A fuel cell stack has been developed to supply power for a high-altitude aircraft with a minimum of air handling. The fuel cell is capable of utilizing oxygen from ambient air at low pressure with no need for compression. For such an application, it is advantageous to take oxygen from the air...

A modified ion-detector/ data-acquisition system has been devised to increase the dynamic range of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) that, previously, included a microchannel-plate detector and a data-acquisition system based on counting pulses and time-tagging them by use of a...

A time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) like the one mentioned in the immediately preceding article has been retrofitted with an ionizer based on a surface spontaneous- desorption process. This ionizer includes an electron multiplier in the form of a microchannel plate (MCP). Relative to an ionizer...

A process for fabricating a precise, diffraction- limited, ultralightweight, composite-material (matrix/fiber) paraboloidal telescope mirror has been devised. Unlike the traditional process of fabrication of heavier glass-based mirrors, this process involves a minimum of manual steps and...

A solvent-based welding process enables the joining of precise, cast polyimide membranes at their edges to form larger precise membranes. The process creates a homogeneous, optical - quality seam between abutting membranes, with no overlap and with only a very localized area of figure...

EEG apparatuses with many channels in use heretofore have been too heavy and bulky to be worn, and have been limited in dynamic range to no more than 18 bits. The present apparatus is small and light enough to be worn by the subject. It is capable of amplifying EEG signals and digitizing...

The multistage electromagnetic separator for purifying cells and magnetic particles (MAGSEP) is a laboratory apparatus for separating and/or purifying particles (especially biological cells) on the basis of their magnetic susceptibility and magnetophoretic mobility. Whereas a typical prior...

Electrolytes comprising LiPF6 dissolved at a concentration of 1.0 M in five different solvent mixtures of alkyl carbonates have been found to afford improved performance in rechargeable lithium-ion electrochemical cells at temperatures as low as -70° C. These and other electrolytes have...

Body suits harnessed to systems of elastic tethers have been proposed as means of approximating the effects of normal Earth gravitation on crewmembers of spacecraft in flight to help preserve the crewmembers’ physical fitness. The suits could also be used on Earth to increase effective...

Tool for Research Enhancement Decision Support (TREDS) is a computer program developed to assist managers in ranking options for research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It could likely also be adapted to perform similar decision support functions in industrial and academic settings. TREDS provides a...

A document discusses a proposal to use advanced materials — especially bulk metallic glass (BMG) foams — in structural components of spacecraft, lunar habitats, and the like. BMG foams, which are already used on Earth in some consumer products, are superior to conventional metal foams: BMG foams...

Improved small-particle powders and powder-processing conditions have been developed for use in plasma spray deposition of thermal-barrier and environmentalbarrier coatings. Heretofore, plasmasprayed coatings have typically ranged in thickness from 125 to 1,800 µm. As explained below, the...

Task Description Language (TDL) is an extension of the C++ programming language that enables programmers to quickly and easily write complex, concurrent computer programs for controlling real-time autonomous systems, including robots and spacecraft. TDL is based on earlier work (circa 1984 through 1989) on the Task Control...

“Close Call Action Log Form” (“CCALF”) is the name of both a computer program and a Web-based service provided by the program for creating an enhanced database of close calls (in the colloquial sense of mishaps that were avoided by small margins) assigned to the Center Operations Directorate (COD) at Johnson Space...

The Johnson Space Center Emergency Notification System (JENS) software utilizes pre-existing computation and communication infrastructure to augment a prior variable-tone, siren-based, outdoor alarm system, in order to enhance the ability to give notice of emergencies to employees working...

Verifiable MDS Architecture (VMA) is a software architecture that facilitates the construction of highly verifiable flight software for NASA's Mission Data System (MDS), especially for smaller missions subject to cost constraints. More specifically, the purpose served by VMA is to facilitate aggressive...

Java Radar Analysis Tool (JRAT) is a computer program for analyzing two dimensional (2D) scatter plots derived from radar returns showing pieces of the disintegrating Space Shuttle Columbia. JRAT can also be applied to similar plots representing radar returns showing aviation accidents, and to scatter plots in general. The...

A computer program for controlling a high-performance, force-reflecting telerobot has been developed. The goal in designing a telerobot-control system is to make the velocity of the slave match the master velocity, and the environmental force on the master match the force on the slave. Instability...

Advanced Life Support Sizing Analysis Tool (ALSSAT) is a computer model for sizing and analyzing designs of environmental- control and life support systems (ECLSS) for spacecraft and surface habitats involved in the exploration of Mars and Moon. It performs conceptual designs of advanced...

SOM_VIS is a computer program for analysis and display of multidimensional sets of Earth-image data typified by the data acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer [MISR (a spaceborne instrument)]. In SOM_VIS, an enhanced self-organizing-map (SOM) algorithm is first used to...

A computer program that efficiently solves the time-dependent, nonlinear Euler equations in two dimensions to an arbitrarily high order of accuracy has been developed. The program implements a modified form of a prior arbitrary- accuracy simulation algorithm that is a member of the class of...

Planetary-Ohio Network Emulator (p- ONE) is a computer program for local laboratory testing of high bandwidth data communication systems subject to long delays in propagation over interplanetary distances. p-ONE is installed on a personal computer connected to two bidirectional Ethernet...