Software that performs the functions of an FQPSK-B receiver (and to some extent, an FQPSK-B transmitter) has been developed to reduce the risks and costs associated with the development of hardware FQPSK-B transmitters and receivers. (“FQPSK-B” signifies version B of Feher Quadrature-Phase-Shift Keying,...

The Web Interactive Training (WIT) project at Kennedy Space Center has expanded its course offerings, enhanced its technical capabilities, and automated its administrative functions. Aspects of the WIT project at previous stages of development were reported in “Further Developments in Web Interactive...

A paper presents some novel conclusions concerning the Shvab-Zel’dovich (SZ) vari- ables, which are linear combinations of dep- endent variables in mathematical models of multicomponent, chemically reacting flows. The SZ variables represent scalar quantities that are conserved, that is, are not...

This report discusses a proposed docking mechanism to be located in a small hangar on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS). The mechanism would enable docking of a miniature robotic spacecraft (or free flyer) that would carry a video camera and would operate in the vicinity of the ISS....

A report describes an emergency tether-deployment (ETD) system designed to minimize the harm caused by two events that can occur during deployment of tethered payloads from a space shuttle in orbit. One such event is snagging of the tether during payout while the payload is near the...

A paper presents a study of multilayer thermal insulations for protecting spacecraft against aerodynamic heating during reentry into a planetary atmosphere. A multilayer insulation considered in the study comprised (1) thin ceramic/composite foils coated with gold for high reflectance...

Two reports describe a method of assessing the susceptibility of digital electronic equipment to upsets (bit errors) caused by impingement of energetic ions (both protons and heavier ions) in outer space.

The method, which is applicable at the single-component, circuit-board,...

An electronic system based on long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) sensors is being developed to detect aircraft flying near an upward-aimed, high-power laser beam. In the intended application, the system would alert a human laser operator and/or generate a signal to turn off the laser...

The figure schematically depicts a proposed achromatic nulling beam combiner. This instrument is intended for use in astronomy - principally, for attenuating light from stars or other bright sources in order to enable detection of fainter objects that lie near the bright sources. In comparison with a...

An improved optical polarizer has been proposed for use with a high-energy pulsed laser. This polarizer would separate the p- and s-polarized components (the components polarized parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to a designated plane or axis) of an incoming beam of light into two outgoing beams...

A rugged laser-diode oxygen sensor is being developed for detecting leaks of oxygen from diverse systems, including rocket engines, cryogenic systems, and medical equipment. The sensor is required to have a range of 250 to 250,000 parts per million, to be accurate within 5 percent, to be capable of operating at...

A proposed thermographic technique would exploit the unique fluorescence characteristics of yttrium vanadate doped with dysprosium (YVO₄:Dy³⁺). The particular aspect of the fluorescence characteristics that would be exploited in this technique is the relative intensity of emitted light as a...

Carbon-composite submounts tipped with diamond are being developed as improved means of dissipating heat generated in high-power laser diodes. Copper is the traditional heat-sinking material for many applications other than laser diodes; it is not suitable for heat-sinking submounts for...

A method has been developed to increase the accuracy of estimates of phase differences attributable to the optical-path-length difference between the arms of a long-baseline, white-light interferometer. The method is intended for use in the Space Interferometer Mission (SIM), in which...

Light-emitting devices based on semiconductor quantum dots have been shown to be suitable for use in environments that include high levels of radiation that causes displacement damage in semiconductors - in particular, energetic protons. Conventional light-emitting diodes and other...

A method of characterization of growing of protein crystals involves the utilization of an optical imaging technique known as spatial phase imaging. The methods used heretofore have been, variously, invasive (e.g., adding a dye that is absorbed by the protein of interest), destructive...

A computer program of the fuzzy-logictoolkit type has been devel- oped as a relatively simple, portable, highly compatible, means of providing fuzzy-logic reasoning capabilities for control and expert-system applications.

This program is designed to work with the high-level scripting language...

Regprof is a computer program that analyzes the use of registers by another program that runs on a PowerPC

750 (or equivalent) computer. Regprof is useful for showing how well compilers make use of registers and for obtaining an indication of the susceptibility of application programs...

Real-time Desktop Manager (RDM) is a computer program that manages displays and application programs. RDM was developed for use in connection with NASA’s remote manipulator system (RMS) group of flight controllers; it could also be used in chemical plants, laboratories, factories, hospitals, and other settings where...

A proposed method of FQPSK modulation and demodulation of a radio signal would incorporate any of a number of relatively simple (short-constraintlength) outer codes. By affording significant coding gains even when using a reduced-complexity (and thus suboptimal) FQPSK receiver, this method would...

A class of optoelectronic noncontact computer-controlled scanning surface profilometers is undergoing development for use in automated or semiautomated in- spection of nominally flat surfaces. When fully developed, these profilometers would generate three-dimensional maps of the scanned surfaces for...

The Full Immersion Telepresence Testbed (FITT) is an experimental anthropomorphic-robot remote-control system that is so named because it gives a human control operator some of the sensations of the remote environment as though the operator were in that environment in place of the robot. In...

The fractional calculus (which admits of integrals and derivatives of non-integer order) dates back almost to the origin of the better-known ordinary (integer-order) calculus, but thus far has been treated more as a mathematical curiosity than as a scientific and engineering tool. Increasingly many physical...

A system based on ultrasonic sensors has been developed as a means of tracking moving objects with centimeter accuracy. The system is intended especially for tracking pertinent parts of the body of a human subject engaged in control of a remote anthropomorphic robot or immersed in a...

A compact actuator generates rotary or linear motion with a large torque or force, respectively. The original version of this actuator is designed to pull a wedge that, until pulled, prevents retraction of the proposed extended nose landing gear of the space shuttle. The original version is also...

A computer program deconvolves the digitized outputs of multiple chemical sensors in an array to extract indications of the identities and con- centrations of target chemicals (which could be individual compounds or specified mixtures of compounds). Chemical-sensor arrays — denoted,...

A portable pressure-application device has been designed and built for use in testing and calibrating piezoelectric pressure transducers in the field. The device generates pressure pulses of known amplitude. A pressure pulse (in contra- distinction to a steady pressure) is needed because...

The figure depicts a single-arm, slabwave- guide interferometer that has been demonstrated to be useable as a means of sensing ammonia in wet air. The slabwaveguide portion of this device comprises a 2-μm-thick film of poly(methyl methacrylate) [PMMA] on a substrate of fused quartz....