Electrical/​Electronics

be secured to a mating carrier by use of screws or epoxy; this mounting scheme helps the housings and their contents to withstand severe vibrations and ensures thermal conduction for dissipation of heat generated during operation of the contained circuitry. The circuits contained in the...

"Micro-CPI" (wherein "CPI" signifies "cloud-particle imager") is the name of a small, lightweight electronic camera that has been proposed for use in research on clouds. The Micro-CPI would be incorporated into a small autonomous or remotely piloted airplane of a type that is now used in...

The Pilot Weather Advisor (PWA) system is an automated satellite radio-broadcasting system that provides nearly realtime weather data to pilots of aircraft in flight anywhere in the continental United States. The system was designed to enhance safety in two distinct ways: First, the automated receipt of...

A sensor system was proposed that would monitor spaceflight bioreactor parameters. Not only will this technology be invaluable in the space program for which it was developed, it will find applications in medical science and industrial laboratories as well.

An electronic control unit has been fabricated and tested that can be replicated as a universal interface between the electronic infrastructure of a spacecraft and a brushless-motor (or other electromechanical actuator) driven mechanism that performs a specific mechanical function within the overall...

A flostation is a computer-controlled apparatus that, along with one or more computer(s) and other computer-controlled equipment, is part of an immersive cyberspace system. The system is said to be “immersive” in two senses of the word: (1) It supports the body in a modified form neutral posture...

A programmable pulse-position- modulation (PPM) encoder has been designed for use in testing an optical communication link. The encoder includes a programmable state machine and an electronic code book that can be updated to accommodate different PPM coding schemes. The encoder includes a...

A document discusses selected aspects of a continuing effort to develop five micro-imagers for both still and video monitoring of cell cultures to be grown aboard the International Space Station. The approach taken in this effort is to modify and augment pre-existing electronic micro- cameras....

A microprocessor- controlled lighting system generates brief, precisely timed, high- intensity flashes of light for scientific imaging at frame rates up to about 1 kHz. The system includes an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are driven in synchronism with an externally generated...

Multilayer thermoelectric devices now at the prototype stage of development exhibit a combination of desirable characteristics, including high figures of merit and high performance/cost ratios. These devices are capable of producing temperature differences of the order of 50 K in operation at or...

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...