Award Data

This innovation proposes the use of a thin film stratospheric balloon to lift a launch vehicle with a payload to an altitude above most of the Earth's atmosphere, then ignite the launch vehicle rocket motor. It will have the capability to carry the payload to its final destination, either into Earth orbit or to the mission design goal. This launch system will eliminate the first stage rocket thr ...

This proposal has three main efforts:1. Extension of the ATM Forum ABR protocol to allocate bandwidth according to quality of service (QoS) and priority level of the individual connection. This project will utilize the informational bits provided by the fields to support QoS and priority level acknowledgment.2. Design of an ATM application that utilizes the ABR service via an application programme ...

The integrity of rubber-to-metal bonds is an area of reliability concern, particularly in systems that are exposed to the harsh conditions of the marine environment. Accelerated life testing (ALT) is a technique used to obtain reliability data in a compressed time frame, allowing lifetime performance predictions and failure mode analyses to be made prior to equipment installation. By performing ac ...

The advanced technology described in this proposal promises to increase the performance of laboratory and, specifically, tabletop x-ray lasers by up to an order of magnitude. Such gains in performance coupled with compact technology will lead to the introduction of the world s first table-top, commercial x-ray laser. Tetra proposes to develop an advanced driver for the laboratory laser based upo ...

There is a substantial body of evidence demonstrating that biofilms growing inside the water lines of dental units pose a significant risk as a source of infection. The problem has been recognized by practitioners, regulators, manufacturers, and the ADA, with the ADA proposing a set of guidelines for water quality that include a limit of 200 colony forming units per milliliter for the year 2000. ...

THE DEVICE DESCRIBED IN THIS PHASE I PROPOSAL INCORPORATES A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR USING RF AS AN ENHANCEMENT TO FACILITY SECURITY SYSTEMS. RF HAS OFTEN BEEN INVESTIGATED AS A METHOD FOR PROVIDING A NON-LETHAL DETERRENT TO INTRUSION INTO SECURED FACILITIES SUCH AS STORAGE FACILITIES FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS. THE PRIMARY PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEMS THAT HAVE BEEN STUDIED HAS BEEN THE ABILITY TO CO ...

Situation awareness has been recognized as an important contributor to aviation performance. Pilot training should therefore highlight the role of situation awareness in the operational environment. This should focus on timely, critical, information seeking and processing behaviors needed for acquiring and maintaining situation awareness. Such training may be accomplished by exposing the studen ...

A quality simulation which allows a user to simulate the acoustic emissions in a multi-source environment and then study the effects these conditions have on a set of acoustic sensors would be of great value. As acoustic sensors technology continues to advance with robust algorithms for detection, tracking and identification as well as high performance hardware providing real-time operation, thes ...

GUIDED SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES PROPOSES TO APPLY AN INNOVATIVE COMBINATION OF INDIVIDUAL BLADE CONTROL CONCEPTS, AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY FOR BLADE ACTUATION USING SMART MATERIALS, TO ACHIEVE DRAMATIC REDUCTIONS IN ROTOR SUSCEPTIBILITY. IN PARTICULAR, CONTROL INPUTS WILL BE TAILORED TO SPECIFIC MISSION SEGMENTS, RELAXING TO SOME DEGREE THE USUAL ROTOR DESIGN TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND SIGNATUR ...

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I EFFORT IS TO DEFINE REQUIREMENTS, PERFORM TRADE STUDIES AND DEVELOP CONCEPT DESIGNS FOR A FIRE FIGHTER BACKPACK THAT PROVIDES BREATHING AND COOLING, TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF THE USAF. SEVERAL SPECIFIC APPROACHES, INCLUDING ONES BASED ON PROVEN CRYOGENIC BREATHING SUIT COOLING TECHNOLOGY WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE USAF REQUIREMENTS DEVELOPED IN PHASE I. TRADE STU ...