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Briefs: Information Technology
Small-Scale Dissipation in Binary-Species Transitional Mixing Layers
Motivated by large eddy simulation (LES) modeling of supercritical turbulent flows, transitional states of databases obtained from direct numerical simulations (DNS) of binary-species supercritical temporal mixing layers were examined to understand the subgrid-scale dissipation,...
Briefs: Information Technology
Coding for Parallel Links To Maximize the Expected Value of Decodable Messages
When multiple parallel communication links are available, it is useful to consider link-utilization strategies that provide tradeoffs between reliability and throughput. Interesting cases arise when there are three or more available links. Under the model considered, the...
Briefs: Information Technology
Superpixel-Augmented Endmember Detection for Hyperspectral Images
Superpixels are homogeneous image regions comprised of several contiguous pixels. They are produced by shattering the image into contiguous, homogeneous regions that each cover between 20 and 100 image pixels. The segmentation aims for a many-to-one mapping from superpixels to image...
Briefs: Lighting
This report summarizes results from a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project. The collaborative effort of researchers from Sandia National Laboratories and Rensselaer...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
The High Altitude Airship (HAA) has various application potential and mission scenarios that require onboard energy harvesting and power distribution systems. The power...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
A²⁰¹Hg⁺ Comagnetometer for ¹⁹⁹Hg⁺ Trapped Ion Space Atomic Clocks
A method has been developed for unambiguously measuring the exact magnetic field experienced by trapped mercury ions contained within an atomic clock intended for space applications. In general, atomic clocks are insensitive to external perturbations that would change...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
SpaceCube 2.0: An Advanced Hybrid Onboard Data Processor
The SpaceCube 2.0 is a compact, high-performance, low-power onboard processing system that takes advantage of cutting-edge hybrid (CPU/FPGA/DSP) processing elements. The SpaceCube 2.0 design concept includes two commercial Virtex-5 field-programmable gate array (FPGA) parts protected by...
Briefs: Lighting
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
This report summarizes results from a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project. The...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Multi-Segment Radius Measurement Using an Absolute Distance Meter Through a Null Assembly
This system was one of the test methods considered for measuring the radius of curvature of one or more of the 18 segmented mirrors that form the 6.5 m diameter primary mirror (PM) of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The assembled telescope will be...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Fiber-Optic Magnetic-Field-Strength Measurement System for Lightning Detection
A fiber-optic sensor system is designed to measure magnetic fields associated with a lightning stroke. Field vector magnitudes are detected and processed for multiple locations. Since physical limitations prevent the sensor elements from being located in close proximity...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Non-Contact Thermal Properties Measurement With Low-Power Laser and IR Camera System
As shown by the Phoenix Mars Lander’s Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Probe (TECP), contact measurements of thermal conductivity and diffusivity (using a modified flux-plate or line-source heat-pulse method) are constrained by a number of factors. Robotic...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Photocatalytic Active Radiation Measurements and Use
Photocatalytic materials are being used to purify air, to kill microbes, and to keep surfaces clean. A wide variety of materials are being developed, many of which have different abilities to absorb various wavelengths of light. Material variability, combined with both spectral illumination...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Computer Generated Hologram System for Wavefront Measurement System Calibration
Computer Generated Holograms (CGHs) have been used for some time to calibrate interferometers that require nulling optics. A typical scenario is the testing of aspheric surfaces with an interferometer placed near the paraxial center of curvature. Existing CGH technology...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
High-Performance Wireless Telemetrye
Prior technology for machinery data acquisition used slip rings, FM radio communication, or non-real-time digital communication. Slip rings are often noisy, require much space that may not be available, and require access to the shaft, which may not be possible. FM radio is not accurate or stable, and is limited...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Telemetry-Based Ranging
A telemetry-based ranging scheme was developed in which the downlink ranging signal is eliminated, and the range is computed directly from the downlink telemetry signal. This is the first Deep Space Network (DSN) ranging technology that does not require the spacecraft to transmit a separate ranging signal. By contrast, the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
A complementary metal oxide/semiconductor (CMOS) image detector now undergoing development is designed to exhibit less cross-talk and greater full-well capacity than do prior CMOS...
