Award Data

The proposed effort is concerned with the development of a novel optimization scheme and computer software for the effective design of advanced aerospace vehicles. Since such vehicles are characterized by unprecedented levels of areo-structural-controls-propulsion interactions, a multidisciplinary simulation is essential for their effective design. This can be accomplished by employing the common ...

The objective of this STTR is to determine the capability of Net Shape LENS processing with Nano-coated powders. The unique composites produced using regualr processing and these powders ahs provided unique material properties. The use of nano-coated powders witht he rapid prototype LENS process should also provide unique data.

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 ...

In this research we will develop a system level tool to translate binary code of a general-purpose processor into Register Transfer Level VHDL code to be mapped onto FPGA-based reconfigurable hardware. We further plan to study techniques for performing hardware/software co-design on integrated systems-on-a-chip platforms consisting of embedded processors, memories and FPGAs. Finally we will dev ...

The SSC needs a hydrogen temperature sensor that can provide high accuracy, fast response and can be operated on a superheated hydrogen (SHH2) environment. This will help prepare the SSC testing facility to support the new NASA mission for US space exploration as proposed by the President in January 2004. Here, we propose to develop an innovative, non-intrusive temperature sensor based on Spontan ...

A high efficiency low scatter echelle grating will be developed using a novel technique of multiple diamond shaving cuts. The grating will have mirror surfaces on both faces for high efficiency in high orders. The grating will be manufactured using a 3/4 ton air bearing grating carriage that oscillates at 30 strokes per minute between two non-contact magnetic fields. The groove spacing will be con ...

High sensitivity HgCdTe infrared arrays operating at 77K can now be tailored in a wide range of wavelengths from 1 to14 um. However, the cooling requirements make them bulky and unsuitable to be incorporated into robust autonomous sensor systems. We propose to develop detectors with high detectivity that operates at or near room temperature in the MWIR (3 to 5 um) and LWIR (8 to 12 um) atmospheri ...

Technology is needed to provide real-time assessment and evaluation of hematological parameters during prolong space flights and planetary missions. A key hematological parameter is the monitoring and measurement of emboli in the brain especially during Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) on planetary surfaces as well as orbital flights. A non-invasive, compact Transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurement d ...

Several studies over the past few decades have recognized the need for advanced propulsion to explore the solar system. As early as the 1960s, Werner Von Braun and others recognized the need for a nuclear rocket for sending humans to Mars. The great distances, the intense radiation levels, and the physiological response to zero-gravity all supported the concept of using a nuclear rocket to decre ...

Automated impact detection and characterization on manned spacecraft has been an elusive goal due to the transitory nature of the detectable high-frequency signals. The proposed approach for this effort is to use large numbers of self-powered, miniaturized, "stick on" piezoelectric sensory nodes that are synchronized within a radio frequency network. Each node will continuously monitor an accele ...