Award Data

CU Aerospace (CUA) and team partners San Jose St. University (SJSU) and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) propose to develop a robust epoxy resin regenerator capable of improving cryocooler efficiency by more than 30%, and to design an enhanced compressor motor capable of improving the cryocooler efficiency by more than 20%. LMSSC manufactures a space cryocooler that already meets most ...

The research involves implementation of a comparison algorithm for firearm forensics. The Congruent Matching Cells (CMC) algorithm and its associated CMF, CMPS, and CMX methods have been developed by NIST yet do not appear in any commercially available software. As requested in the call for proposals, we will implement the algorithms in the C++ programming language, we will validate their performa ...

Expanded operating environments, evolving interceptor platforms, and increased performance thresholds have given rise to technical challenges to existing seeker gimbal systems that necessitate evolution of the State-of-the-art (SOTA). LoadPaths approach is to develop flexure-based gimbal concepts that maintain or enhance existing system operating abilities such as field of regard, line of sight (L ...

Additive Manufacturing, more popularly referred to as 3D printing, has most notably been employed to make structural objects in arbitrary 3D forms from materials including polymers, ceramics, metals and even paper. On a parallel path, Printed Electronics, in particular the Aerosol Jet method, has emerged as a production capable technique for printing all variety of electronic elements and even dev ...

Referencing Pue, et.al., Missile Concept Optimization for Ballistic Missile Defense, Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, The kill vehicle divert maneuver and guidance capabilities must be sized to remove system errors and accomplish intercept, but this need conflicts with the objective to maximize the missile kinematic capability to reach potential threat trajectories.Goodman Technologies in partn ...

Small satellites have proven capable and cost effective, and innovative payloads and technologies will expand the mission space that CubeSats can support. ATA proposes to build a CubeSat-sized laser communications prototype payload, adapting high photon efficiency optical communications techniques to achieve data transfer rates up to 100 mega-bits per second (Mbps) with the small apertures require ...

The purpose of this STTR phase II proposal is to scale up and validate various space materials product forms based on material technology concepts proven feasible in STTR phase I efforts. The STTR phase I has successfully demonstrated low cost survivable multifunctional engineered material systems: Zinc-Assisted Self-Assembled Nano-Clusters (Z-SANCs™) and Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) syst ...

ATA proposes development of an Advanced Rate Gyro (ARG) that blends two of ATA’s developmental designs to fulfill MDA’s airborne gyroscope requirements. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) requires such high performance gyros for Advanced Inertial Reference Units (aIRUs) for Airborne Laser DE systems and space-based surveillance and weapons systems. Current high performance gyros are marginal in mee ...

Department of Defense space surveillance and weapons systems require highly accurate inertial knowledge in absolute location and orientation. Current technologies providing these functions are not integrated into a single, light-weight, low-cost, power-efficient, and drift-free instrument. Applied Technology Associates (ATA) proposes to further develop its innovative Auto-correcting Inertial Measu ...

As the Airborne Laser (ABL) comes closer to directing a high energy laser (HEL) at a boosting missile target, it is essential that higher bandwidth fast steering mirrors (FSMs) need to be developed. These FSMs must be capable of controlling large 12-inch mirrors while handling the HEL power levels. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a FSM mechanism (substrate and mounting structure) can be designe ...