Electronics & Software

The Space Communications Protocol Standards (SCPS) specify a developmental system of international protocols for data communications between spacecraft and points on Earth. SCPS protocols are intended to make a spacecraft appear, to a terrestrial computer user, as just another node on...

A software system has been devised to manage automatically (1) the distribution of mutually independent computing tasks to computer workstations in NASA's Flight Design and Analysis System (FADS) network and (2) the execution of those tasks on those workstations. This program parallelizes serial tasks,...

A laser illuminator system has been developed for use in automated tracking of objects. In its original application, the system illuminates a 5° conical region expected to contain a small satellite at a distance up to 750 m from the space shuttle. If the satellite comes within this region, then a receiving...

Scientists have developed a type of composite graphite anode that will benefit the U.S. space program and private industry by increasing the rechargeability of lithium-ion batteries. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, which are used on the space shuttle and Space Station, are also used in...

An integrated optical voltage-measuring apparatus based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer has been designed and constructed. The main feature of this apparatus is that optical fibers link part of it to an optical sensor head placed at the source of the voltage to be measured, whether the source be a...

An apparatus records triaxial acceleration and temperature as a function of time, operating unattended for as long as 3 weeks on power supplied by two D cells. The apparatus, which has dimensions of only 3.5 by 4.5 by 2.2 in. (8.9 by 11.4 by 5.6 cm) and weighs only 28.5 oz (0.81 kg) is designed...

A dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) circuit that tolerates single-event upsets (SEUs) has been developed. A single-event upset is a bit flip caused by ionizing radiation. In a DRAM, the state of each bit (0 or 1) is stored as charge on a buried capacitor. The impingement of an energetic charged particle...

The Knowledge Server Tools (KST) computer program comprises a distributed set of software tools for monitoring remote systems. Part of KST implements a knowledge server for monitoring the status of a remote system (e.g., a computer-controlled instrumentation system, a robot, or a...

The Monocoque Tank Analysis Spreadsheet System (MONTASS) computer program is an integrated software system that incorporates Microsoft Excel worksheet software and Visual BASIC software. MONTASS was developed to enable rapid analysis and preliminary design of structural domes and...

A software system generates sequences of commands for the operation of a robotic vehicle. The system was adapted to control Rocky 7, a semiautonomous instrumented vehicle of the "rover" type used in scientific exploration of Mars. The software system was developed by integrating two software...

Lightweight reflector dishes for radio antennas would be mass-produced cheaply by spin casting of polymers, according to a proposal. These reflector dishes were conceived for compact stowage followed by deployment and operation aboard spacecraft, but might also be useful on Earth in...

A retroreflective communication system (RCS), is a state-of-the-art system that provides (1) two-way optical communication using only one transmitter and (2) multipath communication among remote locations. RCSs were conceived for use in communication among stations on the ground and aboard spacecraft in...

An algorithm for filtering synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) interferograms has been developed which substantially improves the performance of subsequent phase-unwrapping. It accomplishes this task by filtering the interferogram strongly in areas where the scene contains little detail, and weakly where the...