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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
High-Temperature Smart Structures for Engine Noise Reduction and Performance Enhancement
One of key NASA goals is to develop and integrate noise reduction technology to enable unrestricted air transportation service to all communities. One of the technical priorities of this activity has been to account for and reduce noise via propulsion/airframe...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Cryogenic Scan Mechanism for Fourier Transform Spectrometer
A compact and lightweight mechanism has been developed to accurately move a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) scan mirror (a cube corner) in a near-linear fashion with near constant speed at cryogenic temperatures. This innovation includes a slide mechanism to restrict motion to one...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Piezoelectric Rotary Tube Motor
A custom rotary SQUIGGLE® motor has been developed that sets new benchmarks for small motor size, high position resolution, and high torque without gear reduction. Its capabilities cannot be achieved with conventional electromagnetic motors. It consists of piezoelectric plates mounted on a square flexible tube. The...
Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing
Combustor Computations for CO₂-Neutral Aviation
Knowing the pure component Cp0 or mixture Cp0 as computed by a flexible code such as NIST-STRAPP or McBride-Gordon, one can, within reasonable accuracy, determine the thermophysical properties necessary to predict the combustion characteristics when there are no tabulated or computed data for those...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Cycle Time Reduction in Trapped Mercury Ion Atomic Frequency Standards
The use of the mercury ion isotope 201Hg+ was examined for an atomic clock. Taking advantage of the faster optical pumping time in 201Hg+ reduces both the state preparation and the state readout times, thereby decreasing the overall cycle time of the clock and reducing the...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Use of Dynamic Distortion to Predict and Alleviate Loss of Control
This research has developed and evaluated the specific concepts, termed “Smart-Cue” and “Smart-Gain,” to alleviate aircraft loss of control that results from unfavorable pilot/vehicle system interactions, including pilot-induced oscillations (PIOs). Unfavorable pilot/...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Crane Brake Release Tool
At the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF), the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) segments are processed after they arrive by rail prior to a Shuttle launch. Using overhead bridge cranes capable of lifting up to 200 tons, the engineers remove the rail cover of the SRB segments, inspect the propellant grain and metal...
Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control
Sample acquisition from small bodies is a key capability needed for proposed comet and asteroid sample return missions. This investigation determines how to utilize shape memory materials...
Briefs: Software
Distributed Aerodynamic Sensing and Processing Toolbox
A Distributed Aerodynamic Sensing and Processing (DASP) toolbox was designed and fabricated for flight test applications with an Aerostructures Test Wing (ATW) mounted under the fuselage of an F-15B on the Flight Test Fixture (FTF). DASP monitors and processes the aerodynamics with the...
Briefs: Electronics & Computers
Network-Capable Application Process and Wireless Intelligent Sensors for ISHM
Intelligent sensor technology and systems are increasingly becoming attractive means to serve as frameworks for intelligent rocket test facilities with embedded intelligent sensor elements, distributed data acquisition elements, and onboard data acquisition elements....
Briefs: Information Technology
Hazard Detection Software for Lunar Landing
The Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) Project is developing a system for safe and precise manned lunar landing that involves novel sensors, but also specific algorithms. ALHAT has selected imaging LIDAR (light detection and ranging) as the sensing modality for onboard hazard...
Briefs: Information Technology
Collaborative Supervised Learning for Sensor Networks
Collaboration methods for distributed machine-learning algorithms involve the specification of communication protocols for the learners, which can query other learners and/or broadcast their findings preemptively. Each learner incorporates information from its neighbors into its own training...
Briefs: Physical Sciences
Onboard Nonlinear Engine Sensor and Component Fault Diagnosis and Isolation Scheme
A method detects and isolates in-flight sensor, actuator, and component faults for advanced propulsion systems. In sharp contrast to many conventional methods, which deal with either sensor fault or component fault, but not both, this method considers sensor fault,...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Interface Supports Multiple Broadcast Transceivers for Flight Applications
A wireless avionics interface provides a mechanism for managing multiple broadcast transceivers. This interface isolates the control logic required to support multiple transceivers so that the flight application does not have to manage wireless transceivers. All of the logic...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
FPGA Sequencer for Radar Altimeter Applications
A sequencer for a radar altimeter provides accurate attitude information for a reliable soft landing of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). This is a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA)-only implementation. A table loaded externally into the FPGA controls timing, processing, and decision structures....
