Award Data

Wideband Autonomous Cognitive Radios (WACRs) are advanced radios that have the ability to sense state of the RF spectrum and the network and self-optimize its operating mode in response to this sensed state. During the just finished Phase I STTR project, Bluecom Systems was able to develop a comprehensive design for realizing such a WACR and demonstrate the proof-of-concept operation in a hardware ...

Advances in computational capabilities for modeling the performance of advanced flight vehicles depend on verification measurements made in ground-based wind tunnels. As part of this process, the wind tunnels themselves must be well-calibrated and characterized. In particular to this project, the density, pressure and multi-component velocity of the air flow are of key interest. Southwest Sci ...

Our Phase I work focused on how improved information flow between actors in a flight deck environment can improve safety performance. An operational prototype was developed demonstrating how the Intelligent Information Processing System (IIPS) will operate in actual accidents/incidents. For Phase II, we propose the following operating environment extensions from the flight deck environment: NextG ...

NASA uses computer aided design (CAD) capabilities to produce space vehicle designs. One aspect of the vehicle design is utilizing enough shielding to minimize dose on personnel. NASA CAD models inherit errors and issues during their inception that prevent them from being used with NASA?s radiation transport code, High Z and Energy Transport (HZETRN). XL Scientific developed a ray tracing tool to ...

In brief, USNC's accident submersion safe drums are control drums where a small amount of fuel is added opposite to the neutron absorber and the drums impinge on the active core to substantially increase the shutdown criticality margin of the control drums. Phase 1 results indicate that the shutdown criticality margin is more than sufficient to maintain sub-criticality in the worst-case water sub ...

This project will develop an innovative, fast, sensitive and selective hydrazine measurement technology specifically designed for spacecraft cabin monitoring applications. The target instrument will be compact, robust and low-power with battery-powered option. The target hydrazine limit of detection is < 1 ppm, time response 30 s or better. The Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of t ...

For Mars mission program managers, who need a robust, structurally efficient solar array system to autonomously deploy on the Martian surface, the Modular Extendable Terrestrial Array (META) is an extremely high performance and cost-effective deployable solar array system that will enable manned missions. LoadPath's approach adapts a demonstrated, high packaging-efficiency array folding architect ...

The goal of this project is to enhance the Optomec Aerosol Jet(R) technology for additive manufacturing by introduction of an Adaptive Laser Sintering System (ALSS) module to enable a fully automated system for printed electronics. The Optomec-Harding team seeks to reduce the localized laser sintering concept to practice by developing ALSS with in-situ automated adjustment of laser power and proce ...

Solstar's innovation addresses SBIR RFP Subtopic H8.01 ISS Utilization and Microgravity Research, whereby NASA is soliciting "capabilities that will continue to enhance improvements to existing ISS research and support hardware, ...that promote commercial enterprise ventures ...; Specifically, NASA is soliciting mid-TRL space technology experiments to fly on a platform mounted on the outside of th ...

Superconducting films of magnesium diboride (MgB2) are very attractive for a range of detector and telecommunications applications owing to the high critical temperature of these films, ~40 K, which greatly simplifies the cooling requirements. We propose to develop a reactive evaporation technique for the deposition of MgB2 thick films on wafers up to at least 4" diameter, and an etch back and pas ...