Award Data

This NASA sponsored STTR project will investigate methods for close-out of large, liquid rocket engine, nickel or stainless steel nozzle, coolant channels utilizing robotic laser and pulsed-arc additive manufacturing (AM)methods. Structural jacket to coolant channel land area interface strength will be quantified and metallurgical characterization completed.Process optimizations will be conducted ...

This project will develop a new scientific instrument optimized for the advanced characterization of near-infrared fluorescent nanoparticles that can exist as left- or right-handed structures (enantiomers). Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are the leading current example of such nanomaterials. Applied NanoFluorescence, LLC (ANF) proposes a novel multi-mode chiroptical spectrometer that can ...

A system is proposed that can track the AE and RF energy dispersion that is created when a vehicle is impacted by a projectile at hyper velocity. This same device can measure the time of arrival of the wave front at transducers placed throughout the vehicle. Using the known velocity of the energy in the skin of the vehicle, the system can calculate the exact point of impact. Furthermore, Phase I t ...

The experience of building the NEA Scout solar Sail resulted in the realization that new manufacturing technology would be required to build solar sails significantly larger than NEA Scout. During Phase I, NeXolve successfully developed and demonstrated fab and fold processes and scalable-modular pathfinder mechanisms that can be fully developed to support fabrication and packaging of larger solar ...

The goal of the project is to develop an intelligent framework to construct adaptive parametric reduced order model (PROM) database for aeroservoelastic (ASE) analysis and aerostructural control. In Phase 1, the framework for both equation-based and data-driven PROMs was developed and feasibility to introduce ldquo;engineering intelligencerdquo; to AE/ASE ROMs was successfully established. Careful ...

Procedures play a large role in successfully testing and operating complex equipment. They provide step-by-step instructions for system check-out, experimental set-up, test plans, and responding to off-nominal situations. They also provide an electronic record of all test activities. As NASAnbsp; moves away from traditional paper procedures to more flexible electronic procedures, there is an oppor ...

A new thin-film polymer material is proposed that would improve orbit lifetimenbsp;and packaging efficiency for use in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Micro-Meteoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) prone applications.nbsp; Thin-film polymers are used in many spacecraft applications including multi-layer insulation, sunshields for thermal control, deployable structures, solar sails, as well as flexible solar ...

The requirement of detecting nearly ten orders of magnitude smaller signal of a planet compared to the nearby star puts forward extreme challenges for coronagraphs designed for exoplanet imaging. Vector vortex waveplates (VWs) appear to be capable of providing best performance compared to other mask technologies due to their structure as thin film coatings of continuous texture that minimizes ligh ...

VORAGO Technologies has produced an IC definition and architecture for a rad-hard I/O Expansion chip that is capable of interfacing to next generation spaceflight processor devices including the High-Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) chiplet.nbsp;We have gathered the best available knowledge of HPSC use-cases to conceptualize and articulate the requirements for an I/O Expansion Chip, creati ...

Robots will play an important role in NASA#39;s upcoming missions to the Moon and beyond.nbsp; They will need to manipulate their environment in complex and useful ways - carrying objects, using tools, and assisting crew.nbsp; NASArsquo;s humanoid robots have highly dexterous end-effectors, but developing software to fully utilize such hands remains a challenging task.nbsp; Grasping strategies are ...