Tech Briefs

Electronics & Software

Access our comprehensive library of technical briefs on electronics and software, from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories.

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Briefs: Communications
Integrated Tool Archives, Extracts, and Analyzes Spacecraft Housekeeping Telemetry Data (GMSEC R3.0)
The Integrated Trending and Plotting System (ITPS) is a comprehensive tool for storage, extraction, analysis, and plots of spacecraft housekeeping telemetry data (GMSEC R3.0 — Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center). ITPS reports information to...
Briefs: Communications
Low-Noise Analog APDs with Impact Ionization Engineering and Negative Feedback
Silicon avalanche photodiodes (Si APDs) have low dark current and low excess noise factor, and are currently used in many of NASA’s missions. Noise equivalent power (NEP) of 40 to 50 fW/(Hz)1/2 over 140-MHz bandwidth has been demonstrated for Si APDs. Si APDs have very...
Briefs: Communications
Method to Improve Wireless System Communication Coverage in a Bended Tunnel Environment
The conventional methods of improving wireless system coverage performance are to increase the transmitter power and/or antenna gain. The high transmit power could lead to more power consumption and RF exposure issues. The use of a high-gain antenna could lead...
Briefs: Software
Space Weather Database of Notifications, Knowledge, Information — DONKI
SW DONKI is a comprehensive Web application for space weather forecasters, scientists, and the general space weather community. It serves as an archive for space weather activities including solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), solar energetic particles, and...
Briefs: Information Technology
Core Flight System (cFS) Software Bus Network Application Version 1.0
The Software Bus Network (SBN) is a plug-in component developed for the Core Flight System (cFS) framework that extends the core Flight Executive (cFE) Software Bus (SB) publish/subscribe messaging service across partitions, processes, processors, and networks. This extension is...
Briefs: Information Technology
STARS Finite Element Multidisciplinary Analysis Computer Program
An efficient, cost-effective, and unique computer program has been developed that analyzes a variety of practical engineering problems. STructural Analysis Routines (STARS) is a fully integrated, multidisciplinary, finite element-based, graphic-oriented analysis tool that combines...
Briefs: Software
Hazards Analysis Management Tool
The Hazard Analysis Management Tool (HAMT) is comprised of a database and user interface that manages hazard analysis information, manages hazard verifications, and manages relationships between hazard attributes and project elements. The tool offers numerous benefits including the ability for multiple users to...
Briefs: Information Technology
Developing Web and Mobile Applications Integrated with Systems Utilizing the Object Management Group’s Data Distribution Service
Several software application development tools exist that enable the rapid development of Web applications. Among other things, Web applications greatly enhance the human-computer interaction (HCI) required by many...
Briefs: Information Technology
Synthetic Imaging Maneuver Optimization — SIMO
Space-based interferometry missions have the potential to revolutionize imaging and astrometry, providing observations of unprecedented accuracy. Realizing the full potential of these interferometers poses several significant technological challenges. These include the efficient maneuvering of...
Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
Existing implementations of continuous wave (CW) radar are not packaged appropriately for use as part of a heartbeat detection system for disaster search and rescue. They use separately packaged microwave...
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Briefs: Materials
White, Electrically Conductive, Radiation-Stable, Thermal Control Coating
A highly reflective, white conductive coating system was developed using a layered approach with a combination of commercially available white conductive pigments within a conductive binder system. The top coating is a space-stable, radiation-resistant, highly reflective...
Briefs: Lighting
High-Performance Photocatalytic Oxidation Reactor System
As crewed space missions extend beyond low Earth orbit, the need to reliably recover potable water is critical. Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the water is recycled from cabin humidity condensate, urine distillate, and hygiene wash wastes. In spacecraft cabin air environments,...
Briefs: Propulsion
Pyramid Micro-Electrofluidic-Spray Propulsion Thruster with Integrated Attitude and Thrust Vector Control
A micro-electrofluidic-spray propulsion (MEP) system was built on a micro scale, in which arrays of hundreds of nano-thrusters are etched on silicon wafers like ICs, only a centimeter on a side. Many dozens of these thruster chips can be...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
The work described here is part of the U.S. Air Force-sponsored Operational Based Vision Assessment (OBVA) program that has been tasked with developing a high-fidelity flight...