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
SAD5 Stereo Correlation Line-Striping in an FPGA
High precision SAD5 stereo computations can be performed in an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) at much higher speeds than possible in a conventional CPU (central processing unit), but this uses large amounts of FPGA resources that scale with image size. Of the two key resources in an FPGA,...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Miniature Sapphire Acoustic Resonator — MSAR
A room temperature sapphire acoustics resonator incorporated into an oscillator represents a possible opportunity to improve on quartz ultrastable oscillator (USO) performance, which has been a staple for NASA missions since the inception of spaceflight. Where quartz technology is very mature and shows...
Briefs: Semiconductors & ICs
Process-Hardened, Multi-Analyte Sensor for Characterizing Rocket Plume Constituents
A multi-analyte sensor was developed that enables simultaneous detection of rocket engine combustion-product molecules in a launch-vehicle ground test stand. The sensor was developed using a pin-printing method by incorporating multiple sensor elements on a single...
Briefs: Software
Marsviewer 2008
Marsviewer 2008 is designed for quality control, browsing, and operational and science analysis of images and derived image products returned by spacecraft. This program allows all derived products (reduced data records, or RDRs) associated with each original image (experiment data record, or EDR) to be viewed in various ways,...
Briefs: Software
Mission Services Evolution Center Message Bus
The Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center (GMSEC) Message Bus is a robust, lightweight, fault-tolerant middleware implementation that supports all messaging capabilities of the GMSEC API, including publish/subscribe and request/reply. The Message Bus enables NASA to provide an open-source middleware...
Briefs: Software
Major Constituents Analysis for the Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor
Vehicle Cabin Atmosphere Monitor (VCAM) can provide a means for monitoring the air within enclosed environments such as the International Space Station, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), a Lunar habitat, or another vehicle traveling to Mars. Its miniature preconcentrator, gas...
Briefs: Software
Astronaut Health Participant Summary Application
The Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health (LSAH) Participant Summary software captures data based on a custom information model designed to gather all relevant, discrete medical events for its study participants. This software provides a summarized view of the study participant’s entire medical...
Briefs: Software
Natural Language Interface for Safety Certification of Safety-Critical Software
Model-based design and automated code generation are being used increasingly at NASA. The trend is to move beyond simulation and prototyping to actual flight code, particularly in the guidance, navigation, and control domain. However, there are substantial obstacles to...
Briefs: Software
Adaption of the AMDIS Method to Flight Status on the VCAM Instrument
Software has been developed to function onboard the International Space Station (ISS) to help safeguard human health by detecting compounds of concern in the cabin atmosphere, both in identity and concentration. This software calibrates and processes a standard 2D dataset (mass...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Hybrid Composite Cryogenic Tank Structure
A hybrid lightweight composite tank has been created using specially designed materials and manufacturing processes. The tank is produced by using a hybrid structure consisting of at least two reinforced composite material systems. The inner composite layer comprises a distinct fiber and resin matrix...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Nanoscale Deformable Optics
Several missions and instruments in the conceptual design phase rely on the technique of interferometry to create detectable fringe patterns. The intimate emplacement of reflective material upon electron device cells based upon chalcogenide material technology permits high-speed, predictable deformation of the reflective...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Zinc Oxide Nanowire Interphase for Enhanced Lightweight Polymer Fiber Composites
The objective of this work was to increase the interfacial strength between aramid fiber and epoxy matrix. This was achieved by functionalizing the aramid fiber followed by growth of a layer of ZnO nanowires on the fiber surface such that when embedded into the...
Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
Reliability-Based Design Optimization of a Composite Airframe Component
A stochastic optimization methodology (SDO) has been developed to design air-frame structural components made of metallic and composite materials. The design method accommodates uncertainties in load, strength, and material properties that are defined by distribution functions...
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