A special navigation system is being developed to provide high-quality information on the position and attitude of a moving platform (an aircraft or spacecraft), for use in pointing and stabilization of a hyperspectral remote-sensing system carried aboard the platform. The system also serves to...

Pattern Interpretation and Recognition Application Toolkit Environment (PIRATE) is a block-oriented software system that aids the development of application programs that analyze signals in real time in order to recognize signal patterns that are indicative of conditions or events of interest. PIRATE...

An extrusion batch process for manufacturing regularly shaped sol-gel pellets has been devised as an improved alternative to a spray process that yields irregularly shaped pellets. The aspect ratio of regularly shaped pellets can be controlled more easily, while regularly shaped pellets pack more...

A report describes a series of computational models conceived as an improvement over prior models for determining effects of solar-radiation pressure on orbits of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. These models are based on fitting coefficients of Fourier functions of...

A document describes mathematical derivations and applications of autonomous guidance algorithms for maneuvering spacecraft in the vicinities of small astronomical bodies like comets or asteroids. These algorithms compute fuel- or energy-optimal trajectories for typical maneuvers by solving...

A computational method and software to implement the method have been developed to sift through vast quantities of digital flight data to alert human analysts to aircraft flights that are statistically atypical in ways that signify that safety may be adversely affected. On a typical day, there are...

A document summarizes a proposed metrology subsystem for precisely measuring the attitude of a large and flexible structure in space.

Two documents discuss a method of characterizing advanced composite materials by use of multimode-guided ultrasonic waves. The method at an earlier stage of development was described in “High-Performance Scanning Acousto-Ultrasonic System” (LEW-17601-1), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 30, No. 3...

A reference architecture is defined for an object-oriented implementation of domains, arrays, and distributions written in the programming language Chapel.

A visual-tracker computer program controls an articulated mast on a Mars rover to keep a designated feature (a target) in view while the rover drives toward the target, avoiding obstacles. Several prior visual tracker programs have been tested on rover platforms; most require very small and well-estimated motion...

Measurement and Controls Data Acquisition System (MCDAS) is an application program that integrates the functions of two stand-alone programs: one for acquisition of data, the other for controls.

NETMARK is a flexible, high-throughput software system for managing, storing, and rapid searching of unstructured and semi-structured documents. NETMARK transforms such documents from their original highly complex, constantly changing, heterogeneous...

In our last article, we planned out the business chronologically; that is, what we expected to happen and when we thought it would happen. Now, we need to assign costs to the steps in that series of events and roll it up into a standard financial picture that investors, members of your board,...

Recorded August 17, 2006 Product innovation has recently come to the forefront as one of the truly sustainable competitive advantages a company can develop in the product development process. One common roadblock to the innovative process is the time and cost to prototype the endless variety of design...