Award Data

Luna Innovations has teamed with the University of Alabama, Huntsville, to develop a miniature flush-mounted fiber-optic pressure sensor that will allow accurate, high-frequency high-pressure measurement of LOx and LH2. The Innovation of this proposed development is that the miniature flush-mounted fiber-optic pressure sensor is not intrusive, is intrinsically safe, and is a novel adaptation of p ...

By properly characterizing the thermo-mechanical activity within non-nuclear test articles, nuclear operation can be more accurately controlled and confidence in thermo-mechanical simulations will be high. However, the ability to characterize non-nuclear test core simulators is currently limited by the lack of instrumentation options available for measurements of parameters of interest such as tem ...

ORBITEC will investigate new nanocoating and other engineered surfaces and apply them to passive control of humidity within confined spaces while minimizing power, size and mass requirements. The innovations include: (1) the ability to scale the devices for early Exploration applications including existing environmental control systems, space suits, CEVs, Rovers, Small/Transit/Large Habitats, (2) ...

The objective of this proposal is to develop a gravity-independent pasteurization and hot air drying process suitable for stabilization of ALS wet cabin waste, drying of crew laundry, water recovery from water-reprocessing brines and drying of food and biomass. This process uses an energy-efficient closed air-loop Heat Pump Desiccant dryer to remove moisture from wet starting material and a Porous ...

The objective of this Phase II project is to develop and demonstrate a compact and reliable oscillator technology for the frequency band from 100 ? 250 GHz for use in terahertz local oscillators and transmitters. The new oscillators rely on MMIC technology that is reliable and robust, offers the best overall performance and will be suitable for volume production and commercialization. These oscill ...

The product of the Phase II effort will be a Multi-Use Non-Intrusive Flow Characterization System (FCS) for densified, normal boiling point, and two-phase cryogenic flows, capable of accurately measuring several fluid parameters in real-time. Cryogenic fluids are ubiquitous in the aerospace industry; however, adequate flow instrumentation to support terrestrial, in-space, and planetary operations ...

Building on the success of our Phase I efforts, Mikro Systems, Inc. (MSI) proposes to advance the state-of-the-art in high resolution, high-aspect-ratio X-ray/gamma-ray collimator fabrication by reducing slit pitch by a factor of ~2, from 35 microns to 20 microns, using an innovative hybrid micro-machining technology. Fine grids having high-aspect-ratio (>50:1) and made from dense materials are ...

Reduced-mass polymer composite materials are crucial to the success of aerospace systems for reducing vehicle weight. But, composite material adoption is inhibited because the autoclave consolidation required is prohibitively expensive for the large tanks and skins contemplated in the Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Program. To remedy this, NASA-LaRC has been developing cost-effective, ...

Airport configuration is a primary factor in various airport characteristics such as arrival and departure capacities and terminal area traffic patterns. These characteristics, in turn, are central to a variety of Air Traffic Management (ATM) decisions that in turn affect delays and efficiency in the National Airspace System (NAS). There is presently poor knowledge about the airport characterist ...

Next-generation aerospace systems will require increased autonomy to modify system behavior based on changing mission requirements, environmental factors, and system performance. For example, intelligent systems have been employed to improve safety by adaptively compensating for unexpected failures or damage. Despite many successful demonstrations of autonomous and intelligent control laws in simu ...