Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Mercuric Iodide Anticoincidence Shield for Gamma-Ray Spectrometer
A film-growth process was developed for polycrystalline mercuric iodide that creates cost-effective, large-area detectors for high- energy charged-particle detection. A material, called a barrier film, is introduced onto the substrate before the normal mercuric iodide film growth...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Improved Method of Design for Folding Inflatable Shells
An improved method of designing complexly shaped inflatable shells to be assembled from gores was conceived for original application to the inflatable outer shell of a developmental...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Electrically Variable or Programmable Nonvolatile Capacitors
Electrically variable or programmable capacitors based on the unique properties of thin perovskite films are undergoing development. These capacitors show promise of overcoming two...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
System for Automated Calibration of Vector Modulators
Vector modulators are used to impose baseband modulation on RF signals, but non- ideal behavior limits the overall performance. The non-ideal behavior of the vector modulator is...
Briefs: Materials
Using Ozone To Clean and Passivate Oxygen-Handling Hardware
A proposed method of cleaning, passivating, and verifying the cleanliness of oxygen-handling hardware would extend the established art of cleaning by use of ozone. As used here, “cleaning” signifies ridding all exposed surfaces of combustible (in particular, carbon-based)...
Briefs: Materials
Two-Piece Screens for Decontaminating Granular Material
Two-piece screens have been designed specifically for use in filtering a granular material to remove contaminant particles that are significantly wider or longer than are the desired granules. In the original application for which the two-piece screens were conceived, the granular material...
Briefs: Materials
Metal Standards for Waveguide Characterization of Materials
Rectangular-waveguide inserts that are made of non-ferromagnetic metals and are sized and shaped to function as notch filters have been conceived as reference standards for use in...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Ultra-Large Solar Sail
UltraSail is a next- generation ultra-large (km2 class) sail system. Analysis of the launch, deployment, stabilization, and control of these sails shows that high-payload-mass fractions for interplanetary and deep-space missions are possible. UltraSail combines propulsion and control systems developed for...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Cooperative Three-Robot System for Traversing Steep Slopes
Teamed Robots for Exploration and Science in Steep Areas (TRESSA) is a system of three autonomous mobile robots that cooperate with each other to enable scientific exploration of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Assemblies of Conformal Tanks
Assemblies of tanks having shapes that conform to each other and/or conform to other proximate objects have been investigated for use in storing fuels and oxidizers in small available spaces in upper stages of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Microfluidic Pumps Containing Teflon® AF Diaphragms
Microfluidic pumps and valves based on pneumatically actuated diaphragms made of Teflon® AF polymers are being developed for incorporation into laboratory-on-a-chip devices that must perform well over temperature ranges wider than those of prior diaphragm-based microfluidic pumps and valves....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Transparent Conveyor of Dielectric Liquids or Particles
The concept of a transparent conveyor of small loose dielectric particles or small amounts of dielectric liquids has emerged as an outgrowth of an effort to develop efficient, reliable...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Multi-Cone Model for Estimating GPS Ionospheric Delays
The multi-cone model is a computational model for estimating ionospheric delays of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. It is a direct descendant of the conical-domain model, which...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Progress Toward a Compact, Highly Stable Ion Clock
There was an update on the subject of two previous NASA Tech Briefs articles: “Compact, Highly Stable Ion Clock” (NPO-43075), Vol. 32, No. 5 (May 2008), page 63; and “Neon as a Buffer Gas for a Mercury-Ion Clock” (NPO-42919), Vol. 32, No. 7 (July 2008), page 62. To recapitulate: A...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
High-Sensitivity GaN Microchemical Sensors
Systematic studies have been performed on the sensitivity of GaN HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) sensors using various gate electrode designs and operational parameters. The results here...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
On the Divergence of the Velocity Vector in Real-Gas Flow
A theoretical study was performed addressing the degree of applicability or inapplicability, to a real gas, of the occasionally stated belief that for an ideal gas, incompressibility is synonymous with a zero or very low Mach number. The measure of compressibility used in this study is...
Briefs: Information Technology
Integrated Risk and Knowledge Management Program — IRKM-P
The NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) IRKM-P tightly couples risk management and knowledge management processes and tools to produce an effective “modern” work environment. IRKM-P objectives include: (1) to learn lessons from past and current programs (Apollo,...
Briefs: Information Technology
Constructing LDPC Codes From Loop-Free Encoding Modules
A method of constructing certain low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes by use of relatively simple loop-free coding modules has been developed. The subclasses of LDPC codes to which the...
Briefs: Information Technology
LDPC Codes With Minimum Distance Proportional to Block Size
Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes characterized by minimum Hamming distances proportional to block sizes have been demonstrated. Like the codes mentioned in the immediately...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
MMICs With Radial Probe Transitions to Waveguides
A document presents an update on the innovation reported in “Integrated Radial Probe Transition From MMIC to Waveguide” (NPO-43957), NASA Tech Briefs Vol. 31, No. 5 (May 2007), page 38. To recapitulate: To enable operation or testing of a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC), it is...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Tests of Low-Noise MMIC Amplifier Module at 290 to 340 GHz
A document presents data from tests of a low-noise amplifier module operating in the frequency range from 290 to 340 GHz — said to be the highest-frequency low-noise, solid-state amplifier ever developed. The module comprised a three-stage monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)...
Briefs: Information Technology
Extending Newtonian Dynamics to Include Stochastic Processes
A paper presents further results of continuing research reported in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles, the two most recent being “Stochastic Representations of Chaos Using Terminal Attractors” (NPO-41519), [Vol. 30, No. 5 (May 2006), page 57] and “Physical Principle for...
Eye on Innovation: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Return on Investment of Model-Based Design: Increasing Innovation Capacity
Given the current economic conditions, companies must continue to deliver existing products as they develop the products of tomorrow, without increasing the...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Instruments for Imaging From Far to Near
The acronym “CHAMP” (signifying “camera, hand lens, and microscope”) denotes any of several proposed optoelectronic instruments that would be capable of color imaging at working distances that...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Reflectors Made From Membranes Stretched Between Beams
Lightweight cylindrical reflectors of a proposed type would be made from reflective membranes stretched between pairs of identically curved and identically oriented end rails. In each...
Application Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Tool Coil Springs Aid in Hubble Repairs
Bal Seal Engineering
Foothill Ranch, CA
949-460-2100
www.balseal.com
When astronauts embarked on the latest mission to repair the Hubble Space...
Application Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Fire Suppression System Protects Giant Crawler Transporters
Fireaway LLC
Minnetonka, MN
952-935-9745
http://statx.com
When NASA Kennedy Space Center’s fire safety experts decided to...
Products
Graphical System Design Software
National Instruments, Austin, TX, has introduced LabVIEW 2009 graphical system design software for control, test, and embedded system development.
New virtualization technology for multicore systems...
NASA Tech Needs
NASA Engineering Polymer Development Needs
There is increasing interest in lightweight and ultra-lightweight structural concepts and materials within NASA’s exploration mission and as part of efforts to develop “green” aeronautics...
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