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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Variable Submillimeter-Wave Delay Line for Cryogenic Use
A variable delay line is being developed as part of a far-infrared or submillimeter- wavelength interferometer that would operate in a vacuum in the cryogenic temperature range. No such delay line for spatial interferometry has previously been built for operation under these conditions.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Precise Air Bearings Redesigned
Highly precise air bearings for suspending objects over an epoxy flat floor in a laboratory have been developed. These bearings float on airgaps 3 to 5 mil (about 0.08 to 0.13 mm) thick. They are modern versions of precise air bearings, developed during the 1960s, that offer a working coefficient of friction of only...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
User’s Guide for ENSAERO
A report summarizes the development, applications, and procedures for use of ENSAERO, a computer program for simulating aeroelastic phenomena (e.g., wing flutter) of aircraft and spacecraft. ENSAERO computes aeroelastic responses by simultaneously numerically integrating Euler and/or Navier-Stokes equations of airflow and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A small robot that travels by hopping has been built and tested. This is a prototype of hopping robots that would carry video cameras and possibly other sensory devices and that are under consideration for use...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Mobile Robot With Foveal Machine Vision
The Foveal Extra-Vehicular Activity Helper-Retriever (FEVAHR) is a mobile robot that features a hierarchical foveal machine-vision system (HFMV). The FEVAHR is a prototype of future robots that could detect, recognize, track, and pursue objects and avoid obstacles while operating autonomously, controlled by...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A mechanism has been developed to serve as an end effector for one of the legs of the Legged Excursion Mechanical Utility Robot (LEMUR) — a walking robot designed for demon- strating robotic...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
The figure depicts a proposed reconfigurable miniature exploratory robotic vehicle (mini- rover) that would serve as a versatile prototype in the development of exploratory robots and...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
A tool has been devised to facilitate the accurate placement of a seal ring between the hubs of two pipe flanges that are to be clamped together. Heretofore, technicians have resorted to...
Briefs: Medical
A diagnostic software system (DSS) now under development is intended to implement artificial neural networks (ANNs) that will analyze magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data to locate foci...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A proposed simple, portable, robust apparatus, capable of automated operation, has been proposed for collecting samples of selected biological or chemical species in harsh environments....
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Radiometer for Measuring Cirrus-Cloud Ice and Water Vapor
An airborne submillimeter-wavelength radiometer, expected to be built and tested in the near future, is designed primarily to yield measurement data that can be processed to quantify the ice contents and mean sizes (and, to some extent, the shapes) of ice crystals in cirrus clouds that range...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
System For Measuring Osmotic Transport Properties of a Membrane
The membrane test cell (MTC) is an automated laboratory apparatus that applies a known osmotic potential across a membrane and measures the kinetics of the resulting transport of solvents across the membrane as a function of time. Data acquired by use of the MTC should prove especially...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Vacuum Leak Detection Using Piezoelectric Film
A technique for detecting a small leak of gas into a vacuum involves the use of a diaphragm made of a thin film of poly (vinylidene fluoride) [PVDF]. To exploit the piezoelectricity of PVDF for this purpose, both sides of the film are coated with thin, electrically conductive layers that serve as...
Briefs: Information Technology
An Off-Line FQPSK-B Software Receiver
Software that performs the functions of an FQPSK-B receiver (and to some extent, an FQPSK-B transmitter) has been developed to reduce the risks and costs associated with the development of hardware FQPSK-B transmitters and receivers. (“FQPSK-B” signifies version B of Feher Quadrature-Phase-Shift Keying,...
Briefs: Information Technology
Update on Web Interactive Training
The Web Interactive Training (WIT) project at Kennedy Space Center has expanded its course offerings, enhanced its technical capabilities, and automated its administrative functions. Aspects of the WIT project at previous stages of development were reported in “Further Developments in Web Interactive Training”...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Quasi-Decoupling of Shvab-Zel’dovich Variables
A paper presents some novel conclusions concerning the Shvab-Zel’dovich (SZ) vari- ables, which are linear combinations of dep- endent variables in mathematical models of multicomponent, chemically reacting flows. The SZ variables represent scalar quantities that are conserved, that is, are not...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Mechanism for Docking a Miniature Spacecraft
This report discusses a proposed docking mechanism to be located in a small hangar on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS). The mechanism would enable docking of a miniature robotic spacecraft (or free flyer) that would carry a video camera and would operate in the vicinity of the ISS....
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Emergency Tether-Deployment-and-Recoil-Mitigating Systems
A report describes an emergency tether-deployment (ETD) system designed to minimize the harm caused by two events that can occur during deployment of tethered payloads from a space shuttle in orbit. One such event is snagging of the tether during payout while the payload is near the shuttle,...
Briefs: Materials
Analysis of Multilayer Thermal Insulation for Reentry
A paper presents a study of multilayer thermal insulations for protecting spacecraft against aerodynamic heating during reentry into a planetary atmosphere. A multilayer insulation considered in the study comprised (1) thin ceramic/composite foils coated with gold for high reflectance...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Assessing Energetic-Ion Effects Using Energetic Protons Only
Two reports describe a method of assessing the susceptibility of digital electronic equipment to upsets (bit errors) caused by impingement of energetic ions (both protons and heavier ions) in outer space.
The method, which is applicable at the single-component, circuit-board, box, and...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Specially shaped mounting rings keep lenses precisely centered, regardless of temperature, in the lens housings of cameras and other optical systems. These rings feature (1) well-defined contact spots for...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
System Would Detect Aircraft to Turn Off Upward-Aimed Laser
An electronic system based on long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) sensors is being developed to detect aircraft flying near an upward-aimed, high-power laser beam. In the intended application, the system would alert a human laser operator and/or generate a signal to turn off the laser whenever...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
The figure schematically depicts a proposed achromatic nulling beam combiner. This instrument is intended for use in astronomy - principally, for attenuating light from stars or other bright sources...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
An improved optical polarizer has been proposed for use with a high-energy pulsed laser. This polarizer would separate the p- and s-polarized components (the components polarized parallel and...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Rugged Laser-Diode Oxygen Sensor
A rugged laser-diode oxygen sensor is being developed for detecting leaks of oxygen from diverse systems, including rocket engines, cryogenic systems, and medical equipment. The sensor is required to have a range of 250 to 250,000 parts per million, to be accurate within 5 percent, to be capable of operating at any...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
A proposed thermographic technique would exploit the unique fluorescence characteristics of yttrium vanadate doped with dysprosium (YVO4:Dy3+). The particular aspect of the fluorescence characteristics that...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Carbon-composite submounts tipped with diamond are being developed as improved means of dissipating heat generated in high-power laser diodes. Copper is the traditional heat-sinking...
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