Tech Briefs

A comprehensive library of technical briefs from engineering experts at NASA and major government, university, and commercial laboratories covering all aspects of innovations in electronics, software, photonics, imaging, motion control, automation, sensors, test, materials, manufacturing, mechanical, and mechatronics.

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Briefs: Software
TIE: The Imagery Exchange for the NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) Project
The NASA Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a data-centric system designed for processing and archiving from NASA’s Earth Observation missions and their distribution, as well as provision of specialized services to users. The major...
Briefs: Software
Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Game Phase III
The Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program is responsible for providing communications and navigation services to spaceflight missions located throughout the solar system. Astronauts, mission controllers, and scientists depend upon the reliable transmission of information between...
Briefs: Software
Adverse Condition and Critical Event Prediction Toolbox (ACCEPT)
Many natural or complex engineered systems rely upon critical functions or processes that can be measured with the aid of various sensors or other novel devices. As a result, sensor and measurement data can be used to learn a parametric or non-parametric model of the behavior for a...
Briefs: Software
MATLAB Webification Science Client
The Matlab Webification Science Client consists of several functions that access remote w10n-sci repositories to retrieve data. It supports user sessions to authenticate and authorize access to restricted repositories. In command line mode, it can list the contents of a w10n-sci node, change to other nodes, and...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
CUDA Framework for Linear Time-Invariant Control of Adaptive Optics Systems
Current science objectives, such as high-contrast imaging of exoplanets, have led to the development of high-order adaptive optics (AO) systems possessing several thousand deformable mirror (DM) actuators. These systems typically rely on integrator-based control...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Invertible Time Invariant Linear Filtering (InTILF) Method for Pattern Detection and Modeling of Stochastic One- or Two-Dimensional Data
X-ray astronomy offers the opportunity to observe important phenomena, including the early accretion of massive black holes and detecting diffuse ionized intergalactic gas that is heated to X-ray temperatures...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
One-Micron (1064-nm) Planar External Cavity Laser (PLANEX)
Ahighly reliable, very low-phase, and low-amplitude-noise laser is required as an oscillator for the LISA mission. A commercial product made by Redfern Integrated Optics met these requirements (1550-nm PLANEX External Cavity Laser), but it operated at 1.5 microns, not the required LISA...
Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Stereoscopic Imaging in Hypersonic Boundary Layers Using Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence
Stereoscopic time-resolved visualization of three-dimensional structures in a hypersonic flow was performed for the first time in NASA Langley Research Center’s 31-inch Mach 10 Air Tunnel. Nitric oxide (NO) was seeded into hypersonic boundary layer flows...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
During instrument flight training, the pilot must have his/her view through the aircraft windscreen restricted to simulate low-visibility conditions while permitting the pilot to view the...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Method for Ground-to-Satellite Laser Calibration System
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed the Ground-to-Space Laser Calibration (GSLC) system concept for calibrating Earth observing sensors measuring reflected radiance. GSLC is capable of calibrating sensitivity to polarization, degradation of optics, and response to stray light of...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a new Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) method for identifying and characterizing hidden damage in composite materials. The new technique requires...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
NASA’s Langley Research Center researchers developed DAMAS using an iterative algorithm to deconvolute noise signals, allowing for more...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a high-precision electric gate (HPEG) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer to study the magnetosphere of Jupiter...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
Method of Adjusting Acoustic Impedances for Impedance-Tunable Acoustic Segments
NASA’s Langley Research Center researchers have developed an adaptive noise-reduction system that optimizes impedance in an aircraft engine. Aerospace and automotive engineers can take advantage of this innovative system that offers a superior approach to noise...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Nanostructure Neutron Converter Layer Development
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a nanostructure neutron converter layer that can be used for neutron detection. Neutron radiation is a significant risk in long-duration spaceflight and is also a risk in commercial aviation and nuclear reactors. This invention provides for more...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Mars Science Laboratory ChemCam Sun Safety
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) ChemCam instrument can be damaged when the Sun enters or passes through its field of view (FOV). There is no Sun cover, yet other instruments mounted with boresights pointing in the same direction must observe the Sun for scientific observations and for attitude...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
In collaboration with the State University of New York and the Naval Research Laboratory, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is developing a hyperspectral estimator to...
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Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a waveform processing technique to eliminate signal noise resulting from sources of interference (scatterers) that can degrade continuous wave...
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Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Data Informatics Infrastructure for the Megacities Carbon Project
With the goal of assessing the anthropogenic carbon-emission impact of urban centers on local and global climates, the Megacities Carbon Project has been building carbon-monitoring capabilities for the past two years around the Los Angeles metropolitan area as a pilot effort....
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) seeks partners interested in the commercial application of the Activated Metal Treatment System (AMTS) for treating polychlorinated...
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Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Airborne Elastic Backscatter and Raman Polychromator for Ash Detection
Volcanic ash is a significant hazard to aircraft engines and electronics. It has caused damage to unwary aircraft and disrupted air travel for thousands of travelers, costing millions of dollars. The small, jagged fragments of rocks, minerals, and volcanic glass that constitute...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Carbon Nanofibers Synthesized on Selective Substrates for Nonvolatile Memory and 3D Electronics Applications
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has developed a nano-electro-mechanical resonator (NEMR) based on vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (CNFs) that is suitable for applications requiring high sensitivity, broad tenability, low loss (high...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA’s Langley Research Center offers an all-organic electroactive device system fabricated with single-wall carbon...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA technologists have developed a novel, superconducting transition edge sensor (TES). Such TES devices are thermometers that are widely used for particle...
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Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics
NASA’s Glenn Research Center has developed nanoionic-based radio frequency (RF) switches for use in devices that rely on low-power RF transmissions, such as automotive systems, RFID...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed a method of using x-ray diffraction (XRD) to detect defects in cubic semiconductor...
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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Researchers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center have developed software-defined radio (SDR) telemetry transceiver technology to collect and transmit data to and from small...
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Briefs: Aerospace
Miles-In-Trail with Passback Restrictions for Use in Air Traffic Management
NASA has developed a unique innovation to compute passed back spacing requirements in air traffic management. The air traffic managers of the National Airspace System (NAS) in the United States regularly implement various Traffic Management Initiatives (TMI) to handle...
Briefs: Aerospace
A new engine concept from NASA’s Glenn Research Center allows for truly distributed propulsion. The concept enables airframe and system modularity by...
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