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Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Radiation-Hardened 10BASE-T Ethernet Physical Interface (PHY)
The EXPRESS Logistics Carrier (ELC) system was built by NASA Goddard for installation on the International Space Station (ISS). Four ELC systems are on ISS. Each ELC site includes two data nodes. The ELC requirements call for a radiation-hardened 10BASE-T Ethernet interface at each data...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
This radiation-hardened, compact, low-power, quad 12-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC) application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) incorporates science-driven features...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Use of Eccentric Bushings to Precision-Locate Multiple Parts on a Large Mating Structure
Cups/cones are being used to provide a shear load transfer capability on a large separation interface that uses multiple discreet retention and release (R&R) devices (such as frangible nuts, separation nuts, separation bolts, etc.). To both provide good...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
There is a need for large mirrors that can be launched to various bodies in the solar system in a packed form and unfolded to provide the required dimensions. The solution to...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Six-Degree-of-Freedom Control With Only Eight Thrusters
Typical spacecraft thruster configurations are often unable to provide full six-degree-of-freedom control and may have unwanted interaction between their attitude control and trajectory control functions, have undesirably high instantaneous electrical power demands, and use more thrusters than...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Precise Direct Control of Pressure or Vacuum Using a Digitally Controlled Actuator
A closed/semi-open pressure or vacuum system uses an electric screw mechanical actuator that can be digitally controlled and monitored, and which receives feedback directly from an external or internal source. This innovation can adjust for media temperature changes,...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Irreversible Entropy Production Rate in High-Pressure Turbulent Reactive Flows
To model high-pressure reactive flows, the most promising methodology is large eddy simulation (LES) in which one solves the large scales of the problem and models the small scales. There is currently no guidance as to the relative importance of small scales originating...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Piezoelectric Actuator for a 2-inch Isolation Cryogenic Valve
This project is focused on the development of a high-force, high-speed piezoelectric actuator for control of a 2-inch (≈5-cm) isolation valve application in a cryogenic vacuum environment. The piezo motor actuators on the two cryogenic isolation valves were successfully tested at NASA...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Torque Plug Actuator Design for Sample Return Sample Tubes
During the transportation of any sample material, it is important to ensure that no damage or contamination of the sample occurs while in transit. This concept is extremely important within the sample caching rover sample return architecture. Adequately sealing the sample tubes is important...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Stable, Flat Packaging Concepts for Large Detector Arrays
A ceramic vacuum chuck is used to hold large detector arrays flat while being attached parallel to a rigid substrate. Once held in the vacuum chuck, the component is typically seized by epoxy against a rigid substrate. The problem that interferes with this operation happens when the epoxy...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
W-band active phased array antennas have a very small inter-element pitch (≈2 mm). In this innovation, instead of trying to integrate isolators into the unit cell...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
There has been a great deal of interest in building bolometers from hightemperature superconductors due to their high transition temperatures and the...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Uniformly Etched Lateral Gratings Applied to Pre-existing Ridge Waveguides
There is great difficulty in implementing lateral gratings in GaSb-based lasers. Commercially, single-frequency GaSb lasers have been fabricated using metal gratings deposited laterally to the ridge-waveguide (RWG) stripe. The disadvantage of this is that the laser...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
High-Precision Thin Film Metal Liftoff Technique
The objective of this work was to develop a thin film metal liftoff process that would allow one to accurately pattern two-micron-wide (or wider) features. The goal of this innovation was to pattern thin metal films on silicon substrates. The thin metal films can be deposited using physical vapor...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Process for 3D Printer Filament Fabrication
Conventional filament extrusion processes are unsuitable for recycling materials on the International Space Station due to requirements for continuous monitoring and tuning, as well as poor filament dimensional control. The Positrusion process recycles scrap or waste thermoplastics into filament for 3D...
Briefs: Communications
Confidence Intervals for the Bit Error Rate of Coded Communications Systems
The bit error rate (BER) is a wellunderstood metric for measuring communications system performance. When a system is not amenable to analytical performance analysis, a Monte Carlo simulation is often used to determine the performance. In such simulations, it is necessary...
