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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Novel Catalytic Reactor System for CO₂ Reduction via Sabatier Process
A novel, short-contact-time Microlith Sabatier reactor system for CO2 reduction offers a significant advance in support of manned spaceflight. Compared to the current and prospective alternatives (including microchannels), the reactor is much smaller and lighter, more energy...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Technology for a Comet Sample Return Mission Version 2
A standoff sample collection system would be capable of quickly obtaining a sample from environments as varied as comets, asteroids, and permanently shadowed craters on the Moon from vehicles ranging from traditional planetary spacecraft to platforms such as hovering rotorcraft or balloons at...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Nitrous Oxide Ethane-Ethylene Engine
The Nitrous Oxide Ethylene-Ethane (NEE) engine uses nitrous oxide as an autogenously pressurizing oxidizer, and a mixture of ethane and ethylene is used in the same manner as fuel. Initially, the ethane and ethylene mixture has the same vapor pressure as the nitrous oxide. By using the autogenous pressurization...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Method for Improved Gun-Drilled Cold Plate Fabrication and Inspection
A method was developed for obtaining proper fluid distribution through parallel gun-drilled passages and for being able to inspect the actual drilled passages to guarantee that the designed minimum wall thickness is not violated. This invention uses one feature that addresses...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Powder Handling Device for Analytical Instruments
A new technology provides for automated sample handling and movement of coarse-grained powder or other solid materials to enable analysis by a robotic or totally automated computer system. Currently, many analytical instruments require a powder sample to control the shape and/or volume of the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Improved Light Injection and Detection Methods for fNIRS Headgear for Use in Avionics and Astronautics
Measuring hemoglobin concentration changes in the brain with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a promising technique for monitoring cognitive state to optimize human performance during both aviation and space operations. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A High-Cross-Polarization-Isolation, Multi-Frequency Antenna for Cloud and Precipitation Research
The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) has an immediate need for a matched-beam Ku-band/Ka-band antenna system that can be used as a component of a ground validation radar. Retrieval techniques based on both polarization and differential absorption at...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
External Magnetic Field Reduction Technique for Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator
Linear alternators coupled to Stirling power converters are promising candidates for high-efficiency heat-to-electricity power conversion in space. Presently, the external magnetic field emissions of such converters may exceed the allowed emission limits for...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Advanced P-Band Spaceborne Radar System
Low-cost, flexible spaceborne radar architectures are needed to provide critical data for Earth and science applications. An instrument concept was developed for an advanced spaceborne radar system that can measure terrestrial biomass (woody mass per unit area), ecosystem structure (height and density), and...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Wildfires that start in backcountry areas sometimes burn for hours before being detected and reported. Satellites offer a vantage point from which infrared sensors can detect fires. Individual satellites in...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Compact Solid-State Entangled Photon Source
In the fields of quantum information, quantum optics, quantum cryptography, and quantum communications, there is a need to generate entangled photon pairs. The entangled photon pairs are described by an inseparable wave equation such that if a measurement is performed on one photon, its twin’s photon...
Briefs: Information Technology
Interface Validation for Distributed Software Systems
As a result of performing IV&V (Independent Verification and Validation) on Space Station software, a number of interface faults were found during integrated testing or actual software deployment. Faults found at this late phase of the software development lifecycle are very expensive to...
Briefs: Information Technology
Simple, Scalable, Script-Based Science Processing Archive
Simple, Scalable, Script-based, Science Processing (S4P) Archive (S4PA) is a disk-based data-archiving system for remote sensing data. It is based on the data-driven framework of S4P. The system is used for new data transfer, data preprocessing, metadata generation, and data archival. The...
Briefs: Software
A Model-Driven Science Data Product Registration Service
The Planetary Data System (PDS) has undertaken an effort to overhaul the PDS data architecture (e.g., data model, data structures, data dictionary, etc.) and deploy a software system (online data services, distributed data catalog, etc.) that fully embraces the PDS federation as an integrated...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Very few industries are as affected by strict test standards as the automotive sector. Nearly every automobile component (engine parts, accelerators, clutches,...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Photogrammetric Recession Measurement
The testing of materials that ablate as a design function requires detailed time history of the ablation process. The rate at which the surface recedes during testing is a critically important measure of the performance of thermal protection system (TPS) materials like heat shields for aerospace vehicles....
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Tissue-Equivalent Radiation Dosimeteron-a-Chip with Plastic Scintillation Material
The complexity of spaceflight design requires reliable, fault-tolerant equipment capable of providing real-time dosimetry during a mission, which is not feasible with existing thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) technology. Real-time monitoring is important for...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Measurement of Cryogenic Fluid Level with Laser Propagation and Surface Floor Reflection
The risks associated with introducing new hardware and methods into an operational environment have in part prohibited cryogen level measurement technology from advancing. In prior art, measurements have been made with invasive probes immersed in the cryogenic...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Video Acuity Measurement System
There is a widely acknowledged need for metrics to quantify the performance of video systems. Existing metrics are either difficult to measure or are largely theoretical. They do not reflect the full range of effects to which video may be subject, or do not relate easily to video performance in real-world tasks. The...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Heat-Flow Probe Design and Development
The lunar regolith exhibits extremely low conductivity. Penetrating the regolith presents problems if the geo-technical properties of the regolith are not well understood and accounted for.
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Photovoltaic cell arrays are used on robotic rovers on the Mars surface, but dust accumulation on the surface of the solar cells reduces their exposure to light radiation and thus degrades their performance. Dust...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
An acoustic modem that uses a separate phased-array transmitter and receiver has been conceived that allows the communication of high-frequency acoustic waves sideways...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Biofeedback System for Optimal Athletic Performance
ZONE (Zeroing Out Negative Effects) is a method of biofeedback training for optimal athletic performance. ZONE is designed to improve athletes’ responses to stress, anxiety, and loss of concentration during competition. In the training environment, when the user successfully attains an optimal...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Methods for Clock and Reset Synchronization in a CMOS Integrated Circuit
In high-integrity systems, a method of assuring integrity called a self-checking pair is employed. A self-checking pair is a logical grouping of two of the same devices performing the same operation and cross-checking each other to ensure correct operation. In this manner, a...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
This innovation is a wideband, high-power, high-efficiency, all-solid-state microwave power module (SSMPM) or amplifier for a multifunction spacecraft payload that operates,...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Communication Monitoring System for Enhanced Situational Awareness
The system and method of reconfigurable Auditory-Visual Display creates a multi-mode communications environment with the express intent of increasing situational awareness for the operator (controller), and for reducing operator fatigue. Situational awareness is increased by a...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
NASA’s next-generation launch vehicles will be enabled by high-performance composite materials and innovative manufacturing methods. As such, NASA uses adhesively...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Ohmic Contact to N- and P-Type Silicon Carbide
Electrical ohmic contacts can be simultaneously formed on silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductors having donor and acceptor impurities (n- and p-type doping, respectively). This implies that such contacts can be formed on SiC layers in one process step during the fabrication of the semiconductor device....
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Flap Edge Noise Reduction Fins
Aircraft noise is a significant problem with both economic and public health implications, especially for communities near airports. As a result, increasingly stringent constraints are being placed on aircraft carriers worldwide to reduce this noise. The current disclosure focuses on airframe noise generated at or...
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