Award Data

ZONA Technology, Inc. proposes an R & D effort to develop a Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) control system using a novel Leading Edge Stagnation Point (LESP) sensor that has the nearly instantaneous predictive capability. The real-time gust information from the sensor will enhance the performance of the proposed GLA control system. The GLA control method we will adopt is the Generalized Predictive Con ...

The proposed solution is to create a high fidelity simulation environment that merges a UAS ground control station (GCS) simulator with an air traffic control (ATC) simulator. The UAS GCS station will have the capability of introducing a single UAS or multiple UASs simulator operated by a single and/or multiple UAS pilots into the ATC. This simulation will have the ability to simulate manned aircr ...

Hybrid turbo-electric aircraft with gas turbines driving electric generators connected to electric propulsion motors have the potential to transform the aircraft design space by decoupling power generation from propulsion. Resulting aircraft designs such as blended-wing bodies with distributed propulsion can provide the large reductions in emissions, fuel burn, and noise required to make air tran ...

We propose a high-performance broadband infrared focal plane array (FPA) for the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) on NASA's LANDSAT satellite. The FPA will feature a cutoff wavelength of 13 microns, operate at>55K, have a format of 640x512, quantum efficiency>30%, and will be realized using Type-II InAs/GaSb strained layer superlattice (SLS) photodiodes. In Phase I we will develop the basic d ...

Thermal and environmental control systems for future exploration spacecraft must meet challenging requirements for efficient operation and conservation of resources. Regenerative CO2 removal systems are attractive for these missions because they do not use consumable CO2 absorbers. However, these systems also absorb water and vent it to space along with the carbon dioxide. This water loss can b ...

Future space exploration missions require advanced thermal control systems (TCS) to dissipate heat from spacecraft, rovers, or habitats to external environments. We propose to develop a lightweight, reliable TCS to effectively maintain cabin and equipment temperatures under widely varying heat loads and ambient temperatures. The proposed system uses freeze-tolerant radiators, which eliminate the ...

In situ resource utilization (ISRU) is essential for several of NASA's future flagship missions. Currently envisioned ISRU plants include production of oxygen from hydrogen reduction of lunar regolith and extraction of water from Martian regolith or asteroid material. These ISRU processes require heating of the regolith to high reaction temperatures. To support ISRU activities, NASA requir ...

In this effort, ZONA Technology, Inc. aims at developing an innovative multi-fidelity and multi-disciplinary optimization (MDO) sub-framework that can (i) effectively reduce the number of design variables without screening-out any of the variables, (ii) accelerate the convergence through a novel design space evolution technique, and (iii) enable rapid determination of design sensitivities (gradien ...

In this proposal, we propose to demonstrate and build a 1.55 micron single frequency high energy and high peak power fiber amplifier by developing an innovative Er-doped gain fiber with large core diameter and high gain per unit length. 1.55 micron single frequency high energy and high peak power fiber amplifier is needed for coherent lidar and sensing. In Phase I, we will design and fabricate thi ...

In this proposal, we propose to demonstrate and build a near 2 micron widely tunable, narrow linewidth, single frequency fiber laser by developing an innovative Ho-doped single mode fiber. Such near 2 micron fiber laser is needed for coherent lidar and interferometric fiber sensing. In Phase I, we will design and fabricate this new fiber, demonstrate fixed wavelength narrow linewidth single freque ...