Magazine

USU-Perigee is a dwarf red spring wheat that is a hybrid of a high-yield early tall wheat (USU-Apogee) and a low-yield, extremely short wheat that has poor agronomic characteristics. USU-Perigee was selected for its extremely short height (≈0.3 m) and high yield — characteristics that make it...

An optical gas-detection sensor safely monitors pressurized systems (such as cryogenic tanks) and distribution systems for leaks. This sensor system is a fiber-coupled, solid optical body interferometer that allows for the miniaturized sensing element of the device to be placed in the...

For humidity and temperature sounding of Earth’s atmosphere, a single-antenna/LNA (low-noise amplifier) is needed in place of two separate antennas for the two frequency bands. This results in significant mass and power savings for GeoSTAR that is comprised of hundreds of...

Nulling interferometry is a technique for imaging exoplanets in which light from the parent star is suppressed using destructive interference. Light from the star is divided into two beams and a phase shift of π radians is introduced into one of the beams. When the beams are...

Three options have been developed for Fine Guidance Sensing (FGS) for coronagraphic observatories using a Fine Guidance Camera within a coronagraphic instrument. Coronagraphic observatories require very fine precision pointing in order to image faint objects at very small distances from a...

When the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is launched, the spacecraft adaptor (SA) fairings that cover the CEV service module (SM) are exposed to aero heating. Thermal analysis is performed to compute the fairing temperatures and to investigate whether the temperatures are within the...

The original Luby Transform (LT) coding scheme is extended to account for data transmissions where some information symbols in a message block are more important than others. Prioritized LT codes provide unequal error protection (UEP) of data on an erasure channel by modifying the original LT encoder. The prioritized algorithm...

Texture analysis would permit improved autonomous, onboard science data interpretation for adaptive navigation, sampling, and downlink decisions. These analyses would assist with terrain analysis and instrument placement in both macroscopic and microscopic image data products. Unfortunately,...

An improved computational model for simulating flows in liquid-propellant injectors in rocket engines has been developed. Models like this one are needed for predicting fluxes of heat in, and performances of, the engines. An important part of predicting performance is predicting fluctuations of...

New pointing models have been developed for large reflector antennas whose construction is founded on elevation over azimuth mount. At JPL, the new models were applied to the Deep Space Network (DSN) 34-meter antenna’s subnet for corrections of their systematic pointing errors; it...

Spacecraft formation flying involves the coordination of states among multiple spacecraft through relative sensing, inter-spacecraft communication, and control. Most existing formation-flying estimation algorithms can only be supported via highly...

A method was developed for in-orbit measurement of the relative pointing of spectrometer channels, and the relationship between the spectrometer channels and the spacecraft coordinate system. In this innovation, individual scans of the Moon, from the three channels, were used to...

Multibody dynamics play a critical role in simulation testbeds for space missions. There has been a considerable interest in the development of efficient computational algorithms for solving the dynamics of multibody systems. Mass matrix factorization and inversion techniques and the O(N)...

A new type of correlation has been developed similar to quantum entanglement in self-supervised dynamics (SSD). SSDs have been introduced as a quantum-classical hybrid based upon the Madelung equation in which the quantum potential is replaced by an information potential. As a result, SSD preserves the...

A paper describes advanced ceramic column grid array (CCGA) packaging interconnects technology test objects that were subjected to extreme temperature thermal cycles. CCGA interconnect electronic package printed wiring boards (PWBs) of polyimide were...

A document discusses a method of controlling touch and go (TAG) of a spacecraft to correct attitude, while ensuring a safe ascent. TAG is a concept whereby a spacecraft is in contact with the surface of a small body, such as a comet or asteroid, for a few seconds or less before...

A document discusses a mechanism that uses flex-pivots in a parallelogram arrangement to provide frictionless motion with an unlimited lifetime. A voice-coil actuator drives the parallelogram over the required 5-cm travel. An optical position sensor...

Chad R. Frost supervises the Autonomous Systems and Robotics (ASR) technical area in Ames Research Center's Intelligent Systems Division. ASR staff develops advanced automation and control technologies to...

This technology gives hard-surface plastics a soft and moist feel by imposing a “grain” or texturing onto the surface. It has application in automotive interiors, household utensils, electronics, mobile phones, and other locations where a hard plastic surface...

AIST has developed organic materials that melt from solid to liquid with only the irradiation of light, without heating, and can be restored to their original solid state. Unlike irreversible photosensitive resins, which cannot be restored to their original state after their state has...

A company seeks a simple, real-time way to identify that a plant area is clear of beryllium contamination and, if it is not, to obtain a general assessment of the level of contamination that may be present without having to send swabs to a laboratory for testing....

An organization seeks expertise or technology to modify the viscosity of a mini-emulsion during storage to prevent leakage of the liquid from its container at 35 °C and above. During storage in an ambient-pressure container, the mini-emulsion must maintain a high viscosity so that...

The production of oxygen and metals from off-Earth planetary materials (regolith or rocks) is an important focus area of technology development led by the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Project. Over the past few years, oxygen production by direct electrolysis of lunar oxides in molten form has...