Low-power Hall thrusters offer potentially important advantages for certain military applications but issues of lifetime and efficiency degradation at lower powers are issues hindering its utilization. A factor impacting efficiency is that thestate-of-the-art techniques for electron generation used… More

Low-power Hall thrusters offer potentially important advantages for certain military applications but issues of lifetime and efficiency degradation at lower powers are issues hindering its utilization. A factor impacting efficiency is that the state-of-the-art techniques for electron generation… More

In order to simultaneously characterize and mitigate spacecraft laser communication (lasercom) system performance degradation by electric propulsion (EP) plumes, we propose to develop a magnetic deflector to protect the reflective telescopes typical of lasercom systems from erosion by… More

We propose to solve the re-entry blackout problem through the application of electric and magnetic fields to control the hypersonic plasma layer. REComm consists of an embedded electromagnet integrated beneath a spacecraft's antenna and electrodes near the antenna. Ion acceleration in the… More

The Hall thruster has great potential in satisfying many of the spacecraft propulsion needs of the United States Air Force for the next several decades due to its combination of high specific impulse, high thrust efficiency, and high thrust density. The USAF has recently concluded that bi-modal Hall… More

We propose to address the problem of communications blackout caused by the plasma layer around a hypersonic vehicle through the application of electric and magnetic fields to control the properties of this plasma layer. An embedded magnet integrated beneath a communications or GPS antenna along with… More

In order to support systems such as the Momentum Exchange/Electrodynamic Reboost (MXER) Tether, NASA has identified the need for advanced electrodynamic-tether materials. A recently identified concern with present tether materials, particularly illustrated by the arcing after the tether break during… More

The plasma generated around low altitude hypersonic vehicles is a serious impediment to vehicle communications. The development of plasma mitigation solutions requires the ability to accurately measure the plasma around a vehicle to quantify both the plasma levels requiring mitigation and the… More

Heat shield technology is a critical component of manned spaceflight. In particular, the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) requires thermal protection systems (TPS) beyond the current state of the art. While new TPS shields are under development, a key difficulty is the ability to diagnose TPS… More

The nanoparticle field extraction thruster (nanoFET) is being developed as an efficient, variable specific impulse electric propulsion device. NanoFET provides thrust by extracting nanometer- to micron-sized particles from a liquid reservoir, and accelerating them electrostatically. With its high… More

The plasma generated around low altitude hypersonic vehicles is a serious impediment to vehicle communications, particularly GPS navigation signal reception. This problem has introduced a critical path failure and potential showstopper for the hypersonic cruise missile program. The HyPASS system… More

This proposal seeks to provide a novel electric propulsion option that will offer significant performance advantages over the current state of the art and surpass the IHPRPT Phase III goals for electrostatic propulsion. This will be accomplished by combining the efficient ionization mechanism of a… More

The Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) Phase I project will investigate the production of silane gas (SiH4) and photovoltaic-grade silicon (Sipv) from high silicon content agricultural waste. Current solar cell production struggles against the tremendous cost and complexity of… More

The Nanoparticle Field Extraction Thruster (NanoFET) is being developed as a high thrust-to-power, highly compact, variable specific impulse electric propulsion device especially for micro-satellite applications. NanoFET provides thrust by extracting and charging nanometer to micron-sized conducting… More

The objective of this program is to build upon many decades of experience with magnetic flowmeters to develop a next-generation system to measure the burning surface admittance of high-energy-density solid propellants at high frequencies and pressures. Using the results of research on solid… More

The US Army has underscored the importance of developing more effective obscurant material for shielding US soldiers and their equipment from visible, microwave, and infrared observation. Current separation techniques tend to allow the nano-particles to agglomerate at higher density than desired… More

Advances in high power, photovoltaic technology has enabled the possibility of reasonably sized, high specific power, high power, solar arrays. New thin film solar arrays have demonstrated specific powers of over 4000 W/kg (exceeding the current SOA of ~130 W/kg). At high specific powers, power… More

The objective of this program is to build upon many decades of experience with magnetic flowmeters to develop a next-generation system to measure the burning surface admittance of high-energy-density solid propellants at high frequencies and pressures. Using the results of research on solid… More

Heat shield technology is a critical component of manned spaceflight. In particular, the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) requires thermal protection systems (TPS) beyond the current state of the art. While new TPS shields are under development, a key difficulty is the ability to diagnose TPS… More

This SBIR Phase I project will develop a process for direct synthesis of silane utilizing silicon, hydrogen and a plasma arc. The broader/commercial impact of the project will include the potential elimination of shipping of hazardous silane gas, and decreased production cost for silane gas. Both… More

EDA, Inc., in partnership with Penn State, has shown previously that the concept of embedding fiber optics within ablative TPS material has merit and should yield a successful implementation of a spectrometer "window" during a Phase-II development program.Optical instrumentation, such as… More

Advances in high power, photovoltaic technology has enabled the possibility of reasonably sized, high specific power, high power, solar arrays. At high specific powers, power levels ranging from 50 to several hundred kW are feasible. Coupled with gridded ion thruster technology, this power… More

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The next generation of hypersonic and reentry vehicles being designed for the Department of Defense (DoD) applications will require advanced Thermal Protection System (TPS). While new TPS shields are under development, a key difficulty is the ability to predict and diagnose TPS… More

ABSTRACT: The proposed Phase I efforts seek to develop a dual-mode Hybrid ChemicalElectric Propulsion thruster concept design based on the extensive microwave torch/arcjet experience of PSU and Hall and ion experience of EDA. The primary focus of the Phase I effort will be demonstrate the… More