Electronics & Software

The SAR Processing System Control Processor (SPS CP) computer program performs sequencing and job-control functions within the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) [where "SAR" means "synthetic-aperture radar"]. SPS CP interacts with the Product-Distribution-and-Management (PDM) system of the...

SAR Processing System ScanSAR Processor (SPS SSP) is a computer program that is used in the Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) to processes scanSAR downlink data from the RADARSAT (a Canadian Earth-observation satellite) into a suite of image data products. ["SAR" means "synthetic-aperture...

Prober Assistant Measurement System (PAMS) is a computer program that automates the time-consuming process of testing microfabricated devices (integrated circuits and/or microelectromechanical systems) at the wafer level. PAMS was written specifically for use with the Karl Suss probe...

MGBK is a computer program that predicts the mixing noise and the shock noise generated by a subsonic or low-supersonic jet, given input data on the mean flow and turbulence fields as predicted by a suitable state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program. More specifically, MGBK can be regarded as a...

The computer program HeliStat performs finite-element analysis to simulate meshing of helical gears. This program is a logical extension of the program DANST, which applies to spur gears. [DANST was described in "Computing Stresses in Spur Gears (LEW-15420), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 19,...

Integrated Modeling of Optical Systems (IMOS) is a MATLAB™ computer program that provides many functions for analysis of a system represented by mathematical models of its thermal, structural, control, and/or optical aspects. For example, IMOS can be used to study thermal distortion of...

The Coupled Structural/Thermal/Electromagnetic (CSTEM) computer program implements an integrated multidisciplinary approach to analysis and optimization of the designs of graded composite-material structures. The name of the program reflects recognition of the coupling among thermal,...

Ignitor and keeper power supplies have been developed specifically for a Hall-effect thruster with a cold cathode. Prior to the development of these power supplies, difficulties had been observed in the operation of cold-cathode Hall thrusters; in particular, they did not start reliably...

Range Safety Officers (RSOs) are used by NASA and other government agencies to assure protection of life and property during launch operations. The current decision-making system used by the RSOs at NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) and the National Ranges, including the Eastern Range (ER) and Western...

QRAYPKS is a general-purpose FORTRAN optics-analysis computer program that enables the computation of path lengths to an unprecedented level of precision. The impetus for developing QRAYPKS was the need to mathematically model an outer-space laser interferometer to be used in detecting gravitational...

Engineering Data Summarization Flight Software is a computer program designed for use aboard a spacecraft to implement a concept, called "beacon monitoring," that has been discussed in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles. The program generates summaries of operational data (e.g., sensor...

A computer program controls the automated acquisition, display, and reduction of data on the dynamics of magnetic bearings. The data gathered by use of this program are expected to enable the verification and enhancement of mathematical models of magnetic-bearing dynamics, thereby...

WebWinds is an interactive computer program that aids the visualization and exploration of scientific data. WebWinds is the successor to LinkWinds, which was reported in "LinkWinds — Flexible Software for Highly Interactive Visual Data Analysis" (NPO-19786), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 20,...

The KSC Electronic Documentation System (KEDS) is a computer-intranet system at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the storage and retrieval of engineering drawings and other engineering documents that have been officially released. Prior to the development of the KEDS, microfilm copies of...

Computer Aided Grid Interface (CAGI) is a computer program that serves as an interface between computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) programs and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programs. CAGI reads Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files from CAD/CAM...

A computer program introduces a predistortion into the chirp signal used to frequency-modulate a synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) signal at the transmitter. The predistortion is intended to compensate for distortions introduced by nonideal performance of the various pieces of SAR equipment — especially the...