Electronics & Software

A short report discusses the technical background of, and the need for, special bus-driver software for part of a test-bed computer system that is to be used in experimentation for development of advanced avionics. The system features a scalable, fault-tolerant, distributed architecture that...

A relatively inexpensive, lightweight, durable, easy-to-operate radio-frequency (RF) instrument has been developed, along with special electromagnetic tags, for use in detecting buried objects to which the tags are attached. Each tag comprises a dipole antenna (basically, two collinear...

Software for decoding turbo codes that have been adopted as standard by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems is being developed along with hardware built around integrated-circuit digital signal processors (DSPs) that execute the software. The software enables reliable...

Closed Loop Execution and Recovery (CLEaR) is an artificial-intelligence computer program under devel- opment designed for automated command sequence generation, execution, monitoring, and recovery. As a component of the Deep Space Network’s (DSN’s) prototype Common Automation Engine (CAE), CLEaR...

The Path Planning Graphical User Interface is a computer program that, as its name indi- cates, generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for software that plans paths for robotic vehicles (rovers) to be used in exploration of remote planets. This GUI program is designed for use in conjunction with the A*...

Cellerator is a computer program that auto- matically generates and solves differential equations for complex sets of chemical reac- tions like those in living cells. Cellerator provides a mathematical and computational infra- structure for char- acterizing reaction pathways and the interactions between...

The TMOD (Tele- communications and Mission Operations Directorate) Integrated Ground Resource Allocation and Sched- uling (TIGRAS) computer program provides an integrated computing environment for analysis, allocation, and scheduling of antennas and other ground resources of NASA’s Deep...

A computer program automates the process of collecting, storing, and disseminating information on lessons learned in a large, multi- disciplinary project in which multiple organizations par- ticipate. Developed for the International Space Station project, the program could also be used on...

A computer program undergoing development detects patterns that may differ in size but are otherwise similar to a specified pattern. Con- ceived to enable the automated recognition of features in images of planets and asteroids acquired by exploratory spacecraft, the program can also be used...

Node Prediction for Thermal Networks (NOPTHER) is a computer program that predicts steady-state temperatures at un- observed nodes of a thermal network, given noisy values of the temperatures measured at observed nodes. The program is based partly on modeling of the heat fluxes among nodes...

In a proposed method of designing a recon- figurable antenna, the design would be opt- imized through evolution in hardware. The proposed method would be a specific instance of an emerging general method of automated synthesis of electronic circuits in hardware. Other specific instances...

The multiplexer/ demultiplexer (MDM) emulator is the first virtual machine that can emulate an avionic computer. New flight software can be easily “dropped in,” increasing operational flexibility. The MDM makes it possible to perform integration more quickly, reducing the need for additional...

A test bench based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) has been developed to reduce the cost of testing nonvolatile memory circuits. Specifications for endurance testing of memories can require test times as long as weeks — often impractically long in the case of commercial memory...

A report provides additional information about two major sub- systems of the software system described in “Software for Ground Operations for a Prototype Mars Rover” (NPO-21235), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 11 (November 2001), page 46. The software system was designed for, and...

A report discusses aspects of a ranging system in which the distance between the Earth and a spacecraft is determined from the difference between the phases of (1) modulation on a radio signal trans- mitted to the spacecraft and (2) a replica of the modulation transmitted back to Earth by a transponder on...

The Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (APTMS) comprises electromechanical sensors and sensor output-processing circuits. Designed specifically for measuring offsets between spacecraft payload trunnions and trunnion supports during ground-based payload-transfer operations, the APTMS could be...

Heat is the primary enemy of any electronic component. In order for an electronic device to have a long, problem-free life, cooling must be an important design consideration. The problem of cooling CPUs, in particular, has grown as processors have become more powerful. Water cooling systems...

This report examines design considerations in one of the most promising new areas of engineering – Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Designing and optimizing MEMS devices involves unique challenges, including analyzing the inter- dependent physical phenomena to which MEMS devices are sensitive and working...

A report presents additional information on the devices described in “Noise-Reducing Slots in Quantum-Well Infrared Photodetectors” (NPO-20518), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 25, No. 6 (June 2001), page 6a. To recapitulate: it was proposed that incorporation of suitably dimensioned crossed...

A report presents additional details about a class of massively parallel algorithms for finite-difference numerical solution of time-dependent partial differential equations (PDEs). Some aspects of these algorithms were described in two previous articles in NASA Tech Briefs; namely, “Massively Parallel...

Five-Axis, Three-Magnetic-Bearing Control Code (FATMaCC) is a C++-language computer program for controlling a magnetic thrust bearing in one degree of freedom and two magnetic radial bearings, each in two degrees of freedom. These bearings levitate a vertical-axis rotor for experiments on...

An artificial-intelligence computer program generates and evaluates plans for spacecraft missions subject to constraints associated with spacecraft designs. The input to the program includes spacecraft design parameters (e.g., slew rates and battery capacities) and mission parameters (e.g.,...