Award Data

This NASA SBIR Phase II effort will develop a 1 x 10 prototype non-mechanical fiber optic switch for use with high power lasers. The proposed optical device is a fiber-based multi-channel switch to rapidly switch a fiber-coupled laser among ten output channels as an integral part of a fiber-based fixed-array laser transmitter for next-generation NASA lidar systems. The key innovation is the use ...

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I effort will establish the feasibility of developing a fiber coupled, high power, electro-optically controlled, space qualified, phase modulator for the NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Specific to the LISA project is the use of three spacecraft, spanned by vast distances, to make gravitational wave measurements. A central aspect in mai ...

Critical large bearings in the F-35 thrust vector system must operate with absolute reliability under high loads, high heat and corrosive attack from salt air and fluorinated lubricant at elevated temperatures. A unique patented Filtered Arc Plasma Source Ion Deposition (FAPSID) process developed by Arcomac Surface Engineering will deposit an atomically bonded, multiple layered, integrated coatin ...

The foundation of any counterspace capability is space/counterspace situation awareness. Existing AFRL/VS funded efforts have established a foundation for robust, multi-level situation awareness through multi-source, multi-level, data fusion. However, situation awareness is only useful to the extent that it informs response to threats, whether natural or man-made. AFRL/VS Space Awareness & Respons ...

Field Programmable Gate Arrays are widely recognized as an attractive technology for satisfying the needs of U.S. Government Crypto Modernization programs. However, FPGA technology creates some interesting challenges in terms of reliability and assurance of crypto implementations. In the late 1990s, the National Security Agency recognized the need to significantly improve the state-of-the-art for ...

Target variation presents a challenge for Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) based on fixed models or signatures. In Phase I General Intelligence refined and applied an extension of the map-seeking circuit (MSC) architecture to recognize articulations, plausible morphs and aggregations of target models. The extended MSC architecture implements a process termed “transformational adaptivity,” ...

HyPerspectives, Inc. and its researchers propose to use remote sensing technologies to answer specific scientific questions for researchers and decision-makers in the natural hazards community. We will employ both current and innovative data fusion techniques to fill key deficiency gaps limiting progress in the natural hazards discipline. By fusing high-resolution hyperspectral imagery and LiDAR ...

There is a need for lightweight high-density (4000+ lines/mm) novel diffraction grating elements in modern telescopes to advance EUV and X-ray astrophysics. Current grating technologies (ruling and holographic beam interference) do not provide optimal solution for all grating requirements. In response to NASA request, we propose to apply state-of-the art DUV reduction photolithographic tools dev ...

Experimental tests in Phase I have shown the fuze shock absorber system capable of reducing shock peaks by a factor of three, and the associated jerk by an order of magnitude. The Phase II work will be devoted to exploring the performance space of this jerk-reduction system as a function of its material properties and physical configuration, as well as the fuze mass. LRK Associates will design a ...

The Phase I work has shown the technical feasibility of creating new, equivalent-accuracy algorithms for optical simulation with smaller operations counts than existing Fourier methods. These will be helpful in speeding up extended scene imaging simulations used in laser weapons' systems performance evaluations. However, the computational efficiency advantage of these new algorithms over Fourier ...