The ceramic-composite advanced tow- placement (CCATP) process is a means of laying down continuous-fiber-reinforced, ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) materials in patterned layers to form objects that could have complex three-dimensional shapes. The CCATP process is a member of the growing...

A system for storing and circulating a refrigerant liquid [R- 124 (chloro- tetrafluoroethane)] includes a reservoir and a subsystem that regulates the pressure of nitrogen gas in the head space of the reservoir. The purpose of the pressurization is to prevent cavitation in a...

Ellipsoidal reflectors have been proposed as collecting horns for ultrasonic leak detectors. Exploiting the classical focusing characteristics of ellipsoids, these reflectors would facilitate and enhance the detection of leaks in situations in which it is possible to bring leak-detecting...

Program and data files in the Unified Control Modules (UCMs) of the Operational Television system at Kennedy Space Center are updated rapidly and automatically in a scheme that exploits unique features of the UCM design. Each UCM includes a VersaModule Eurocard (VME) chassis, in which...

The RoverBug algorithm plans the motion of a robotic vehicle (rover) equipped with a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera or comparable sensor that has a limited field of view. The algorithm produces locally optimal (shortest-distance) paths across unbounded, previously unknown terrain;...

Product Attributes Database (PAD) is a computer program that enables a team of engineers, managers, and administrators involved in a product-development project to collaborate more effectively. PAD serves as a single, network-accessible repository for all essential parametric information (the data- base) that...

This report investigates the strength of archi- tectural laminated glass and the viability of its use for window glass in commercial buildings. Some researchers recommend that the structural behavior of laminated glass (typically consisting of two glass layers and a plasticized PVB [polyvinyl...

A report discusses the problem of controlling the maneuvers of multiple spacecraft flying in formation and, more specifically, making the entire formation rotate about a given axis and synchronizing the rotations of the individual spacecraft with the rotation of the formation. Such...

A report proposes a high-temperature- resistant solar sail with an areal mass density less than 1 g/m², for a spacecraft that would approach the Sun to within a distance of 0.2 astronomical unit (≈3 × 10⁷ km). The sail would be made in multiple segments of a...

The ceramic-composite advanced tow-placement (CCATP) process is a means of laying down continuous-fiber-reinforced, ceramic-matrix composite (CMC) materials in patterned layers to form objects that could have complex three-dimensional shapes. The CCATP process is a member of the growing...

A proposed infrared transmitting fiber-optic endoscope, which would partly resemble a visible-light fiber-optic endoscope, instrument could be used to perform thermal imaging in harsh environments and/or confined spaces in a variety of situations in aerospace, industrial, automotive, and medical settings.

A compact instrument includes a fiber-optic probe that utilizes the evanescent-wave interaction to measure the accumulation of a biofilm. This instrument is a prototype of instruments that could be used to effect continuous monitoring and provide early warning of biofilms associated with...

Better Elicitation and Communication of Arguments Underlying Software Engineering (BECAUSE) is a computer program that records and codifies the rationale that underlies decisions made in the course of developing software. To minimize the additional sensory, cognitive, and motor demands upon the...

Multi-Rover Integrated Science Understanding System (MISUS) is a computer program designed to coordinate the activities of multiple small, instrumented robotic vehicles (rovers) engaged in autonomous scientific exploration of the surface of Mars. MISUS includes a component that utilizes...

Virtual Procurement Office (VPO) is a Web-based application program designed for use by procurement professionals throughout NASA. Prior to the development of VPO, each of the 700+ NASA procurement pro- fessionals had to spend much time searching numerous locations on-line and off-line...

Health and Environ- mental Resource System (HERS) is a relational-database computer program with a graphical user interface that assists members of an envi- ronmental health organization in the collection, analysis,

and reporting of data pertaining to industrial hygiene, radiation...