precision voltage regulation are served by power systems that sense voltage remotely at the load. This creates the risk of an overvoltage (OV) condition at the load if the remote sense contacts are incorrectly connected. A new technique to supplement standard OV...

A magnetostrictively actuated heat switch has been proposed for use in a variety of cryogenic equipment, including adiabatic-demagnetization refrigerators, calorimeters, and coolers for high-performance infrared cameras. Heretofore, the heat switches in such equipment have generally been of two...

Small hybrid rocket engines of a proposed type would burn specially shaped hollow cylinders of solid fuel containing slanted oxygen-injection channels, as shown in the figure. These engines would exploit a vortex flow phenomenon associated with the radial inflow of the oxygen in the...

Parallel Visual 3 (pV3) is an interactive computer program that provides selected displays of data generated in numerical simulations - especially simulations that involve parallel processing. pV3 was originally designed to aid in the visualization of numerical results from computational...

A proposed "kinematic inchworm"-type linear actuator would move a mass as large as 2 kg along rails, with lengthwise position controllable in increments as small as 50 nm. The actuator could be operated in microgravity or in normal Earth gravitation and at any temperature from ambient down to...

Energy efficiency is a continuing focus of the power electronics industry. Motors consume the most electricity in commercial and industrial applications (followed at a distant second by lighting). More than 85 percent of electric motors are single-phase motors that are installed in numerous...

Research has shown that with suitable processing, one can produce a polycrystalline version of a terbium/dysprosium alloy suitable for use in a magnetostrictive actuator for generating small motions. Prior to this research, only the single-crystal version had been used, and that in only...

A technique that involves the use of crossed magnetic antennas in a natural waveguide has been proposed for tracking Martian dust storms from a single observing station; that is, without having to triangulate from multiple observing stations. The technique is applicable to tracking...

A proposed miniature turbomolecular pump would be a prototype of high-vacuum sources for a forthcoming generation of miniature, portable mass spectrometers and other scientific instruments. The miniature turbomolecular pump would be an attractive alternative to currently available high-vacuum...

A process that is undergoing development would be used to mass-produce textured polycrystalline rods of a terbium/dysprosium alloy for cryogenic magnetostrictive actuators. The rolling-and-heat-treatment process described in the preceding article yields a high degree of crystal orientation, but is...

A microwave-cavity applicator has been developed for coating multiple fibers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A prototype of the applicator was used to deposit silicon carbide onto carbon fibers; the design of the applicator can just as well be optimized for coating fibers made of...

An improved magnetostrictive valve for remotely controlling a flow of liquid helium has been developed. Heretofore, flows of liquid helium have been controlled by use of valves with mechanical or gas connections to actuators in warmer locations. The connections act as heat-leak paths....