Award Data

CU Aerospace (CUA) and team partners San Jose St. University (SJSU) and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) propose to develop a robust epoxy resin regenerator capable of improving cryocooler efficiency by more than 30%, and to design an enhanced compressor motor capable of improving the cryocooler efficiency by more than 20%. LMSSC manufactures a space cryocooler that already meets most ...

Future MDA space missions will utilize small spacecraft with correspondingly small, advanced sensor systems. Cooling of these sensors is required to decrease detector noise and increase detector sensitivity by maintaining the detector at a reduced operating temperature. The cooling system comprises a mechanical cryocooler and its control electronics, both of which are critical technologies to enab ...

With the ever-increasing availability of commercial jamming equipment, the risk to public safety communications has never been higher.While public safety has operational backup plans for communications, jamming has proven problematic to detect in the field.The purpose of this project is to solve this critical problem of detection and characterization simply and seamlessly, for the first responder, ...

Interoperability has been a communications objective for for first responders in the United Stats for many years. The need for digital interoperability brought about the establishment of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Project 25 standard in 1989.Today, P25 standards are very mature, and include an Inter-RF Subsystem In ...

Diode-Pumped Alkali Lasers (DPALs) have great potential for high-energy lasers. Proper design of these systems is challenging because many interrelated processes impact their performance, and critical kinetic rate coefficients are not well known. In response, our team is developing a comprehensive physics-based analysis/design tool, and experimentally determining key kinetic rate coefficients. The ...

The primary objective of CU Aerospace’s Phase I work will be to investigate a relatively new, highly innovative high pressure singlet-delta oxygen generator (SOG) concept for the chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL). Estimates are that this SOG concept will significantly improve the pressure recovery of COIL systems while retaining efficiency. The results of the Phase I research will lay the fo ...

High sensitivity HgCdTe infrared detector arrays operating at 77K can be tailored for response across the infrared spectrum and are commonly utilized for infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs). However, the cooling systems required to achieve the desired sensitivity makes them heavy and therefore unsuitable for many applications. Infrared arrays operating above ~200K could be thermoelectrically-cooled ...

High performance infrared detectors in the very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) spectral bands are highly needed in a number of missile defense missions. The current state-of-the-art infrared detection technology for missile defense programs is based on the Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) compounds. However, at present it is becoming increasingly apparent that this detection technology is ap ...

Oceanit proposes to develop a low cost, reliable, wireless mesh networking system that will enable remote monitoring and tracking of sensors on emergency responders in hostile building environments. The heart of the system will use a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) wireless mesh networking IC platform for low-power and low-cost communications. By using a wireless mesh network, low-power wireless t ...

Future missile detection systems will require improved thermal management for cooling gimbal-mounted sensors and optics. Current systems utilize cryocoolers placed on the gimbal, which necessitates the cryocooler heat to be rejected directly from the gimbal. A far superior approach in terms of payload mass would locate the warm elements of the cryocooler on the stationary platform near the space ...