Award Data

Technical Abstract The Stennis Space Center (SSC) needs the sensors that are capable and can be operated in liquid oxygen (LOX) and or liquid hydrogen (LH2) cryogenic environment to improve SSC cryogenic testing. In particular, SSC would like to develop a sensor to monitor the quality of LOX in the delivery line during the testing of a rocket engine. Spontaneous Raman scattering (SRS) with its r ...

The proposed optical device is a fiber-based multi-channel switch to quickly switch a fiber-coupled laser among many possible output channels to create a fiber-based fixed-array laser transmitter for next-generation NASA lidar systems. The key innovation is the use of an arrangement of electro-optic prisms created in a nonlinear optical crystal through domain reversal to direct the laser into one ...

The proposed SBIR effort will employ a systems approach to develop motor/controller/screw element systems adequate for demanding launch thrust vector control and control surface actuator applications. This approach will utilize high bandwidth, high efficiency, redundant motor systems coupled with appropriately paired motor controls. The actuator system will consist of a high efficiency permanen ...

Resodyn Technologies proposes a new technology that enables the application of polyimide based cryogenic insulation with low hydrogen permeability. This effort supports the Vision for U.S. Space Exploration policy and the Exploration Systems Enterprise. This technology will benefit designers of cryogenic fuel tanks envisioned for new Earth-to-Orbit (ETO) Transportation vehicles. Specifically th ...

Using a revolutionary ion-focusing scheme developed at Mississippi State University (provisional patent filed) we will be able to design and build a compact laser based time-of-flight mass spectrometer that is capable of detecting a wide range of masses. Mass resolution of above 104 can be achieved from 300 to c.a. 70,000 Daltons and above 3000 from 20 to 1.5'105 Daltons, making it possible to ana ...

This proposal is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of a Decentralized Control based SiC Parallel DC-DC Converter Unit (DDCU) with targeted application for NASA's International Space Station Program and Satellite Power Systems. The proposed DDCU has three key features: a) "true" redundancy for parallel DC-DC converter based on a novel concept developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago, ...

In the proposed development, SiC JFET control circuitry and normally-off SiC JFET power switch will be integrated in a single SiC chip that will provide digital output for driving piezoelectric, electrostatic, or electromagnetic actuators. Innovative device design, metallurgical ohmic contact and die attach development, and coordinated packaging approaches will result in SiC power I.C. technology ...

The water content of clouds, whether in liquid or ice form, is a key variable to be measured when either calibrating remote sensing systems or when calculating the climatological effects of clouds. While a variety of sensors exist for making these measurements, all of the existing sensors require far too much power or other energy input to be used on small platforms with limited payloads such as ...

This NASA Small Business Innovative Research Phase II project will develop a compact, low-cost, wavelength locked seed laser for injection locking high powered Nd:YAG lasers used in a range of lidar remote sensing applications including molecular profiling of the atmosphere. Precise wavelength control of the seed laser will be achieved by actively locking the laser wavelength to an absorption li ...

Automated detection of land cover changes between multitemporal images (i.e., images captured at different times) has long been a goal of the remote sensing discipline. Most technology in this area has focused on methods for detecting and identifying land cover or surface object changes in two or more images, but precise co-registration of images remains a key challenge. In fact, image-to-image r ...