Electronics & Software

A previously developed apparatus that tracks the orientation of the human eye has been modified to make it less susceptible to error induced by ambient infrared light. The apparatus is a commercial product intended primarily for use as a computer-control interface for a person who is physically unable to use a...

Interim User's Requirements Collection (IURC) is a software system that generates an interactive graphical user interface that enables users of the International Space Station (ISS) to specify their payload-planning and -scheduling requirements via the World Wide Web (WWW). IURC includes...

Three computer programs have been developed for ground processing of Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data from Landsat 7. The three programs and their functions are the following:

A report discusses the design of fast stochastic observers for spacecraft pointing control. In this special context, "observers" signifies mathematical algorithms, implemented on computers aboard spacecraft, through which one processes sensory data (principally, the outputs of star trackers and...

Neural networks of a proposed type would be formed with computational units called "neuromorphs" attached in a locally connected array. These neural networks would achieve pattern recognition invariant under rotation and translation by exploiting a combination of network symmetry and...

Cross-correlated trellis-coded quadrature modulation (XTCQM) has been proposed as a generic scheme with specific embodiments that potentially offer superior alternatives to other highly power- and bandwidth-efficient phase-shift-keying (PSK) modulation schemes. Examples of such schemes include...

The NASAN computer program can perform detailed analyses of molecular column density and molecular deposition on and around such complex space structures as the International Space Station (ISS). Contamination from both point sources (e.g., thrusters and vents) and diffuse sources (e.g., reflected...

Scientists have developed a derivative of the lithium-ion cell that could prove useful in spaceflight and commercial applications in which it is planned to use oxygen batteries based on solid polymer electrolytes. This derivative cell, which contains a solid polymer electrolyte and an oxygen gas...

A computer-based automated system has been developed to replace a cumbersome and error-prone paper-based system for recording employees' work times. The automated system minimizes the consumption of paper and eliminates the need for weekly pick-up and delivery of time sheets throughout the Kennedy Space Center. The...

A low-power, miniature Doppler lidar instrument is being developed for use in measuring opacity (from dust) and wind profiles in the Martian atmosphere. The instrument could also be used on Earth to measure turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer, for assessments of urban and regional air...

Improved passive temperature-compensating attenuators have been developed for use in processing radio signals at frequencies up to about 18 GHz. In general, temperature-compensating circuits and devices are needed to minimize (preferably, to eliminate) undesired temperature dependences of the...

Miners today use externally powered machines designed to be used by a single operator, the autonomous miner. Many companies offer computer-operated mining equipment that can be used for both high wall and underground applications. Programmable logic controls with ring laser gyroscopes and inclinometers...

A prototype dual-polarization microstrip patch rectenna dimensioned for an operating frequency of 8.51 GHz has been built to demonstrate a design concept for obtaining maximum output voltage from a rectenna of a given size. This rectenna contains nine square microstrip patch antenna elements in a...

The Beacon Visualization (BeaVis) computer program provides a ground-based computing environment for displaying, tracking, storing, and maneuvering through telemetric data streams that contain summaries of engineering data generated aboard a spacecraft. BeaVis can also serve as a general-purpose...

An algorithm has been developed for a computer-based electronic system that would aid human ground controllers in monitoring data from sensors in the electric-power system of the International Space Station. Among other things, the algorithm encodes knowledge of human experts; thereby harnessing...

A portable electronic unit with no moving parts except button switches digitizes and stores a 48-hour record of the myoelectric activity of the stomach and heart as sensed via electrodes on the surface of the abdomen. Just as the more familiar electrocardiogram (ECG) is useful in diagnosing the condition of the heart,...

The term "Instrument Data File Set" (IDFS) denotes both software and an underlying concept of a prescribed format for files of scientific data and metadata. The IDFS was developed to satisfy a need, in the space science community, to maintain data and metadata in a format that promotes efficient use of the...

The Southwest Data Display and Analysis System (SDDAS) is a flexible, extensible software system intended to support analysis of space physics data from multiple instruments and multiple spacecraft missions. SDDAS was developed in response to the need of space scientists to be able to gain access...