A proposed ground- based apparatus would accelerate a spacecraft to speed of about mach 1, thus making it possible to increase the payload and/or reduce the cost of launching the space- craft into orbit. The apparatus would include a track along which the spacecraft would ride on a sled. Hundreds of...

Model Rocket Engine Software System (MRECS) is a system of control software that was originally intended for use in controlling rocket engines but is also applicable to almost any real-time, closed- loop process-control system — for example, the feedback control system of a robot. MRECS...

The Hazardous Gas Detection System 2000 (HGDS 2000) is the latest in a series of instrumentation systems for detecting gases leaking from a space shuttle on a launch pad. The HGDS is a fully redundant system that includes analog and digital electronic control circuitry and a sub- system for...

This report examines the simulation of the dynamic behavior of a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) optical switch in order to meet the Telcordia telecommunication industry standards for shock. The setup of the finite element model of the telecommunications device is discussed in detail, along with a...

Research at Langley Research Center has developed a special fiber- Bragg grating optical filter for use in aircraft or spaceborne differential absorption lidar (DIAL) systems for measuring water vapor in the atmosphere of the Earth. The filter is an optical fiber containing two Bragg...

A short report discusses the technical background of, and the need for, special bus-driver software for part of a test-bed computer system that is to be used in experimentation for development of advanced avionics. The system features a scalable, fault-tolerant, distributed architecture that...

A magnetostrictive motor and its drive circuit and control system have been designed to be especially suitable for robotic applications in which there are requirements for precise, high-force linear actuators. The motor includes a laminated armature made of the magnetostrictive alloy...

A relatively inexpensive, lightweight, durable, easy-to-operate radio-frequency (RF) instrument has been developed, along with special electromagnetic tags, for use in detecting buried objects to which the tags are attached. Each tag comprises a dipole antenna (basically, two collinear...

Software for decoding turbo codes that have been adopted as standard by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems is being developed along with hardware built around integrated-circuit digital signal processors (DSPs) that execute the software. The software enables reliable...

Liquid-level-measuring systems based on fiber-optics are under development as compact, lightweight alternatives to systems based on float gauges and other conventional sensors. For liquids that pose explosion hazards, fiber-optic sensors are inherently safer because they do not include electrical connections inside...

Closed Loop Execution and Recovery (CLEaR) is an artificial-intelligence computer program under devel- opment designed for automated command sequence generation, execution, monitoring, and recovery. As a component of the Deep Space Network’s (DSN’s) prototype Common Automation Engine (CAE), CLEaR...

The Path Planning Graphical User Interface is a computer program that, as its name indi- cates, generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for software that plans paths for robotic vehicles (rovers) to be used in exploration of remote planets. This GUI program is designed for use in conjunction with the A*...

Cellerator is a computer program that auto- matically generates and solves differential equations for complex sets of chemical reac- tions like those in living cells. Cellerator provides a mathematical and computational infra- structure for char- acterizing reaction pathways and the interactions between...

The TMOD (Tele- communications and Mission Operations Directorate) Integrated Ground Resource Allocation and Sched- uling (TIGRAS) computer program provides an integrated computing environment for analysis, allocation, and scheduling of antennas and other ground resources of NASA’s Deep...

A computer program automates the process of collecting, storing, and disseminating information on lessons learned in a large, multi- disciplinary project in which multiple organizations par- ticipate. Developed for the International Space Station project, the program could also be used on...

A computer program undergoing development detects patterns that may differ in size but are otherwise similar to a specified pattern. Con- ceived to enable the automated recognition of features in images of planets and asteroids acquired by exploratory spacecraft, the program can also be used...

Node Prediction for Thermal Networks (NOPTHER) is a computer program that predicts steady-state temperatures at un- observed nodes of a thermal network, given noisy values of the temperatures measured at observed nodes. The program is based partly on modeling of the heat fluxes among nodes...

In a proposed method of designing a recon- figurable antenna, the design would be opt- imized through evolution in hardware. The proposed method would be a specific instance of an emerging general method of automated synthesis of electronic circuits in hardware. Other specific instances...

The multiplexer/ demultiplexer (MDM) emulator is the first virtual machine that can emulate an avionic computer. New flight software can be easily “dropped in,” increasing operational flexibility. The MDM makes it possible to perform integration more quickly, reducing the need for additional...

A test bench based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has been developed to reduce the cost of testing nonvolatile memory circuits. Specifications for endurance testing of memories can require test times as long as weeks — often impractically long in the case of commercial memory...