A report discusses a modification of the ICER image-data-compression algorithm to increase the accuracy of ranging computations performed on compressed stereoscopic image pairs captured by cameras aboard the Mars Exploration Rovers. (ICER and variants thereof were discussed in several...

A vacuum compressor has been designed to compress CO2 from ˜1 psia (˜6.9 kPa absolute pressure) to ˜75 psia (˜0.52 MPa), to be insensitive to moisture, to have a long operational life, and to be lightweight, compact, and efficient. The compressor consists mainly of (1) a...

A recently developed data-compression method is an adaptive technique for coding quantized wavelet-transformed data, nominally as part of a complete image-data compressor. Unlike some other approaches, this method admits a simple implementation and does not rely on the use of large code tables.

A recently developed data-compression method is an adaptive technique for coding quantized wavelet-transformed data, nominally as part of a complete image-data compressor. Unlike some other approaches, this method admits a simple implementation and does not rely on the use of large code tables.

A report discusses a modified design of a Joule-Thomson (JT) refrigerator under development to be incorporated into scientific instrumentation aboard a spacecraft.In most other JT refrigerators (including common household refrigerators), the temperature of the evaporator (the cold stage) is kept...

Algorithm for Controlling a Centrifugal Compressor An algorithm has been developed for controlling a centrifugal compressor that serves as the prime mover in a heatpump system. Experimental studies have shown that the operating conditions for maximum compressor efficiency are close to the boundary...

ASTROP2-LE is a computer program that predicts flutter and forced responses of blades, vanes, and other components of such turbomachines as fans, compressors, and turbines. ASTROP2-LE is based on the ASTROP2 program, developed previously for analysis of stability of turbomachinery components. In developing...

An improved closed-loop, two-stage pulse-tube refrigerator provides 4 W of cooling power at a temperature of 15 K. The original intended application of this refrigerator is in preventing boiloff of liquid hydrogen from a propellant tank aboard a spacecraft. The basic refrigerator design can also be...

A thermoelectric contact cooler/ freezer is designed to utilize thermal conduction to rapidly freeze blood and urine samples in test tubes and syringes. This apparatus is dependable, wastes little energy, contains no moving parts other than a fan, can operate in a wide temperature range and in any orientation...

A solar-powered vapor-compression refrigeration system developed for Johnson Space Center operates without batteries. The design of this system will make the cost of solar-powered refrigeration systems competitive and enable the use of such systems in long-distance spaceflights, military field...

A report describes experiments in which digital particle-image velocimetry (digital PIV) was used to measure the flow field in the diffuser of a high-speed centrifugal compressor. In digital PIV, a sheet of pulsed laser light illuminates a flow field seeded with small tracer particles,...

NESTEM is a computer code that is a combination of a heat-transfer-analysis subprogram and a NASA in-house probabilistic-analysis code called "NESSUS" (for Numerical Evaluation of StochasticStructures Under Stress). NESTEM can be used to analyze a complex combustor thermal environment with...

A report discusses experiments on the flow of water along the interior of a transparent rotating cylindrical drum, the interior of which was partitioned into five cavities by disks with central holes and outer edges attached to the cylindrical drum wall. This water-flow model was designed to provide...