Briefs: Communications
Final High-Fidelity Down-Conversion Source for Secure Communications Using On-Demand Single Photons
Secure communication over long distances requires robust encryption. While current encryption algorithms exist using classical methods, there are no unconditionally secure methods of distributing encryption keys classically. However, by exploiting...
Briefs: Communications
Space Telecommunications Radio System Memory Test Application
This software provides a portable, flexible memory testing application meeting the NASA Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) specification. As an STRS-compliant application, the tester application is portable to any STRS-compliant hardware/software platform. Thanks to...
Briefs: Communications
Functional Enhancements to the FPGA Implementation of the Advanced Orbiting System Data Link Protocol
Dynamic frame sizing was added to the existing AOS Packet Service FPGA implementation. This capability provides in-flight system calibration functionality, allowing the spacecraft and ground station the means to optimize a communication link by...
Briefs: Communications
Communication System and Method Over High-Latency, Low-Bandwidth Networks
In high-latency, low-bandwidth networks such as those employed when communicating with an extraterrestrial object via wireless communication over hundreds or thousands of miles, it may be difficult or expensive to communicate large quantities of information in a reliable...
Briefs: Communications
CASH: Framework for Streamlined, Daily Updates
Secure, efficient, and effective communication is critical for the multinational Cassini mission to Saturn. Cassini teams share information through the use of internal Web pages. The challenge was to develop dynamic Web pages that did not require special understanding of HTML complexities and the...
Briefs: Communications
SCaN Optical Link Budget Tool
In response to the requirements of the Space-Based Relay Study (SBRS) undertaken by NASA in 2013, as well as the Integrated Radio and Optical Communications (iROC) project being conducted by NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) beginning in 2012, a calculation procedure was required to rapidly assess the operation of...
Briefs: Medical
Universal Cell-Directed Nanotheranostics
The present invention relates to the field of nanotechnology and, more particularly, to the field of delivery of active agents such as therapeutic and/or imaging agents using micro/nanoscale particles. Porous particles, such as porous silicon particles and porous silica particles, have a number of...
Briefs: Medical
Fluid Preservation System (FPS)
Biological samples contain labile molecules that deteriorate rapidly ex-vivo. Terrestrially, biological samples are preserved either by freezing them (–80 °C) or by including preservation chemicals. While chemical preservation may be ideal for certain molecules, their functionality is selective and can, while...
Briefs: Medical
Using Electromagnetic Time-Variance Magnetic Fields to Generate and Re-Grow Cartilage
Adevice provides electromagnetic pulses at a predetermined frequency that will result in cartilage cell regeneration and regrowth for patients with arthritis, which reduces or eliminates joint cartilage. The device can be wrapped around the joints in a patient...
Briefs: Medical
Computer-Aided Design Tools to Support Human Factors Design Teams
The purpose of this work was to develop a database of human model behavior primitives, which are basic scripts that can be chained together to create simulations of humans performing certain tasks. This is unique in that the human model behaviors were collected using motion capture...
Briefs: Medical
NASA has long recognized the difficulty in providing emergency medical care to astronauts in space. Many aspects of space travel make medical care inherently difficult, and sufficient storage space...
Briefs: Medical
Use of Osteoclast-Inhibiting Compounds to Prevent Radiation-Induced Bone Loss
This technology features a method for preventing or treating radiation-associated loss of bone mass, bone density, or bone strength in a subject. This technology involves administering to the subject an amount of anti-resorptive or osteoclast-inhibiting compound...
Briefs: Information Technology
Automated Generation of Failure Modes and Effects Document from a Simple SysML Model
This software queries a model of system in the MagicDraw program and uses that information to create an Excel spreadsheet that represents a basic FMEA (Failure Modes and Effects Analysis). It automates the generation of an FMEA; the user only has to open MagicDraw,...
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