Award Data

The primary objective of CU Aerospace's Phase I work will be to investigate innovative iodine injection concepts for the chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) that improve mixing at higher total pressures. The designs will be made to significantly improve the pressure recovery of COIL systems while retaining efficiency. The results of the Phase I research will lay the foundation for developing a h ...

The invention of Electrically Controlled Extinguishable Solid Propellants (ECESP) over the last five years opens the door for completely new ways of controlling solid rocket motors. When the propellant is fitted with electrodes and a current of the required voltage is applied, the propellant ignites and continues to burn until the voltage is removed. Throttle control and multiple restarts have b ...

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is presented with many challenges in integration of diverse set of sensors previously developed by US agencies as well as new sensors into an effective, layered sensor network for missile defense. The Quality Equation Sensor and Element Tasking System (QUESETS) concept will help the MDA deal with the challenge of tasking this sensor network. QUESETS is derive ...

Many advanced HgCdTe (MCT) infrared detector structures are grown by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique, which is especially sensitive to small imperfections, impurities, precipitates, and polishing damage on the substrate surface. In order to achieve very high crystalline quality MCT structures, the substrate surface must be of superior quality (MBE-quality). EPIR demonstrated the ability ...

The MDA's request to detect, track and discriminate long range targets requires infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) that have higher sensitivities, longer cutoff wavelengths (>14 µm), larger formats (> 256 x 256), and higher operating temperatures than the current infrared technology. PbSnTe is an ideal material for the MDA's requirements. Its carrier mobilities and quantum efficiencies are comp ...

The DoD STTR solicitation is seeking to identify innovative technology to provide a quantum leap in performance for cryocooler systems. Successful development of such an innovative technology will result in lowering the cost and risk of cryocoolers while increasing reliability and lifetime, which will lead to increased producibility of cryocooler systems. Johnson Research & Development Co., Inc. ...

End-to-end communications systems are often so complex that system designers have difficulty keeping track of the constraints, trades, interface requirements, and interdependencies among components. The Communications System Taxonomy (CommTax) and Toolkit proposed herein represents further refinement of an innovative tool that Infinite Global Infrastructures has recently developed internally to as ...

The research and development proposed herein addresses a critical deficiency existing in the space radiation survivability of high precision interferometric fber optic gyros (IFOGs), specifically the non-availability of a small diameter (80 micron), radiation hardened, polarization maintaining, optical fiber suitable for application to meet or exceed the IFOG performance goals of the space trackin ...

C2BMC is an important component of BMDS. The logistics support tail sustainment challenges in C2BMC are related to the unusual spiral development process employed by C2BMC. Formal metrics such as MTTR and MLDT have not been defined. Nor have spare parts analysis, training needs analysis or documentation support issues been formalized. There is enormous scope for both process re-engineering and tec ...

Very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) detectors are highly needed for midcourse phase missile defense. Blocked impurity band detectors are capable of sensing at these wavelengths but require extremely low temperatures, in the 10K or less range. The InAs/GaSb Type II heterostructure system offers unique design flexibility for new innovative detectors. By incorporating dark current reduction techniq ...