Award Data

This Phase II SBIR project will advance the technical readiness level (TRL) of our Phase-I-demonstrated strategy for mitigating radiation damage in GaSb/InAs Type II Strained-Layer-Superlattice (SLS) long-wave infrared (LWIR) detectors. Our mitigation strategy will be optimized for detectors to be deployed in interceptor seeker systems that will be exposed to radiation in the near-Earth orbital en ...

QuNav proposes to validate and prototype a TRansform-domain INS Mechanization and Algorithmic Correction (TRIMAC). TRIMAC utilizes joint time/frequency domain processing of inertial sensor data in order to mitigate INS drift in the absence of external navaids (such as GPS). Frequency-domain implementation is particularly designed to improve the inertial performance in high-vibration missile enviro ...

Metallic additive manufacturing (AM) is an attractive technology for the production of lethality test articles due to the potential for significantly reduced lead time and manufacturing cost.However, in order to be effective in providing accurate lethality data, the properties of the AM material have to match closely the properties of conventionally manufactured alloys found in real threat targets ...

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 ...

Presently the missile defense systems are using a reactive and program-centric framework for assessing industrial base risk. The Phase I effort focused on developing a wide and deep network algorithm using Industrial Product-Support Vendor (IPV) Gen II program for predicting the probability of failure. The proposed Phase II effort leverages the Phase I work and will focus on three main goals:(1) I ...

MDA’s Objective-Simulation-Framework (OSF) is a crucial infrastructure for improving the nation’s BMDS. Albeit successful in enabling high-quality ground tests, OSF’s distributed simulations are hampered by hefty data transmissions that could consume up to 50% of the time in a single run. To address this problem, and with the ultimate goal of substantially accelerating OSF tra ...

Infrared (IR) windows operating in the environment experienced by endo-atmospheric interceptors are limited in performance by the high heat fluxes, temperatures, and pressures characteristic of these environments. Window temperature can exceed 900 C from exposure to the high heat fluxes and temperatures associated with hypersonic flight. Existing materials are limited by poor mechanical and optica ...

The proposed project aims to pursue an innovative approach of utilizing deep learning algorithms to improve the performance of state-of-the-art MEMS Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) to push their performance to fullest extent possible as replacements for existing Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOG) systems for navigation and guidance in future missile system avionics including Sounding Rockets. During P ...

A new type of missile defense thrust vector control system is proposed to enable a high-performance, low cost defense against ballistic and hypersonic threats. This innovative TVC system features ceramic matrix composite jet vanes and a drivetrain that varies the jet vane insertion to trim drag losses. During extended fly out the vanes can be retracted to minimize losses and during the end game th ...

Future MDA interceptors require advanced propulsion capabilities, with higher performance in smaller, volume-constrained systems. Innovative propellant chemistry is needed to enable substantially greater performance in smaller packages. One factor limiting the maximum performance achievable in modern propellants is the slow ignition and combustion of the propellant’s metal fuel particles, typica ...