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The skirt that supports a composite-overwrapped tank would be made an integral part of the composite overwrap, according to a proposal. In current practice, the structure that supports a composite-overwrap tank usually includes a layer of rubber between the tank and its skirt. The rubber layer...

Experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of heat exchangers with flow channels containing open-cell metallic foams. Nonmetallic foams could also be used. One proposed design calls for an open-cell foam in the annular region between an inner and an outer tube, with a heat-transfer fluid flowing along the annular region...

An automatic tunneling-controlled, micromachined Golay cell has been implemented in a multichip integrated-circuit module. The module is designed specifically for sensing infrared radiation indicative of the concentration of glucose in blood, but its low noise, high gain, and low power...

A report comprising the main contents of U. S. Patent 5,750,895 presents detailed information on the subject of "Apparatus for Advanced Ultrasonic C-Scan Imaging (GSC-13524), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 21, No. 4 (April 1997), page 34. The apparatus is a computer-controlled ultrasonic C-scan...

In a proposed modification of the basic design of a Michelson interferometer, the beam aperture would be split into a number (N ≧ 2) of smaller areas and the optics arranged so that the beam in each area would generate a distinct segment of the overall desired interferogram. Each segment of the...

A computer program has been developed to serve as the means for setting up, controlling, and receiving information on the status of a forward-link-simulator card in a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) Alpha computer that runs the Digital UNIX operating system. The program performs functions of...

Two improvements have been made to solve two problems that arise in conjunction with a fabrication process in which an HgCdTe photodetector is mounted on an alumina substrate with epoxy. Although most of the HgCdTe-photodetector industry has abandoned this process in favor of epitaxial...

A report describes a method of detecting leakage in one of the 16 thrusters of the Cassini spacecraft. The detection method, implemented as part of the spacecraft flight software, is based on the fact that the three-axis rotational motion of a spacecraft is governed by the Euler's equation. The...

The Wallops Flight Facility of the Goddard Space Flight Center has designed and built in-house a Mobile Range Control System (MRCS), which is a self-contained system to be deployed in support of rocket launches at remote ranges in cases in which termination of flight may be required for...