Briefs: Software
JWST Wavefront Control Toolbox
A Matlab-based toolbox has been developed for the wavefront control and optimization of segmented optical surfaces to correct for possible misalignments of James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) using influence functions. The toolbox employs both iterative and non-iterative methods to converge to an optimal solution by...
Briefs: Software
Java Image I/O for VICAR, PDS, and ISIS
This library, written in Java, supports input and output of images and metadata (labels) in the VICAR, PDS image, and ISIS-2 and ISIS-3 file formats. Three levels of access exist.
Briefs: Software
X-Band Acquisition Aid Software
The X-band Acquisition Aid (AAP) software is a low-cost acquisition aid for the Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas, and is used while acquiring a spacecraft shortly after it has launched. When enabled, the acquisition aid provides corrections to the antenna-predicted trajectory of the spacecraft to compensate for the...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Range 7 Scanner Integration With PaR Robot Scanning System
An interface bracket and coordinate transformation matrices were designed to allow the Range 7 scanner to be mounted on the PaR Robot detector arm for scanning the heat shield or other object placed in the test cell. A process was designed for using Rapid Form XOR to stitch data from...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
High-Operating-Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector With Tailorable Cutoff Wavelength
A mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) barrier photodetector is capable of operating at higher temperature than the prevailing MWIR detectors based on InSb. The standard high-operating-temperature barrier infrared detector
(HOT-BIRD) is made with an InAsSb infrared...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Methods of Antimicrobial Coating of Diverse Materials
Methods of coating diverse substrate materials with antimicrobial agents have been developed. Originally intended to reduce health risks to astronauts posed by pathogenic microorganisms that can grow on surfaces in spacecraft, these methods could also be used on Earth — for example, to ensure...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Antimicrobial-Coated Granules for Disinfecting Water
Methods of preparing antimicrobial-coated granules for disinfecting flowing potable water have been developed. Like the methods reported in the immediately preceding article, these methods involve chemical preparation of substrate surfaces (in this case, the surfaces of granules) to enable...
Briefs: Materials
A Model of Reduced Kinetics for Alkane Oxidation Using Constituents and Species for N-Heptane
The reduction of elementary or skeletal oxidation kinetics to a subgroup of tractable reactions for inclusion in turbulent combustion codes has been the subject of numerous studies. The skeletal mechanism is obtained from the elementary mechanism by...
Briefs: Materials
Thermally Conductive Tape Based on Carbon Nanotube Arrays
To increase contact conductance between two mating surfaces, a conductive “tape” has been developed by growing dense arrays of carbon nanotubes (CNTs, graphite layers folded into cylinders) on both sides of a thermally conductive metallic foil. When the two mating surfaces are brought...
Briefs: Materials
Lightweight, Ultra-High-Temperature, CMC-Lined Carbon/Carbon Structures
lished engineering material used extensively in aerospace. The beneficial properties of C/C include high strength, low density, and toughness. Its shortcoming is its limited usability at temperatures higher than the oxidation temperature of carbon — approximately 400 °C....
Briefs: Materials
Two Catalysts for Selective Oxidation of Contaminant Gases
Two catalysts for the selective oxidation of trace amounts of contaminant gases in air have been developed for use aboard the International Space Station. These catalysts might also be useful for reducing concentrations of fumes in terrestrial industrial facilities — especially facilities...
Briefs: Materials
Nanoscale Metal Oxide Semiconductors for Gas Sensing
A report describes the fabrication and testing of nanoscale metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) for gas and chemical sensing. This document examines the relationship between processing approaches and resulting sensor behavior. This is a core question related to a range of applications of...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A system has been developed to acquire and handle samples from a suspended remote platform. The system includes a penetrator, a penetrator deployment mechanism, and a sample handler....
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