Energy-related subsystems in modern aircraft are more tightly coupled with less design margin. These subsystems include thermal management subsystems, vehicle electric power generation and distribution, aircraft engines, and flight control. Tighter coupling, lower design...

A new modeling approach is based on the concept of large eddy simulation (LES) within which the large scales are computed and the small scales are modeled. The new approach is expected to retain the fidelity of the physics while also being computationally efficient. Typically, only...

Fast iterative algorithms are often used for solving Method of Moments (MoM) systems, having a large number of unknowns, to determine current distribution and other parameters. The most commonly used fast methods include the fast multipole method (FMM), the...

The Modified Gerchberg-Saxton (MGS) algorithm is an image-based wavefront-sensing method that can turn any science instrument focal plane into a wavefront sensor. MGS characterizes optical systems by estimating the wavefront errors in the exit pupil using only intensity images of a star or other point source...

A slight deviation from Newtonian dynamics can lead to new effects associated with the concept of physical intelligence. Non-Newtonian effects such as deviation from classical thermodynamic as well as quantum-like properties have been analyzed.

A solution has been developed to the challenges of computation of derivatives with respect to geometry, which is not straightforward because these are not typically direct inputs to the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. To overcome these...

Lighter-than-air vehicles such as hot-air balloons have been proposed for exploring Saturn’s moon Titan, as well as other bodies with significant atmospheres. For these vehicles to navigate effectively, it is critical to incorporate the effects of surrounding...

The integration of human space applications risk projection models of organ dose and acute radiation risk has been a key problem. NASA has developed an organ dose projection model using the BRYNTRN with SUM DOSE computer codes, and a probabilistic model of Acute...

A report discusses using the Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) light airplane as an observation platform on Mars in order to gather data. It would have to survive insertion into the atmosphere, fly long enough to meet science objectives, and provide a stable platform.

A short document discusses an investigation of materials for photogrammetry targets for highly sensitive optical scientific instruments to be operated in outer space and in an outer-space-environment-simulating thermal vacuum chamber on Earth. A key consideration in the selection of...

Three documents discuss the Sustainable Objective Valuation and Attainability (SOVA) algorithm and software as used to plan tasks (principally, scientific observations and associated maneuvers) for the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite. SOVA is a means of managing risk in a...

A patent disclosure document discusses a photonic method for connecting a spacecraft with a launch vehicle upper-stage telemetry system as a means for monitoring a spacecraft’s health and status during and right after separation and deployment. This method also provides an efficient...

A document discusses an approach to insulating propulsion lines for spacecraft. In spacecraft that have propulsion lines that are located externally with open bus architecture, the lines are typically insulated by Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) blankets. MLI on propulsion lines tends to...

Flight lasers and test laserFibertekHerndon, VA703-471-7671www.fibertek.com Managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission is scheduled to launch in 2016. The satellite will replace the original ICESat...

Leland D. Melvin is responsible for the development and implementation of the agency’s education programs that strengthen student involvement and public awareness about NASA’s scientific goals and missions. To download this interview as a podcast, click...

The Miniature Variable-Speed Control Moment Gyroscope (MVS-CMG) was designed for small satellites (mass from less than 1 kg up to 500 kg). Currently available CMGs are too large and heavy, and available miniature CMGs do not provide sufficient control authority for use on practical satellites. This...

A document discusses a lightweight, functional mockup of the Pistol Grip Tool for use during underwater astronaut training. Previous training tools have caused shoulder injuries. This new version is more than 50 percent lighter [in water, weight is 2.4 lb (≈1.1 kg)], and can operate for...

The HEXPANDO is an expanding-head hexagonal wrench designed to retain fasteners and keep them from being dislodged from the tool. The tool is intended to remove or install socket-head cap screws (SHCSs) in remote, hard-to-reach locations or in circumstances when a dropped fastener...

Significant improvements have been made in the instrument originally described in a prior NASA Tech Briefs article: “Improved Speed and Functionality of a 580-GHz Imaging Radar” (NPO-45156), Vol. 34, No. 7 (July 2010), p. 51. First, the wideband YIG oscillator has been replaced...

