Award Data

DISCUS is a generic Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) system for swarms of SmallSats. It integrates communications and relative localization with innovative Density Control Algorithms (DCA) enabling robust operation in a variety of uncertain environments. As such, it presents a key enabling technology for future Deep Space missions including space apertures at Lagrangian points, and orbiting ...

To support development at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (SSC) testing facilities and infrastructure for the monitoring of remote or inaccessible measurement locations, American GNC Corporation (AGNC) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have developed the Through Wall Wireless Intelligent Sensor and Health Monitoring (TWall-ISHM) System. This technology allows deploying flexible instrumentat ...

In this work, Freedom Photonics will team with University of California, Santa Barbara to develop a hybrid integration platform that integrates yielded, best-of-breed active optical components with low-cost, high functionality Silicon Photonics components in a manner that is compatible with foundry fabrication (such as AIM Photonics). This will be performed in a highly manufacturable manner, using ...

.The growing interest in CubeSat swarm and constellation systems by NASA, the Department of Defense and commercial ventures has created a need for self-managed inter-satellite networks capable of handling large amount of data while simultaneously precisely synchronizing time and measuring the distances between the spacecraft. CrossTrac Engineering, Inc., in cooperation with our partners Professor ...

A series of RDT&E activities is proposed to create and demonstrate a reconfigurable, autonomous flight controller for the Aircraft for Distributed Electric Propulsion Throttle-based Flight Control (ADEPT-FC) which was designed and built in Phase I, a 33 lb remote controlled aircraft featuring eight overwing electric ducted fans (EDFs) distributed spanwise along the wing’s trailing edge. The prop ...

NASA and the aerospace industry are beginning to utilize terahertz (THz) reflection imaging (for example, examining the space shuttle external tank sprayed on foam insulation for voids and disbonds). THz non destructive evaluation (NDE) imaging is widely applicable to composite resin, ceramic, plastic, natural, and other non-metallic materials. Current commercial equipment is capable of 2D raster ...

The main objective of this Phase II STTR project is to develop advanced control algorithms that enable multiple autonomous agents to perform complex tasks in rapidly changing environment cooperatively. We plan to use the forest fire monitoring mission to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed technology. The mission concept involves using multiple Low Altitude Short Endurance (LASE) Unmanned Ae ...

Many future space missions involve formation flying spacecraft performing imaging, inspection, assembly, and servicing missions. Having multiple spacecraft in close proximity undergoing comparatively rapid maneuvers dramatically changes the nature of safe modes. No longer can a spacecraft just null its rates, point its arrays towards the Sun and phone home. Now, the faulty spacecraft must also ...

The overarching challenge of tele-presence is to provide an environment to the human operator that is sufficiently familiar that the interface itself does not become burdensome and distract from the goals of the mission. The ultimate achievement would be to embed the operator into a scene in such a way as to convince him or her that they are actually on site. We propose a technology that can poten ...

Industry is driven by the cost of man-power and time to market, and is still awaiting a versatile and reliable multi-disciplinary analysis code. The proposed JFLO software suite addresses many aspects that are still not totally resolved in current state-of- the-art CFD. It will enable optimal designs as well as the multi-disciplinary application of CFD for digital flight. The key elements of JFLO ...