Award Data

New classes of aircraft, providing personal, on-demand mobility, are under development and are poised to revolutionize short-duration air travel. The impetus for this work comes from advances in electronics and controls, and increases in electric motor power densities. As these aircraft are integrated into the transportation system, they will encounter icing conditions that may challenge the des ...

We propose the development of a very high specific power integrated electric turbofan directly driven with a high frequency, air-core synchronous motor. If the target specific power is achieved, this technology could increase the viability of turbo-electric airplanes for commercial air transport, leading to significantly lower carbon emissions and energy use in aviation. The key innovation is the ...

Modern aircraft systems have slowly evolved towards integrated modular computing architectures that are linked to multiple external networks. These developments have introduced cyber-attack vulnerabilities which did not exist in older-generation avionics systems. To counter the emerging threats and increased vulnerabilities, an ability to comprehensively and systematically assess aviation cyberse ...

Current methods for obtaining pressure profiles on airfoils require complex pressure-scanner setups, which are expensive, very time-consuming, have multiple points of potential failure, and physically change the structure/loading on a test airfoil, especially in the case of smaller airfoils. This severely reduces the frequency at which such testing can be done, and the number of airfoils on which ...

OxEon Energy proposes a combination of materials and engineering solutions to demonstrate the reduction-oxidation (redox) stability of a solid oxide electrolysis cathode during start up and operation. The redox tolerant cathode material will reduce system complexity, tolerate flow upset conditions, and provide flexibility in space based systems without a man-in-the-loop.Solid oxide electrolysis st ...

Singularity - Intelligence Amplified, LLC proposes to develop a resilience toolkit enabling the planning, assessment, implementation, and utilization of resilience for future manned spaceflight and autonomous systems. The Strategic Technologies for Autonomy & Resilience Tools (START) project will demonstrate the associated technologies the company envisions integrating as a toolkit within a modula ...

This Phase I SBIR will build on MotionPort’s previous simulation successes in the area of solar array deployment, addressing the specific challenge of simulating dust accumulation on solar arrays for long-term energy needs on the surface of Mars. MotionPort will use the Compact Telescoping Surface Array (CTSA) concept, developed by NASA Langley, for the example model. Simulations will be run to ...

A new generation of spacesuits is needed to support EVAs for future surface exploration missions. These new suits will require decreased mass and volume, improved functionality, and excellent reliability. More power is required than today’s suit can provide. The battery pack will be the main source of power and weight and needs to provide an energy source for life-support functions, communicatio ...

Final Frontier Design (FFD) proposes a Low Cost Personal Life Support System (PLSS) for a space suit, utilizing commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) items wherever possible. The closed loop, Low Cost PLSS system proposed includes all the required systems for a generic EVA setup, and can be packaged effectively for outer space based applications. The use of COTS items with a minimum amount of original ...

With future missions of increasing complexity, duration, distance, and uncertainty, there has been a growing need for methods and tools that can permit the effective formation of early stage conceptual designs that are not only cost-effective, but also productive and resilient to failures. Current approaches are mostly tailored to evaluating independent systems but do not necessarily scale well to ...