The Interplanetary Overlay Networking Protocol Accelerator (IONAC) described previously in “The Interplanetary Overlay Networking Protocol Accelerator” (NPO-45584), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 32, No. 10, (October 2008) p. 106 provides functions that implement the Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) bundle protocol. New missions that require...

This work describes the development of a large Ka Band Slot Array for the Glacier and Land Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN), a proposed spaceborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar for topographic mapping of ice sheets and glaciers. GLISTIN will collect ice...

This innovation can be run as a standalone network application on any computer in a networked environment. This design can be configured to control one or more routers (one instance per router), and can also be configured to listen to a policy server over the network to receive new...

HEMT-based receiver arrays with excellent noise and scalability are already starting to be manufactured at 100 GHz, but the advances in technology should make it possible to develop receiver modules with even greater operation frequency up to 200 GHz. A prototype...

Coupling between two waveguide-fed planar slot arrays has been investigated using full-wave analysis. The analysis employs the method-of-moments solution to the pertinent coupled integral equa- tions for the aperture electric field of all slots. In order to compute coupling between two arrays, the input...

A method has been designed for using multiple independent stations to discriminate fast transient radio sources from local anomalies, such as antenna noise or radio frequency interference (RFI). This can improve the sensitivity of incoherent detection for geographically separated stations such...

Break-out boxes (BOBs) are necessary for all electrical inte- gration/cable checkouts and troubleshooting. Because the price of a BOB is high, and no work can be done without one, often the procedure stops, simply waiting for a BOB. A less expensive BOB would take less time in the integration, testing, and troubleshooting...

The Remote Asynchronous Message Service (RAMS) gateway is a special-purpose AMS application node that enables exchange of AMS messages between nodes residing in different AMS “continua,” notionally in different geographical locations. JPL’s implementation of RAMS gateway functionality is integrated...

The MARSAUTOTIE program generates tie points for use with the Mars pointing correction software “In-Situ Pointing Correction and Rover Microlocalization,” (NPO-46696) Software Tech Briefs, Vol. 34, No. 9 (September 2010), page 18, in a completely automated manner, with no operator...

Jitter_Correct.m is a MATLAB function that automatically measures and corrects inter-frame jitter in an image sequence to a user-specified precision. In addition, the algorithm dynamically adjusts the image sample size to increase the accuracy of the measurement.

MSLICE Sequencing is a graphical tool for writing sequences and integrating them into RML files, as well as for producing SCMF files for uplink. When operated in a testbed environment, it also supports uplinking these SCMF files to the testbed via Chill.

This software accepts the EOS MLS calibrated measurements of microwave radiances products and operational meteorological data, and produces a set of estimates of atmospheric temperature and composition. This version has been designed to be as flexible as possible. The software is controlled by a...

This general-purpose 3D graphics visualization C++ tool is designed for visualization of simulation and analysis data for articulated mechanisms. Examples of such systems are vehicles, robotic arms, biomechanics models, and biomolecular structures. DspaceOgre builds upon the open-source Ogre3D graphics...

A solvent/non-solvent sintering tech- nique has been devised for joining poly- meric microspheres to make porous matri- ces for use as drug-delivery devices or scaf- folds that could be seeded with cells for growing tissues. Unlike traditional sinter- ing at elevated temperature and...

A process using a modified dielectrophoresis device separates single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) according to their polarizability in electric fields. This depends on the size and dielectric constant of individual nanotubes and easily separates metallic from semiconducting nanotubes....

This technology exploits the organic decomposition capability and hydrophilic properties of the photocatalytic material titanium dioxide (TiO2), a non-toxic and non-hazardous substance, to address contamination and biofouling issues in...

A novel, low-cost approach to stabilization of Li metal anodes for high-performance rechargeable batteries was developed. Electrolyte additives are selected and used in Li cell electrolyte systems, promoting formation of a protective coating on Li metal anodes for improved cycle and safety performance.

