Award Data

Future lunar and planetary explorations will require the storage of cryogenic propellants, particularly liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2), in low earth orbit (LEO) for periods of time ranging from days to months, and possibly longer. LEO is a relatively warm thermal environment and without careful thermal management, significant quantities of stored liquid cryogens can be lost due to ...

In this proposed SBIR project, we seek to implement the Adaptive Chemistry methodology in existing CFD codes used to investigate the emissions performance of gas turbine engine combustors. We will demonstrate the feasibility of integrating Adaptive Chemistry algorithms to current CFD codes. We will also further develop the Adaptive Chemistry method to take advantage of species reduction enabling e ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project concerns the development of a multi-wavelength monitor that will provide rapid, real-time measurement of the average aerosol absorption coefficient in the parcel of sample air. This monitor will employ Aerodyne's proprietary Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift spectroscopy technology in order to produce a far simpler, smaller, lower cost alterna ...

We propose to design, build and test an optical extinction monitor for the detection of spacecraft cabin particulates. This monitor will be sensitive to particle sizes ranging from a few nanometer to tens of micrometers in diameter. Designed to utilize commercial off-the-shelf components, the monitor, once calibrated, will require no recalibration and only periodic baseline determinations, a pro ...

Agiltron together with Prof. Michael Rubner's group at MIT is developing a new family of nanoporous, low refractive index coatings for next generation NASA UV anti-reflection (AR) application on large plastic optics. The initial application is intended for 2.5 m diameter PMMA Fresnel lenses which NASA anaticipates as part of the EUSO mission cosmic ray telescope. The new thin film technology comb ...

Proliferation of nuclear weapons is a serious threat in the world today. One way to determine the presence of nuclear weapons is to detect neutrons emitted by special nuclear material(SNM) such as highly enriched uranium and weapons grade plutonium. The purpose of this project is to develop improved solid state neutron detectors from CVD diamond for homeland security applications. Phase I work wil ...

Gamma-ray spectrometers consisting of inorganic scintillators coupled to optical detectors such as photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are an important element of the systems that are used to monitor and prevent the spread of special nuclear materials. Two very important requirements for the scintillation detectors used as gamma-ray spectrometers in homeland security monitoring include high sensitivity a ...

Available digital dosimeters are bulky and unable to provide real-time monitoring of dose for space radiation. The complexity of space-flight design requires reliable, fault-tolerant equipment capable of providing real-time dose readings during a mission, which is not feasible with the existing thermo-luminescent dosimeter (TLD) technology, especially during extravehicular activities (EVA). Real ...

Monitoring space radiation and the dose received by astronauts is important, especially for future long-duration missions. Neutrons contribute a significant component to the total radiation dose during solar events. We propose to develop a rugged, compact, lightweight, non-hazardous CMOS-based detector technology for an existing neutron spectroscopic dosimeter system. The existing system utilizes ...

The use and applications of radiological sources, for power, medical, and defense applications, continuously increases with time. Illicit nuclear materials represent a threat for the safety of the American citizens and the detection and interdiction of a nuclear weapon is a national problem that has not been yet solved. This represents an enormous challenge to current detection methods and monitor ...