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Lunar Cold Trap Contamination by Landing Vehicles
The emerging interest in lunar mining poses a threat of contamination to pristine craters at the lunar poles, which act as cold traps for water, and may harbor other valuable minerals. Lunar Prospector type missions will be looking for volatile (molecular) compounds that may be masked by the exhaust...
Briefs: Software
Visualization of Terascale Datasets with Imposters
The interactive visualization of large astrophysical datasets is a formidable challenge. Cosmological simulations performed on current terascale facilities typically generate datasets up to 100 gigabytes in size. In order to understand the complex three-dimensional structure within these...
Briefs: Software
Transforming DAVE-ML Models to Executable C/C++
DMLtoC.xsl is an XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) transform that converts a vehicle model described in DAVE-ML (an XML markup language) into a “C” language version of the same model. DAVE-ML is a markup language for describing aerodynamic vehicle models. A DAVE-ML...
Briefs: Software
Context-Based Configuration Management System
This invention provides a visual and textual system, including a set of intuitive icons representing different activities, for indicating status of and/or change in a document or documents and/or in project operations, using the icons to indicate the presence of different classes of changes that have...
Briefs: Software
Mesh: Lightweight Grid Middleware Using Existing Secure Shell Infrastructure
A software-based innovation called Mesh was developed that provides a single sign-on capability to the built-in public key authentication mechanism of Secure Shell (SSH) using system call interposition. Mesh is a secure, lightweight grid middleware. Each Mesh installation...
Briefs: Software
Delay Tolerant Networking Contact Graph Routing MACHETE Model
This simulation environment of Contact Graph Routing that uses the QualNet network simulator leverages the previously developed space communication models. This software models the Contact Graph Routing (CGR) system proposed for future NASA missions and used in DINETl and DINET2...
Briefs: Software
JavaGenes Data Optimization
JavaGenes is a general-purpose software program that implements several different data optimization techniques. The program is intended for problems that have no gradient, comparing genetic algorithms with stochastic hill climbing and simulated annealing to generate optimal design solutions. JavaGenes can create many...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
A Large-Eddy Simulation Model of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer
The atmospheric boundary layer is the lowermost layer of the atmosphere and is host to a plethora of physical processes that significantly affect weather, climate, and air quality. In many applications, detailed information about the boundary layer is required at high temporal and...
Briefs: Motion Control
Voltage glitches are common in a signal chain path, especially when the system is being powered up or down. Depending on the peak amplitude and glitch duration, the end result in the system...
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Briefs: Motion Control
Conventional piezoelectric materials, such as PZTs, have reasonably high electromechanical coupling over 70%, and excellent performance at room temperature. However, their coupling factor (converting...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Advanced Rolling Mechanics Analysis (AROMA) 1.0
AROMA uses a boundary-element formulation to calculate normal and shear pressure distributions and sub-surface stresses for elastic bodies in contact. In addition to handling static normal and sheer loading, it also solves the contact problem for rolling elements such as bearings, traction drives, and...
Briefs: Software
Multivariate Time Series Search Capability to Identify Complex Patterns in Large Datasets
There exist many datasets that can be viewed as multivariate time series, such as the daily high temperature at a locality, sensor recordings in diagnostic systems and scientific data, and music and video recordings. These time series reside in large...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
NGDCS Linux Application for Imaging-Spectrometer Data Acquisition and Display
A simple method of controlling recording and display of imaging spectrometer data in (airborne) flight was needed. Existing commercial packages were overly complicated, and sometimes difficult to operate in a bouncing plane. The software also was required to keep up with...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Kepler Community Data Analysis Tools
A series of scripts stitch together existing open-source Python modules for the purpose of displaying, cleaning, and measuring photometric properties within public Kepler data. The intent of these tools is to provide convenience to the Kepler science community, and to increase cost efficiency for the project....
Briefs: Information Technology
DARPA’s Mind’s Eye Program aims to develop a smart camera surveillance system that can autonomously monitor a scene and report back human-readable text descriptions of...
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