Award Data

ABSTRACT:The goal of the Space Test Program is to enable the US Air Force to rapidly develop emerging space technologies by providing economical flight opportunities to increase a technologys TRL. Over the past decade, the CubeSat form factor has emerged as an economical platform for testing technologies that can be packaged within the 10x10x30 cm form factor. However, the lack of a programmable S ...

ABSTRACT: Silicon-based lasers/detectors have long been desired for owing to the possibility of monolithic integration of photonics with high-speed Si electronics and the aspiration of broadening the reach of Si technology by expanding its functionalities well beyond electronics. The goal of this project is to first develop high quality SiGeSn material and then use it to demonstrate prototype opt ...

ABSTRACT:This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a vacuum compatible, high gradient insulator (HGI) based on low SEE yield aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramic with high surface flashover resistance for pulse power applications. In Phase I we will design and fabricate AlN-Metal HGIs, and investigate the effects of AlN and metal layer thicknesses, and number of layers on the ...

ABSTRACT:The objective of this solicitation is to develop real-time automatic scaling software for oblique ionograms (OIs). The NWRA team has developed an extensive HF propagation computational tool set, which includes a capability called APEx (Automated Point Extraction) for automatically finding vertical ionogram (VI) traces within an ionogram image. APEx does not require pre-separation of the O ...

ABSTRACT:Minnesota Wire proposes to research and develop lightweight aerospace electrical conductors for electrical cables utilizing CNT, conductive metal coatings, and with applicable processes for chemically and mechanically fabricating these components. Substitution of legacy metals with these composite conductors will reduce weight and possibly reduce failure related to exposure, stress, strai ...

ABSTRACT:This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project, Modeling Tools for the Machining of Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs), will develop and demonstrate the feasibility of physics-based modeling tools applied to the machining of ceramic matrix composites (CMC) the Air Force needs to machine critical CMC turbine components faster, more accurately, and with lower cost. At the program con ...

ABSTRACT:Abstract: Electromagnetic signals used in communications and sensor systems can be seriously impacted after propagation through a region of the atmosphere or ionosphere disturbed by turbulence. This work will develop new physics-based technology that calculates EM propagation from HF to laser frequencies, including the effects of turbulence with long correlation length in the direction of ...

ABSTRACT: To produce high dielectric strength insulator materials, our approach, called Optimized Additive Manufacturing for High Dielectric Strength (OAHDS), will optimize fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing in order to fabricate high density parts. Currently, thermoplastics 3D printed via FFF have dielectric strengths one to three orders of magnitude lower than injection molded parts ma ...

ABSTRACT: The goal of head-worn display systems is to increase situation awareness and reduce operator workload. The urgent need is for higher image resolution and lower system latency, while meeting constraints on head-borne weight and power. Current processor solutions cannot meet increased requirements. The challenge is that power consumption is proportional to the amount of data being handled, ...

The number of commercial space vehicles including launch and reentry vehicles, and high-altitude balloons is growing, and new technology is needed to minimize their impact on the National Airspace System (NAS). Currently the FAA issues Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) to reserve large airspace sections for long periods of time for launches and reentries. Automatic Direct Surveillance Broadcas ...