Award Data

The increased use of reusable systems continues to be one of the most promising options for creating advancements in the daily maintenance of rocket systems, lowering hours for preparation and diminishing expenses for preparation. However, since the end of the DC-X/XA Delta Clipper program, flight testing of candidate reusable launch vehicle (RLV) designs, technologies and operations has come to ...

Infrared counter-measures require a mid-infrared laser operating between 3-5 microns with average powers of tens of watts. Omni Sciences, Inc.'s (OSI's) aims to develop a Mid-Infra-Red FIber Laser (MIRFIL) based on super-continuum (SC) generation that produces a continuous spectrum between 1-5 microns. OSI has demonstrated broadband SC in high-nonlinearity fused silica (HiNL) and ZBLAN fluoride ...

Terrestrial models of carbon stock and flux rely on detailed parameterizations using trait data to represent vegetation processes in a given ecosystem. Hyperspectral optical characterization (350-2500 nm) can quantify many of these parameterizations at both leaf and landscape scales. Traditional aircraft and large-payload Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) provide an excellent opportunity to utilize hy ...

The proposed project will develop a lightweight, low volume and low power consuming sensor for accurate measurements of liquid water or ice water content of clouds, water vapor concentration and local thermodynamic state of the atmosphere. It will be capable to operate from a small unmanned aircraft system platform, with instrument weight less than 6 kg and power requirement of less than 150W. The ...

Emissions from energy production and other anthropogenic activities are altering the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere and have been linked to climate change, environmental degradation, human health problems, and changes in clouds and aerosols. Modelers of climate change require observational constraints on the particle number size distribution and hygroscopic growth in order to p ...

Applied Science Innovations (ASI) proposes development of the Cloud and Aerosol Measurement and Imaging System (CAMIS) for small aerial platforms, such as ScanEagle or other unmanned aerial systems, balloons or kites to measure and classify the size, phase and habits of the related water or ice particles. The measurements and characterizations of cloud and aerosol particle properties, their evolut ...

Stratus and stratocumulus clouds with low drop concentration and large drop diameter are scientifically very important, because this is the regime in which drizzle drops are formed. The formation of drizzle can lead to a rapid modification of the cloud droplet size distribution, which in turn has a strong influence on the cloud's radiative properties. Because stratus and stratocumulus clouds cover ...

Production of liquid transportation fuels from abundant and renewable lignocellulosic biomass represents a promising and sustainable alternative to present petroleum feedstock platforms. However, despite several decades of substantial efforts, commercialization of cellulosic biofuels has been limited and faces critical challenges, which include increased fossil fuel supply from hydraulic ...

IR Dynamics, LLC will develop a low-cost nanomaterial technology to be incorporated into flexible window films that will improve thermal insulation and solar heat gain. The team's nanomaterial will incorporate two materials. First, low-cost nanosheets will increase thermal resistance. Second, a new type of nanomaterial will allow heat, in the form of infrared radiation (IR) from the sun, to pass t ...

Modeling and predicting climate change requires knowledge of the fate of excess CO2 in the global carbon cycle, and particularly the processes of terrestrial carbon sequestration. Information on these processes can be obtained from vegetation trait measurements at frequent time intervals and over a wide range of spatial scales using imaging spectroradiometers on Unmanned Aerial Systems. The requir ...