Award Data

Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are the key components for digitizing high-speed analog data in modern data acquisition systems, which is a critical part of sensor/detector array readout electronics widely used by NASA. Unfortunately, commercially available ADCs consume high power and feature high system latency and poor linearity; especially at input bandwidths larger than 1GHz. In addition, ...

Conventional software defined radio (SDR) backend signal processors are limited by a priori system definition and RF hardware. Ideally, advanced SDR RF front-end sections would be as flexible as their software back-ends, allowing in-use or in-orbit reconfiguration of original bands and modulation types. The FPMA/UTR proposed herein should meet this challenge. This proposed Innovation is a disti ...

Flutter is a potentially explosive phenomenon that results from the simultaneous interaction of aerodynamic, structural, and inertial forces. The nature of flutter mandates that flight testing be cautious and conservative. In addition to the flutter instability, adverse aeroelastic phenomena include limit cycle oscillations, buffeting, buzz, and undesirable gust response. The analytical prediction ...

The early lunar network communications involves the use of a variety of communication channels and networks such as IEEE 802.16, Ka-Band and S-Band satellite data-links. The sophisticated environment casts a major challenge to provide a reliable network communications supporting the performance of lunar missions. In addition, the delivery of a higher Quality of Service (QoS) is not only stifled by ...

The EVA digital radio imposes tight constraints on power consumption, latency, throughput, form factor, reconfigurability, single event upset and fault tolerance, and security. This requires a complete rethink on the digital radio architecture. We propose such an architecture called CHANDRA that exploits a cycle-by-cycle reconfigurable FPGA that is based on state-of-the-art double-gate CMOS and n ...

As an alternative material to aluminum-lithium, cryotanks developed from fiber reinforced composites can offer significant weight savings in applications for fuel containment of liquid oxygen and hydrogen. For composite materials to be accepted and utilized in these structures, they must be resistant to microcracking. It is the objective of this work to develop a matrix system for aerospace comp ...

Polymeric composite materials that are currently utilized in aircraft structures are susceptible to significant damage from lightning strikes. Enhanced electrical and thermal conductivity in these polymeric composites could eliminate this damage. The addition of this multifunctional capability to composites will result in lower manufacturing costs and weight reductions in future aircraft since t ...

For the future spaceport and long-term storage of liquid hydrogen NASA requires cryocoolers that can provide cooling power in the range of 20 watts at 20 K. The closed-cycle cooling alternatives currently available for such applications are not well suited to the requirements. In many cases reliability is low and vibration high. In other cases coolers are too massive and inefficient. This propo ...

Future NASA exloration, planetary and astrophysics missions will require various enhancements in multi-stage cryocoolers. These include increased efficiency, reduced vibration and reductions in overall system mass and power consumption. For the small coolers required, pulse tube and Stirling coolers offer the best opportunities. At present, the efficiency of these coolers is limited by the effecti ...

Future instruments and platforms for NASA space applications will require increasingly sophisticated thermal control technology, and cryogenic applications will become increasingly more common. For example, the Single Aperture Far-IR (SAFIR) telescope and other cryogenic telescope missions must provide distributed cooling and multiple heat lift. Also, the management of cryogenic propellants requir ...