This innovation is derived from a proprietary amplification scheme that is based upon random fragmentation of the genome into a series of short, overlapping templates. The resulting shorter DNA strands (

A novel approach for the immediate sealing of traumatic wounds is under development. A portable microwave generator and handheld antenna are used to seal wounds, binding the edges of the wound together using a biodegradable protein sealant or “solder.” This method could be used for...

A process has been developed that can confer novel properties, such as metal resistance, to a host bacterium. This same process can also be used to produce RNAs and peptides that have novel properties, such as the ability to bind particular compounds. It is inherent in the method that the peptide or RNA...

The principle of tissue microfluidics and its resultant techniques has been applied to cell analysis. Building microfluidics to suit a particular tissue sample would allow the rapid, reliable, inexpensive, highly parallelized, selective extraction of chosen regions of tissue for...

The aim of tissue engineering (TE) is to restore tissue and organ functions with minimal host rejection. TE is seen as a future solution to solve the crisis of donor organs for transplant, which faces a shortage expected only to increase in the future. In this innovation, a flexible and...

A novel method has been developed for performing very fine calibration of a spectrometer. This process is particularly useful for modern miniature charge-coupled device (CCD) spectrometers where a typical factory wavelength calibration has been performed and a finer, more...

This innovation enables a means for actively measuring atomic oxygen fluence (accumulated atoms of atomic oxygen per area) that has impinged upon spacecraft surfaces. Telemetered data from the device provides spacecraft designers, researchers, and mission managers with real-time measurement of atomic oxygen fluence,...

Devices that generate both high energy and high temperature are required to ignite reliably the propellant mixtures in combustion chambers like those present in rockets and other combustion systems. This catalytic microtube rocket igniter generates these conditions with a small, catalysis-based torch. While...

Panoramic images with a wide field of view intend to provide a better understanding of an environment by placing objects of the environment on one seamless image. However, understanding the sizes and relative positions of the objects in a panorama is not intuitive and prone to errors because the field of view is...

Lisa Collins, an environmental studies lecturer at the University of Southern California, spent four years collecting samples from floating sediment traps in the San Pedro Basin off the Los Angeles coast, giving scientists a peek at how much carbon is locked up in the ocean and where it comes from.

This week's Question: A growing number of airlines, including Alaska Airlines, are giving pilots the option of using iPads in the cockpit. In a flight scenario, the iPad would take the place of the hefty manuals and training documents that the Federation Aviation Administration requires pilots to have on hand. Some pilots...

Last month, in an effort to learn more about the everyday challenges of design engineers, we began a series of Q&As with TechBriefs.com readers. Our most recent interviews showcase a wide range of careers, including furniture makers, filtration system engineers, aircraft navigation specialists, and medical device designers. Despite...

This week's Question: Countries like the Netherlands have recently undergone trials of an automobile GPS system that uses a mileage-based formula to  calculate charges based on individual car trips. In particular tests, a  tabulation takes into account a car's fuel efficiency, the time of...

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has begun a “Reinvent the Toilet” competition and awarded $3 million to researchers at eight universities, challenging them to use recent technology to create models that do not need to be connected to sewers, water, and electricity, and that cost less...

  This week's Question: Last year, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said users are moving toward a "post-PC world," and computer sales have indeed slowed. Perhaps demonstrating Jobs' "post-PC" concept, the information technology giant HP recently announced that it would stop producing tablet computers...

  This week's guest Question comes from INSIDER reader Kenneth Polcak: IBM has recently developed prototypes of energy-efficient computer chips that emulate the synapses, neurons, and learning functions of the human brain. IBM's Systems of Neuromorphic...

INSIDER reader Kenneth Polcak submitted a "Question of the Week" to his fellow design engineer pros:

We live in a digital world. Precious family photos that once would’ve been recorded on film now exist as digital files. Important documents can now be disseminated and stored with the push of a button, and mp3 technology has forever altered the way we listen to and share our music. What once took up many square feet of storage...

SmartBear Software (Beverly, MA) has introduced PeerReview Complete™, a new peer review tool that bridges the gap between software and hardware engineers to share, review, and annotate schematics, 2D drawings, diagrams, images, HTML, and other digital content. Hardware and software design teams can share and review both technical...