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The use of multidisciplinary analysis (MDA) techniques for combustion device environment prediction, including complex fluid mixing phenomena, is now becoming possible as numerical algorithms and high performance computing clusters become more powerful. Parallel solution methodologies and distributed memory architectures are currently available, yet the challenge of bringing highly sophisticated ...

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) can render microwave radiometer measurements useless. We have proposed a method and an architecture that can be used to identify sources of RFI and identify an optimal scheme for the mitigation of RFI. The system consists of a fully functional digital radiometer that can collect data in the field and pipe the pre-detected signal into, for example, a spectrum anal ...

High sensitivity HgCdTe infrared arrays operating at 77K can now be tailored in a wide range of wavelengths from 1 to 14 microns. However, due to the cooling requirements, they consume large amounts of power and are bulky and unsuitable for many NASA applications. During Phase I, we demonstrated the feasibility of employing dark current skimming to increase the operating temperature of HgCdTe mid ...

In this Phase II SBIR project a high-sensitivity low-noise all-silicon CMOS-MEMS accelerometer for quasi-steady measurements of accelerations at sub 1 micro-g levels will be developed. The outcome of the project is a capacitive microaccelerometer with a resolution of 90ng/sqrt-Hz over +/-0.1g range for Type A sensor and 0.8ug/sqrt-Hz over +/-1g for Type B sensor with programmable bandwidth from D ...

The physical difficulty of designing entry vehicles originates from the large degree of coupling between the various disciplines involved in the design. Every subsystem design decision has far reaching consequences that must be evaluated in a multidisciplinary fashion in order to assess the impact on the weight and the performance of the entire vehicle. The disciplines which must be accounted an ...

Carbon bonded carbon fiber (CBCF) insulating material is the basis for several highly successful NASA developed thermal protection systems (TPS). Included among these innovative TPS are: PICA, (phenolic impregnated carbonaceous ablator), TUFROC (Toughened Uni-piece Fibrous Reinforced Oxidation-resistant Composite) and Genesis. PICA is currently employed on the Stardust Discovery Mission and also ...

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 ...

Lead in household paint and dust is a serious health hazard, as low-level lead exposure can result in a number of adverse health effects, especially in children. Onsite and real-time detection and quantification of lead in paint/dust are very important to homeowners and certified lead-based paint removal professionals. Toward this end, both field-portable equipment (such as X-ray fluorescenc ...

Perchlorate is a widely used component of solid fuel, missile and rocket propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics. It has been shown to reduce iodide uptake into the thyroid gland. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found perchlorate contamination in 18 states and believes contamination may exist in as many as 39 states. In early January 2005, the National Academy of Science ...

identified needs for the thermal control and ESD functions of the Prometheus Program's hardware for the heat rejection system for the planned nuclear system. These efforts can also serve uniquely the (CEV) radiator systems needs. The TCMS for the radiators of the both CEV and Prometheus missions need to operate at higher temperatures and provide the space environment stable low ratio of (αs/εT) ...